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Missouri hellbenders population granted federal protection
March 9, 2021
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ST. LOUIS (AP) A salamander species that lives in Missouri waterways has been granted protection under the federal Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Missouri s eastern hellbenders are the largest salamander in North America, growing to more than 2 feet in length. The amphibians can be found in the Meramec River and its tributaries, as well as watersheds in south-central parts of the state, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The agency s designation means that the state s population, which is geographically isolated from other species in the eastern U.S., is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The state has only several hundred of them remaining in the wild.