Editing Hellbender (section)

===Diet===
''C. alleganiensis'' feeds primarily on [[crayfish]] and small [[fish]], but also [[insect]]s, [[worm]]s, [[mollusc]]s, [[tadpole]]s and smaller salamanders.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pike |first=Zeb |title=Cryptobranchus alleganiensis (Hellbender) |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cryptobranchus_alleganiensis/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Animal Diversity Web |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AmphibiaWeb - Cryptobranchus alleganiensis |url=https://amphibiaweb.org/species/3861 |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=amphibiaweb.org |language=en}}</ref> A study conducted in 2017 found that larval hellbenders eat mayfly and caddisfly nymphs.<ref>Kirsten A. Hecht, Max A. Nickerson, Phillip B. Colclough "Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) May Exhibit an Ontogenetic Dietary Shift," Southeastern Naturalist, 16(2), 157–162, (1 June 2017)</ref> One report, written by a commercial collector in the 1940s, noted a trend of more crayfish predation in the summer during times of higher prey activity, whereas fish made up a larger part of the winter diet, when crayfish are less active. There seems to be a specific temperature range in which hellbenders feed, as well: between {{convert|45|and|80|F|C|abbr=on}}. Cannibalism—mainly on eggs—has been known to occur within hellbender populations. One researcher claimed perhaps density is maintained, and density dependence in turn created, in part by [[intraspecific]] predation.<ref name="cryptobranchus604"/><ref name=cryptobranchus291/><ref name=fws1/> When feeding on large prey items relative to themselves, it has been found that they use suction feeding.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Deban |first1=Stephen M. |last2=O’Reilly |first2=James C. |date=2005 |title=The ontogeny of feeding kinematics in a giant salamander Cryptobranchus alleganiensis: Does current function or phylogenetic relatedness predict the scaling patterns of movement? |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zool.2005.03.006 |journal=Zoology |volume=108 |issue=2 |pages=155–167 |doi=10.1016/j.zool.2005.03.006 |pmid=16351963 |bibcode=2005Zool..108..155D |issn=0944-2006}}</ref>