Spooky species: Don't let these real Pennsylvania creatures cross into the cryptid class

These creatures aren’t cryptids — but if humans don’t pay attention to these species’ needs and habitats, sightings might become just as unlikely.

In the spirit of Halloween, here are a few spooky species to keep an eye on in Pennsylvania.

While you're at it, check this outPocono Cryptids: Your online field guide to the beasts of northeast PA

More creepy creaturesAlbatwitches, squonks and chupacabras: A fun field guide to the cryptids of Central PA

Atlantic and lake sturgeon: Big, bony fish disappearing by the numbers

Big, bony-plated Atlantic sturgeon were once a plentiful source of food in the Delaware River. But as the Brodhead Watershed Associated noted over the summer, “Over-harvesting and other human impacts have shrunk the Delaware’s adult spawning population to fewer than 300.”

The situation would likely be even worse for this federally endangered species if the Tocks Island Dam had been built, since dams on other waterways have blocked sturgeon migration.

“The primary threats currently facing Atlantic sturgeon are entanglement in fishing gear, habitat degradation, habitat impediments, such as dams and other barriers, and vessel strikes,” says NOAA Fisheries, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Removal of outdated dams or providing ways for fish to get around those dams can greatly improve Atlantic sturgeon access to historical habitats. NOAA Fisheries works with conservation organizations, energy companies, states, tribes, and citizens to evaluate barriers and improve fish passage,” the office says.

More:Nature at risk: This dinosaur-era fish of the Delaware River is on the brink

On the other end of Pennsylvania, lake sturgeon have declined in Lake Erie, as they have in the rest of the Great Lakes.

Overfishing “nearly eliminated” the species from the Great Lakes in the early 1900s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Since 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Toledo Zoo have been stocking young sturgeon in the Maumee River, which connects with the western end of Lake Erie. Because they are not yet of reproductive age, it’s too early to know how successful the program could be.

Eastern hellbender: Pennsylvania's state amphibian and the country’s biggest salamander

Hellbenders are Pennsylvania’s state amphibian and North America’s largest salamander. Although they are not listed as endangered or threatened, their fates are in our hands.

“While raccoons may be one of the only natural predators of adult eastern hellbenders, humans are a significant contributor to the hellbender's mortality,” Penn State Extension says. “Relying on cutaneous gas exchange for oxygen absorption, eastern hellbenders are excellent indicators of water quality.”

In other words: They absorb oxygen through their skin, and that’s difficult in low-quality water.

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Risks come from “sedimentation from excessive erosion coming from dirt and gravel roads, incompatible agriculture, or pipeline projects,” emailed Eric Chapman, senior director of aquatic science at Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. “Climate change is also exacerbating the effects of the above due to much more frequent high intensity rain events which translates to increased runoff which chokes out hellbender habitat.”

Some states are helping the species out by releasing juveniles born through breeding programs, but Pennsylvania “is blessed with some amazing hellbender populations and I don’t think we need to be bolstering populations yet,” Chapman said.

Though large (9 to 25 inches in adulthood, according to Penn State), you shouldn’t expect to see them often.

“Hellbenders are mostly nocturnal, except in the breeding season, so seeing one in the wild is a rare treat!” Chapman said.

Indiana bats are fighting fungus among other issues

This small bat is on endangered species lists nationally and in Pennsylvania. Luzerne County is among the 11 Pennsylvania counties where the species is known to hibernate, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

“Declines in this species are due to multiple factors including habitat loss, environmental contaminants, human activities and disease. The most crippling of these factors is a fungus known as white-nose syndrome,” the Penn State Extension says.

“The fungus can attach to people's clothes, shoes, or equipment and can be transported by humans exploring caves. The infection can cause strange behaviors in bats such as flying outside during the day and during winter hibernation. This behavior causes them to use up their stored resources needed to survive through the winter,” Penn State adds.

In addition to staying out of caves during hibernation season, humans can also help the species by preserving trees that make for good roosting locations in the summer.

“Summer roosts are typically behind exfoliating bark of large, often dead, trees,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service advises.

Eastern massasauga: An endangered rattlesnake hiding in plain sight

This rattlesnake is on the endangered species list in Pennsylvania and the threatened list federally.

“Massasauga populations have declined from 19 historic locations in Western Pennsylvania to four currently known locations,” emailed Ryan Miller, a zoologist with the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. “These locations have always been relatively small isolated areas of habitat and wetlands. However, woody vegetation succession and habitat destruction is still causing these limited areas of habitat to shrink in size (even the last four remaining sites in Pennsylvania).”

In addition to habitat destruction and the growth of trees and shrubs in the massasauga’s “preferred open, old-field, herbaceous-grassland habitats,” the species is also at risk from “Wanton killing and human persecution,” Miller said.

The conservancy is “working with other agencies, conservation partners, and landowners to remove woody vegetation from their habitats through cutting and mowing during the winter when the snakes are hibernating. Also, WPC has purchased property specifically for the Massasauga and conducted restoration activities to make it more suitable for it and numerous other wildlife species that share its habitat,” he said.

The species is venomous, but it’s also shy, Miller said.

“It relies on its camouflage pattern and prefers to remain quiet and hidden. I have stepped within inches of massasaugas numerous times and they have laid perfectly quiet and still and let me walk past." Miller continued. "I have documented Massasaugas basking in gardens for a full summer because at the time it was the only open habitat available."

"People can coexist with this animal as long as there is an understanding of their requirements to survive and cooperation.” He said.

— Kathryne Rubright covers politics and the environment in northeast Pennsylvania, and is based at the Pocono Record. Reach her by emailing krubright@gannett.com.