Cryptobranchidae

plural noun

Cryp·​to·​bran·​chi·​dae

ˌkriptəˈbraŋkəˌdē

: a family of large aquatic salamanders including the American hellbenders and the Asian giant salamanders, all distinguished by amphicoelous vertebrae, external fertilization, and the absence of eyelids and of lacrimal and septomaxillary bones and with Hynobiidae forming a suborder of Caudata comprising primitive salamanders with relatively generalized skeletons

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Cryptobranchus, type genus + -idae

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