Pennsylvania resumes push to recognize Eastern hellbender

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Senate is resuming a push to make the Eastern hellbender the state’s official amphibian, an effort to highlight the plight of a creature whose numbers researchers say are declining because of pollution in rivers and streams.

The bill emerged unanimously Tuesday from a Senate committee. A previous bill died last year in the House, where it encountered competing legislation promoting the Wehrle’s salamander.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the hellbender is an aquatic salamander that can grow up to two feet long, making them the largest North American amphibian. They are nocturnal and prefer shallow, fast streams with rocks to live under.

A hellbender was caught in the Kiski River last year.

Wehrle’s salamander legislation hasn’t been re-introduced. The common salamander is a few inches in length and found in upland forests across the eastern United States.