Lampreys and hellbenders and mudpuppies, oh my! Get to know Missouri’s unique creatures

Sara Karnes, Springfield News-Leader
·5 min read

From the hellbenders that make their homes beneath rocks in streams to Missouri's only venomous mammal, the vole, there are so many unique critters in the Show-Me State.

Let's take a look at some of them, with extra details and several photos courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation.

Eastern Hercules beetle

With the scientific title of Dynastes tityus, eastern Hercules beetles are part of the scarabaeidae, or scarab beetle, family.

Male beetles can grow to be nearly 2-and-a-half inches in length. Their horns are used for contests to determine the best breeding sites, akin to how deer and elk use their antlers. Female beetles do not have horns.

The beetles are harmless to people, and as grublike larvae, they help enrich the soil by eating rotting wood.

Hercules beetles can vary greatly in the amount of spotting; some are almost completely black or brown, while others are mostly tan, pale green, or yellow, with irregular spots.
Hercules beetles can vary greatly in the amount of spotting; some are almost completely black or brown, while others are mostly tan, pale green, or yellow, with irregular spots.

You can find Hercules beetles in forests or around lights at night. There is a chance the number of Hercules beetles will soon be in decline due to decaying ash trees, which are the beetles favorite rotting trees to use as larval nurseries, becase of invasive ash borers.

Hellbender

Two hellbenders in a plastic tube at the St. Louis Zoo's breeding facility. In the wild, hellbenders like to hide under flat rocks in a river or stream.
Two hellbenders in a plastic tube at the St. Louis Zoo's breeding facility. In the wild, hellbenders like to hide under flat rocks in a river or stream.

Known by several nicknames like lasagna sides and snot otter, the hellbender scientific name is cryptobranchus alleganiensis, and they are part of the giant salamanders family.

There are two subspecies in Missouri: the eastern hellbender, found in several states from New York to Georgia to Missouri, and the Ozark hellbender, which lives in the southern part of the state and northern Arkansas.

Hellbenders can grow between 11 to 20 inches long, and they are fully aquatic. They are also endangered. Since the 1970s, hellbenders, especially older ones, have "drastically declined," per MDC.

"Some have limb deformities," MDC states on its online field guide. "The lack of young spells trouble for hellbenders, which are listed as rare, threatened, or endangered nearly everywhere they are found."

The Ozark subspecies was added to the federal Endangered Species Act in 2011, and the eastern hellbender subspecies was listed in 2021.

More: Saint Louis Zoo sees 'banner year' for breeding program as 1,300-plus hellbenders hatch

Females may not breed until they are seven or eight years old and may only breed every few years. Fertilization is external, with 200-700 eggs being produced, and the males guard the eggs. Under natural conditions, hellbenders can live decades. One specimen reached age 55.

Hellbenders need clean, clear, cool rivers to survive, and they should never be harmed or removed from the wild.

Lamprey

Missouri is home to six lamprey species. Two are parasitic, the chestnut lamprey and silver lamprey. The four nonparasitic lampreys include the brook lampreys: southern brook lamprey, northern brook lamprey, least brook lamprey and American brook lamprey.

John Blomberg caught an adult lamprey when he reeled in a bass while fishing on the Current River March 18, 2022.
John Blomberg caught an adult lamprey when he reeled in a bass while fishing on the Current River March 18, 2022.

Adult chestnut lampreys are the only parasitic lampreys found in the Current River. The other parasitic lamprey, the silver lamprey, is more of a northern species and has only been found in the Mississippi River system in Missouri.

Related: 'It was unusual,' fisherman says after catching a lamprey on the Current River

Lampreys' scientific name is ichthyomyzon castaneus, and they are part of the Agnatha class, or jawless invertebrates. Adults can grow to nearly a foot long while larvae are about six inches. Lampreys are not harmful to humans, per MDC.

Thought to live for a period of 3 to 6 years in Missouri as ammocoetes, or larvae, lampreys usually live for another 2 years as a mature adult. Their mouths are not fully formed as larvae and are shaped in a horseshoe shape. As adults, the round disc develops.

Nonparasitic lampreys don't have quite as developed teeth, like the parasitic ones. Lampreys tend to like gravel areas of streams for spawning and are extremely common in the state. For about a year or two, the lampreys will go through a larvae stage before reaching adulthood. After spawning, a lamprey's life cycle ends.

Lampreys are often food for other fish, and they feed on smaller insects and other microscopic critters.

Mottled sculpin

Found in the Osage, Gasconade and Meramec systems, along with other tributaries to the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, the mottled sculpin is part of the mail-cheeked fishes.

The mottled sculpin occurs in the Osage, Gasconade, and Meramec systems, and in small tributaries to the Missouri and Mississippi rivers in the northern and eastern Ozarks.
The mottled sculpin occurs in the Osage, Gasconade, and Meramec systems, and in small tributaries to the Missouri and Mississippi rivers in the northern and eastern Ozarks.

With the scientific name cottus bairdii, mottled sculpin do not have scales, but are covered with small prickles on their heads and bodies.

The mottled sculpin used to be considered more widespread in Missouri, but the Ozark sculpin was split away from the mottled sculpin as a separate species in the 80s, and in 2010, the knobfin sculpin was split away from the Ozark sculpin because of in DNA, body form, coloration and stream distributions.

Sculpins, as a group, are bottom-dwelling fishes and lack a swim bladder. Their flattened bodies and enlarged pectoral fins are adaptations for maintaining a position in stream currents. The mottled sculpin is often the most abundant fish in its preferred habitat.

Mudpuppy

Similar to hellbenders, mudpuppies are part of the salamander family, with the scientific name of necturus maculosus.

The mudpuppy has a gray-brown back and pale gray belly. It is mostly covered with numerous small, irregular dark brown to black spots that sometimes appear on the belly. Behind the head are plumes of red gills. Each limb have 4 toes, and their eyes are small and lack eyelids.

There are two subspecies in Missouri: the common mudpuppy and the Red River mudpuppy, which is smaller and has a lighter gray-brown or red-brown color.

A big difference between mudpuppies and hellbenders is that mudpuppies have external gills. They can also grow up to 13 inches in length.

Other honorable mentions go to:

  • Southern bog lemming: part of the rodent class and is found across several states

  • Vole: the venom they inject is a tiny dose

  • Venomous snakes: can hunt using the reptilian version of "heat-seeking vision" and by smelling with their tongues

  • Bats: can navigate in darkness using echo-location

For more details about Missouri's critters, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide.

Remember that invasive hammerhead worm?

As for invasive species, a unique critter that's been making Missouri it's home is the hammerhead worm. Despite not being from the Ozarks, the hammerhead worms are adapting and acclimating.

A family recently discovered a hammerhead worm on their property in southeast Springfield.
A family recently discovered a hammerhead worm on their property in southeast Springfield.

Hammerhead worms leave a mucus trail and excrement that help it glide along. The worms produce sexually by laying eggs and asexually by fragmenting and growing new heads and tails when cut into pieces.

Sara Karnes is an Outdoors Reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Follow along with her adventures on Twitter and Instagram @Sara_Karnes. Got a story to tell? Email her at skarnes@springfi.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri is home to unique creatures from lampreys to hellbenders

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