Intended Audience
Natural Science and Mathematics Colloquium
Hellbenders: The Lost Denizens of the Chesapeake
Matt Neff, Calvert Marine Museum
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
4:45 pm
Matt Neff is the curator of Estuarine Biology at the Calvert Marine Museum (CMM). Matt oversees a collection of 600 individual animals of 80 different species – all of which can be found in Southern Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay. Before coming to CMM, Matt was a zookeeper in the Department of Herpetology at the Smithsonian National Zoo for 12 years. He worked with everything from small, endangered Shenandoah Salamanders to larger exotic animals like Komodo Dragons and Aldabra Tortoises. Matt will be talking about CMM’s newest animal exhibit – the Eastern Hellbenders. Hellbenders used to be found in the very northern part of the Chesapeake Bay until hydroelectric dams and other human impacts caused them to be extirpated. Matt will be going over the general biology of Hellbenders, what makes them unique, and his fieldwork with Giant Salamanders in Japan.
This event is free and open to the public. It is meant for a general audience. If you are an instructor, please announce it to your students.