zsl-edge-of-existence:No one is quite sure how the hellbender got its name. The Missouri Department
zsl-edge-of-existence:No one is quite sure how the hellbender got its name. The Missouri Department of Conservation theorises: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 aquatic salamander.Other names for the hellbender include “snot otter”, “devil dog”, “mud-devil”, “grampus”, “Allegheny alligator”, “mud dog”, “water dog”, and “leverian water newt”. -- source link