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Cryptobranchus (hellbender)

Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Urodela

Taxonomy
Cryptobranchus was named by Leuckart (1821). It is extant. Its type is Salamandra alleganiensis. It is the type genus of Cryptobranchidae.

It was assigned to Cryptobranchidae by Holman (1977), Estes (1981), Carroll (1988), Holman et al. (1990) and Matsui et al. (2008).

Synonyms
  • Plicagnathus was named by Cook (1917). It is extant.

    It was synonymized subjectively with Cryptobranchus by Naylor (1981).
  • Sieboldia was named by Blanchard (1871). It is extant.

    It was synonymized subjectively with Cryptobranchus by Naylor (1981).
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1821Cryptobranchus Leuckart
1871Sieboldia Blanchard
1917Plicagnathus Cook
1977Cryptobranchus Holman p. 159
1981Cryptobranchus Estes p. 13
1988Cryptobranchus Carroll
1990Cryptobranchus Holman et al. p. 522
2008Cryptobranchus Matsui et al. p. 322

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
RankNameAuthor
—Tetrapoda
classAmphibia
orderTemnospondyli()
—Lissamphibia()
—Batrachia(Macartney 1802)
—Caudata(Scopoli 1777)
familyUrodela()
—Cryptobranchoidea
familyCryptobranchidaeCope 1889
genusCryptobranchusLeuckart 1821

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Cryptobranchus Leuckart 1821 [hellbender]
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Cryptobranchus alleganiensis Daudin 1803 [hellbender]
†Cryptobranchus guildayi Holman 1977
Invalid names: Plicagnathus Cook 1917 [synonym], Sieboldia Blanchard 1871 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: brackish, freshwater, terrestrialuc
Locomotion: actively mobilesubo
Life habit: amphibioussubo
Diet: carnivoresubo
Dispersal: waterc
Created: 2009-07-20 21:44:54
Modified: 2009-07-20 23:44:54
Source: subo = suborder, c = class, subp = subphylum, uc = unranked clade
References: Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009, Uhen 2004

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Ti4 to the top of the Late/Upper Pleistocene or 61.70000 to 0.01170 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 56.8 Ma

Collections (8 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Ti461.7 - 56.8Canada (Saskatchewan) Cryptobranchus saskatchewanensis (14978)
Clarkforkian56.2 - 54.9USA (Wyoming) Cryptobranchus saskatchewanensis (190422)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (West Virginia) Cryptobranchus guildayi, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis (124319) Cryptobranchus sp. (123875)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Maryland) Cryptobranchus guildayi (20302)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Virginia) Cryptobranchus alleganiensis (124089)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Alabama) Cryptobranchus alleganiensis (84181)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0USA (Virginia) Cryptobranchus allegheniensis (104689)