What type of creature is a hellbender
Hellbender Hellbender The hellbender ("Cryptobranchus alleganiensis"), also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of aquatic giant salamander endemic to eastern North America. A member of the family Cryptobranchidae, the hellbender is the only member of the genus "Cryptobranchus", and is joined only by one other genus of salamanders ("Andrias", which contains the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders) at the family level. The hellbender, which is much larger than all other salamanders in its geographic range, employs an unusual means of respiration (which involves cutaneous gas exchange through capillaries found in its dorsoventral skin folds), and fills a particular niche
Hellbender — both as a predator and prey — in its ecosystem, which either it or its ancestors have occupied for around 65 million years. The species is listed as Near Threatened. The origin of the name "hellbender" is unclear. The Missouri Department of Conservation says: The name 'hellbender' probably comes from the animal's odd look. One theory claims the hellbender was named by settlers who thought "it was a creature from hell where it's bent on returning." Another rendition says the undulating skin of a hellbender reminded observers of "horrible tortures of the infernal regions." In reality, it's a harmless