11”x14 risograph print in melon, kelly green, and light lime, printed at Swan Meadow.
Fossil records date the existence of Hellbender salamanders (also referred to as "mud cats", "devil dogs", and "snot otters") to more than 150 million years ago, making them WAY older than the concept of Hell itself. During the Middle Ages, people believed salamanders were born from fire, because they observed salamanders scurrying out of damp logs burned for fuel. Consequently, in some languages, the word salamander meads "fire lizard". Leonardo da Vinci wrote that the salamander "has no digestive organs, and gets no food but from the fire, in which it constantly renews its scaly skin".
Obviously this is not true. In fact, Hellbender salamanders are strictly aquatic and breathe through their skin, making them extremely sensitive to water purity. Because of declining water quality and pollution, Ozark Hellbenders (native to the mountain streams of the Ozark Plateau) are federally endangered. Other Hellbenders are native to the Eastern and Central US and are North America's largest salamander.
They are HUGE! Like little wet puppies. I love them and so should you.
11”x14 risograph print in melon, kelly green, and light lime, printed at Swan Meadow.
Fossil records date the existence of Hellbender salamanders (also referred to as "mud cats", "devil dogs", and "snot otters") to more than 150 million years ago, making them WAY older than the concept of Hell itself. During the Middle Ages, people believed salamanders were born from fire, because they observed salamanders scurrying out of damp logs burned for fuel. Consequently, in some languages, the word salamander meads "fire lizard". Leonardo da Vinci wrote that the salamander "has no digestive organs, and gets no food but from the fire, in which it constantly renews its scaly skin".
Obviously this is not true. In fact, Hellbender salamanders are strictly aquatic and breathe through their skin, making them extremely sensitive to water purity. Because of declining water quality and pollution, Ozark Hellbenders (native to the mountain streams of the Ozark Plateau) are federally endangered. Other Hellbenders are native to the Eastern and Central US and are North America's largest salamander.
They are HUGE! Like little wet puppies. I love them and so should you.
