Page "Hellbender" Paragraph 20

Hellbenders are superbly adapted to the shallow, fast-flowing, rocky streams in which they live.

Their flattened shape offers little resistance to the flowing water, allowing them to work their way upstream and also to crawl into narrow spaces under rocks.

Although their eyesight is relatively poor, they have light-sensitive cells all over their bodies.

Those on their tail are especially finely tuned and may help them position safely under rocks without their tail poking out to give the game away.

They have a good sense of smell and will move upstream in search of food such as dead fish, following the trail of scent molecules.

Smell is possibly their most important sense when hunting.

They also have a lateral line similar to that of fish, with which they can detect vibrations in the water.