What's Two Feet Long, Has Four Feet, Lives in Southwestern Virginia Rivers, and Has a Wicked Name?

That would be an Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), North America’s largest salamander, found in Virginia from the New River westward (in the Ohio/Mississippi River basin).  Living as long as 30 years and growing to as large as about 29 inches, Hellbenders have a fearsome appearance and name and an important ecological role.  Virginia Tech’s University Relations has produced a 3-minute video featuring Dr. Bill Hopkins, from the Tech Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, showing a Hellbender and discussing its biology and connection to water quality.  The video—posted August 8, 2012—is online at http://www.unirel.vt.edu/audio_video/2012/08/080912-cnre-hellbender.html.  Information Eastern Hellbender biology, habitat, distribution, and population status in Virginia is available at the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ Web site at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/hellbender/; the Web site also includes a short video of a Hellbender underwater.

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