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Hellbender vs. Common Mudpuppy

Look behind the head. A Mudpuppy keeps bushy red external gills for life. A Hellbender has no external gills; it is flatter and much bigger, with loose wrinkled folds of skin along its sides. Hellbender is state endangered in Indiana.

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Hellbender

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis

Common Mudpuppy

Necturus maculosus
Hellbender vs. Common Mudpuppy: comparison sheet with the differences marked

Photographs via iNaturalist under Creative Commons licences; the photographers are credited on the sheet.

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