Giclee reprint of an original lithograph from Leopold Fitzinger’s Bilder-Atlas zur wissenschaftlich-populären Naturgeschichte, published in Vienna between 1860 and 1864. 

The massive series was compiled by the renowned Austrian zoologist Leopold Fitzinger (1802–1884) and printed by the prestigious Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. The atlas is globally celebrated among historians and biologists for its hundreds of highly detailed, hand-colored lithographs that systematically mapped the biodiversity of vertebrate animals.

This Plate depicts a Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleghaniensis), the largest species of salamander native to North America and one of the largest in the entire world, routinely growing up to 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) in length. They are entirely aquatic, nocturnal creatures that hide under large rocks in fast-flowing, clear, oxygen-rich streams across the Appalachian region (hence alleghanische).
Early American settlers gave the animal the name "Hellbender"—which German naturalists translated literally to Schlammteufel (mud devil)—because they were frightened by its heavily wrinkled skin, slimy coating, and prehistoric appearance, even though the creature is completely harmless to humans.

The Three-toed Amphiuma or Amphiuma tridactylum possesses four tiny, practically useless legs that end in three distinct toes. These limbs are so small they are easy to miss at first glance. They are completely aquatic, nocturnal predators native to the muddy swamps, slow-moving bayous, and drainage ditches of the Mississippi Valley in the southeastern United States.