Hellbender Salamander Gets Endangered Species Designation, but No Habitat Protection
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) this week granted the Ozark hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) but made the unusual decision not to declare critical habitat for the rare, giant salamanders because, it said, doing so could open it to threats from those who would illegally collect the species for the international pet trade.
Ozark hellbenders are North America’s largest amphibians, often topping off at 60 centimeters in length, and because of that size they are highly valued by collectors. A study published in Applied Herpetology in 2007 found evidence of rampant illegal hellbender collection between 1969 and 1989, including 171 individuals collected during one September weekend in 1980. The study blamed the illegal pet trade as one of the major factors in the 75 percent decline of Ozark hellbender populations over the past few decades. According to FWS, there are only an estimated 590 of the salamanders left in the wild. It is found only in rivers and streams in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri