Calvert Marine Museum Introduces New Cownose Rays And Hellbenders To Exhibits

SOLOMONS, Md. – The Calvert Marine Museum (CMM) has introduced four new friends to their exhibits, including two new Cownose Rays and two Eastern Hellbenders.

Matt Neff, CMM’s Curator of Estuarine Biology, along with fellow museum employee Linda Hanna, made the 22-and-a-half-hour trip to the Kansas City Zoo to pick up the Cownose Rays.

“At that point, you wanna try to get them back as quick as you can so we didn’t want to do any overnight stops or anything like that, just because they’re gonna be stressed,” said Neff.

“They were actually pretty calm. We actually had to stop an hour into the trip cause we were like ‘Are they ok?’ ‘Cause they weren’t making any noise. But I think ’cause it was just dark, they were just chill and they were just hanging out.”

Neff explained that the museum wanted some more Cownose Rays because they are one of his favorites and they’re “a pretty funky looking animal.”

Neff also introduced their brand new Eastern Hellbenders, which are the largest salamanders in North America. Neff explained how the Hellbender no longer inhabits the Chesapeake Bay due to Human-related environmental impacts such as fishing, agriculture, housing developments, and hydroelectric dams.

Hellbenders also have some rather silly nicknames that they have accumulated since their discovery way back in 1803 such as Lasagna Lizard, Allegheny Alligator, Snot Otter, Grampus, and Devil Dog.

Neff explained that the name Hellbender most likely came from the fact that whoever discovered the animal believed they were from Hell due to their rather freaky appearance, and the name just stuck. However, Neff is happy that some of the children who have visited the exhibit so far think the creatures are actually cute.

You can learn more about these new creatures and everything else the museum has to offer by visiting daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To learn more about CMM, click here.

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