For an animal covered in mucus and nicknamed the “snot otter,” the eastern hellbender salamander is awfully picky about where it will live. Polluted rivers and streams, along with dams and loss of habitat, have significantly reduced the population of eastern hellbenders across the Eastern United States. And a 2003 study was redacted like the Mueller report to keep their locations secret from the illegal pet trade. On Tuesday, Pennsylvania’s governor signed a law naming the hellbender — which is two-feet-long, nocturnal and also known as the devil dog, Allegheny alligator and lasagna lizard — the state’s official amphibian. A handful of Pennsylvania legislators objected to the hellbender bill, considering it a waste of time.

Source: New York Times April 23, 2019 12:24 UTC