Southeast Creature Feature: Taxonomy Refresher for the Eastern Hellbender
Classification and Taxonomy Refresher: Eastern Hellbender
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Subclass: Lissamphibia
Superorder: Caudata **
Order: Urodela
Family: Cryptobranchidae
Genus: Cryptobranchus
Species: Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
subspecies: C. alleganiensis alleganiensis
Eukaryota: Any cell or organism with a clearly defined nucleus within a nuclear membrane and other organelles contained within a cell membrane. Eukaryotic organisms have a larger cell size than prokaryotes (Eukaryote | Definition, Structure, & Facts, 2024).
Animalia: Organisms in the kingdom Animalia are multicellular and have eukaryotic cells and lack rigid cell walls. They are all heterotrophs (consume other organisms) (Animalia Kingdom | Definition, Characteristics & Examples - Lesson, n.d.).
Chordata: Chordates all possess, at some point in their life stages, five distinctive characteristics: They have a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, an endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail (Wikipedia Contributors, n.d.).
Amphibia: The word “amphibian” is derived from the Greek words amphi (two kinds or double) and bios (life), which likely refers to the dual environments and life cycles these animals have - a larval stage (aquatic) and an adult stage Terrestrial and/or Aquatic. They are ectothermic (cold-blooded) vertebrates that lay their unshelled eggs in aquatic environments (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024). They exhibit cutaneous respiration (typically) meaning they breathe through their moist skin. They have a double-channeled hearing system, green rods in their retinas to differentiate between hues, and they have two-part (pedicellate) teeth (Amphibian - Adaptation, Metamorphosis, Ecology, n.d.).
Lissamphibia: Includes all modern amphibians, and is divided into three distinct groups: frogs (Anura), salamanders (Caudata), and caecilians (Gymnophiona). Some, most, or all of Lissamphibia share these characteristics: They have two types of skin glands (mucous and granular), they have fat bodies associate with gonads, they have double channeled sensory papillae in the inner ear, green rods in their retinas (not present in caecilians), their ribs don’t encircle their body, they have a levator bulbi muscle, a forced pump respiratory mechanism, cylindrical centra (in vertebrae) pedicellate teeth, bicuspid teeth, they have an operculum, a loss of posterior skull bones, small, widely separated pterygoid bones, wide cultriform process of the parasphenoid, and the presence of ampullae of Lorenzini in some salamanders and caecilians, but never in frogs (Wikipedia Contributors, n.d.).
Caudata: Extant salamanders (Urodela) and all extinct species of amphibians more closely related to salamanders than frogs. They typically have a cylindrical oblong, slender body, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults.
Urodela: All 10 extant salamander families form the group Caudata. Salamanders have all the characteristics of Caudata above but also have the ability to regenerate lost limbs and other body parts. Some salamanders are fully aquatic as adults and some are terrestrial.
Cryptobranchidae: Giant salamanders that are fully aquatic. This family includes some of the largest living amphibians, found in China, Japan, and the Eastern U.S. The family name is derived from ancient Greek words krypto (“hidden”), and branch (“gill”), which describes how these salamanders absorb oxygen through capillaries in the flaps of skin along their sides, which essentially function as gills. (Wikipedia Contributors, n.d.).
Cryptobranchus:North American giant salamander also known as the Hellbender. Uses lateral skin folds for cutaneous (through the skin) respiration. Includes one species (C. alleganiensis) and two subspecies (C.a. alleganiensis, and C. a. bishopi). (Wikipedia Contributors, n.d.).
Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis: Eastern Hellbender. Largest North American salamander, bigger than subspecies C.a.bishopi. This subspecies is reddish brown to dull gray brown whereas C.a.bishopi is more olive green. The best way to distinguish these subspecies is through their geography. C.a.bishopi only occurs in Missouri and northeastern Arkansas. C.a.alleganiensis has a broader range covering parts of southern New York, west to southern Illinois, and south to extreme northeastern Mississippi and the northern parts of Alabama and Georgia.(Wikipedia Contributors, n.d.; Missouri Department of Conservation, n.d.)
References
Amphibian - Adaptation, Metamorphosis, Ecology. (n.d.). Britannica. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://www.britannica.com/animal/amphibian/General-features
Animalia Kingdom | Definition, Characteristics & Examples - Lesson. (n.d.). Study.com. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://study.com/learn/lesson/animalia-kingdom-examples-characteristics-facts.html
Eukaryote | Definition, Structure, & Facts. (2024, July 30). Britannica. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://www.britannica.com/science/eukaryote
Heying, H. (n.d.). ADW: Caudata: INFORMATION. Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Caudata/
Missouri Department of Conservation. (n.d.). Eastern Hellbender. Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/eastern-hellbender
Urodela | amphibian superorder. (n.d.). Britannica. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://www.britannica.com/animal/Urodela
Wikipedia Contributors. (n.d.). Caudata. Wikipedia. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudata
Wikipedia Contributors. (n.d.). Chordate. Wikipedia. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chordate
Wikipedia Contributors. (n.d.). Hellbender. Wikipedia. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellbender
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Lissamphibia. Wikipedia. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lissamphibia
Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Amphibian. Wikipedia. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphibian
Hey JK, this is a great post. Eastern hellbenders are emblematic of the rich biodiversity of the southeast, especially with respect to amphibians. I recently saw on LinkedIn that biologists are greatly concerned about the potential impacts of Hurricane Helene on the hellbender population. Many of the streams that provide critical habitat for this species were significantly altered or destroyed altogher. Those left in tact are likely being inundated by sediment, another threat to the species' prosperity. It's a tragic but fascinating theory. I never considered hurricanes being such a risk to a singular species, especially one that lives so far from the coast.
ReplyDeleteFurther insight, via PBS North Carolina: https://www.pbsnc.org/blogs/science/an-iconic-salamander-species-struggles-after-hurricane-helene/