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Rod Williams, associate professor at Purdue University, is the companion of the hell he's collected in 2014 with a team of students at Blue River, in southern Indiana. The East Hell salamander is fast becoming the official amphibian of the state of Pennsylvania.
Rick Callahan / AP
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Rod Williams, associate professor at Purdue University, is the companion of the hell he's collected in 2014 with a team of students at Blue River, in southern Indiana. The East Hell salamander is fast becoming the official amphibian of the state of Pennsylvania.
Rick Callahan / AP
The official amphibian of Pennsylvania, which will soon be official, has more than its share of nicknames: snot otter, devil mud, Allegheny alligator, devil dog, lasagna lizard.
In short, this is not exactly a spectator.
But the infernal salamander is the overwhelming choice of lawmakers for the representation of amphibians in the state. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives of the State voted 191 to 191 on a bill that would name the aquatic creature its amphibian state. The Senate passed the bill in February.
The Hellbender is a night salamander that can grow up to 2 feet long. The mud-colored creature, covered with a layer of mucus, breathes mainly through loose rags of thick, wrinkled skin that looks a bit like lasagna noodles.
Hellbender is also a canary for the degradation of the environment.
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The giant salamander's sensitivity to pollution and changing conditions makes it an indicator species for healthy water bodies, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The animal needs fresh, brisk water to breathe and prefers fast-flowing rivers and streams in the Appalachian region, ranging from northern Georgia to southern New York.
And according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which spearheaded the reconnaissance of the Underworld for more than two years, the number of creatures has declined dramatically as its habitats have deteriorated. The group claims that the degradation was caused by the lack of trees along the Pennsylvania waterways, which "allows the waters to warm up, polluted stormwater to enter the rivers and streams, and silt deposits in the water courses ".
Greg Lipps, coordinator for amphibian and reptile conservation at Ohio State University, told NPR in 2017 that creatures had experienced a rapid decline in their population. Hellbenders has been listed as endangered in several states, including Illinois, Indiana and Maryland.
An infernal baby being transferred to a healthy water course in Ohio in 2017.
Becky Harlan / NPR
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Becky Harlan / NPR
An infernal baby being transferred to a healthy water course in Ohio in 2017.
Becky Harlan / NPR
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the salamander as "near threatened" and its population has declined, although this assessment has not been updated since 2004. Fish and Wildlife US Service notes that dams and illegal pet trade may also contribute to the decline of the species.
Garth Everett, a representative of the Republican state who helped push the bill through the Pennsylvania House, said the Hellbenders were in decline.
"Few people have actually seen priests from hell," Everett said after the vote, reports the Associated Press. "They only live in very clean streams and live under rocks."
Emma Stone, chair of the FBC's Student Leadership Council, said Tuesday's bill was about making the state a cleaner water. "The adoption of this bill will certainly allow the Hellbenders to breathe better in the near future and give them a better chance of survival," she said in a statement from the CBF. "Not to mention a better chance for a clean water heritage in Pennsylvania."
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