The eastern hellbender is the state's largest salamander and breathes through its skin.

With a nickname like snot otter, it's not surprising that the eastern hellbender isn't exactly the cutest creature you'll see in the streams and rivers of Western Pennsylvania, but scientists are excited to report the slimy, bulbous-headed little guy has wriggled his way into the waters of Butler County.

Eric Chapman, director of aquatic science at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, said while experts shy away from naming the exact stream where the hellbender was found because they don't want curious residents disturbing its habitat and catching the creatures, he did confirm it was seen in a creek in the eastern sector of the county.

The hellbender is the state's largest salamander and breathes through its skin as it languishes in streams from New York to Georgia under car hood-sized rocks for 11 months of the year.

The hellbender only comes out and walks around on land in September, when it is seeking a mate.

Gov. Tom Wolf in April, clad in a “hellbender defender” T-shirt, proclaimed the eastern hellbender the official state amphibian.

Chapman said a team from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in September was carrying out a stream bank stabilization and restoration project in the county when one longtime stream expert exclaimed, “Hey look, a hellbender is walking up the stream.”

“This was a total surprise,” Chapman said. “The (state) Fish and Boat Commission said there had not been a record of them in the area.”

He said the presence of hellbenders means a waterway is extremely clean, as amphibians are susceptible to poisoning because they can absorb toxins through their skin. “It's an amazing testament to the stream's water quality,” Chapman said of the hellbender's presence. “Amphibians are always the first to disappear in the face of pollution.”

Pennsylvania, and in particular the Allegheny River watershed, has some of the best habitats for hellbenders, Chapman said.

The salamander, which subsists almost exclusively on crawfish, can grow to be two feet long and weigh four pounds, and live to age 50. It is not harmful to humans.

Chapman said the adult hellbender has no predators because of its size, but small mouth bass are known to feed on juveniles.

“There have been reports of stocked trout eating the little ones too,” Chapman said. He said one adult specimen he caught had a chunk taken out of its tail.

“A snapping turtle probably bit it,” Chapman said.

He stressed that only individuals with a scientific collector's permit are allowed to handle hellbenders.

“We want everyone to get excited about them, but we don't want to deal with habitat destruction,” Chapman said. “Don't lift up rocks to find them because you'll destroy their habitat.”

He said the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium has an excellent hellbender exhibit, complete with a live specimen.

Mike Parker of the state Fish and Boat Commission, said the hellbender had been a protected species for some time in Pennsylvania.

He said the illusive creature — which is also known as the lasagna lizard, devil dog, mud devil, Allegheny alligator and grampus — was once almost eradicated because people thought they were dangerous.

That, coupled with pollution, nearly decimated the hellbender, Parker said.

Many creek and stream enthusiasts misidentify the hellbender as a mud puppy, which is a nocturnal salamander indigenous to the area's lakes, ponds and streams. “For its size, the hellbender blends in with its environment,” Parker said. “It spends most of its time underwater, hunting and hiding.”

The advice of the Fish and Boat Commission is admire the creatures from a distance on the off chance that one is seen. “Most people go their whole lives without seeing them, but if you spend a lot of time where their habitat is, you just might come across one,” Parker said.