The copperhead is also called the death adder, chunk head, and dry-land moccasin. Its scientific name is Agkistrodon contortrix. It is a pit viper, and like all pit vipers, it is an ambush predator. The copperhead will sit and wait in dry leaf matter waiting for an animal to come into its path.
Behavior
Unlike many of the viperids in North America, the copperhead will not flee the area if confronted by a human. Instead it will coil up and freeze. (The attached species photo was taken in a patch of dry leaves in North Texas. We were able to get many photos of the copperhead because it did not slither away from the area.)
What do Copperheads eat?
About 90 percent of the diet of a copperhead consists of mice, voles, and other small rodents. They will also eat frogs and large insects (such as cicadas).
Chelydra serpentina, the Common Snapping Turtle, ranges from southeastern Canada south through Central America to Ecuador. It is known, like the much larger Alligator Snapping Turtle, as a snapping turtle.
What does the Common Snapping Turtle like to eat?
The common snapping turtle will eat a wide variety of plants and animals. It is considered omnivorous, meaning that it eats plants and animals. Some of its favorite foods include frogs, toads, crabs, crayfish, small insects, snails, leaches, and earthworms.
No, Gharials are not crocodiles per se, but they are in the Crocodilian order. The Order Crocodilia is divided up into Crocodiles, Alligators, and Gharials. There are only two living species of gharial and both live in India and the Malayan peninsula. This particular species, known simply as the gharial or Indian gavial, is one of three crocodilians found in India. It is also one of the largest reptilian carnivores in the world. Luckily for the inhabitants of the surrounding area, it does not prey on humans!
Distribution
The Gharial is found in India. Even within India however, it is critically endangered, meaning its on the brink of extinction.
How Long Does the Gharial Live?
The gharial is one of the longest living crocodilians in the world; it can survive for 50 to 60 years.
The Shovelnose Tiger Catfish (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum) is also known as the Barred Sorubium and the Tiger Shovelnose Catfish. This catfish is popular with aquarium enthusiasts and fishermen alike. It is native to the Amazon Basin and can be found in such countries as Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, and Paraguay. In the Amazon it is considered a sport fish and is reported to be very tasty.
How Big do Shovelnose Catfish Get?
If you find this fish in a pet store it will likely be about three inches but be warned that it will grow much bigger. In only a few years the fish can easily reach two feet in length. In its native streams this fish can get over 60 pounds. Females are the larger of the sexes and reach sexual maturity at 56 cm while males are mature at 45 cm.
Can I have one of these as a pet?
This fish usually goes by the name of Tiger Shovelnose Catfish in the aquarium trade. For more information about feeding, and raising these shovelnose catfish we’ve provided some links below.
Where does it live: Bottom to Middle regions of the tank. Tank Size: Small individuals under 6 inches should be in at least a 55 gallon tank. After 6 inches it should be in a 180 gallon or larger tank with open swimming areas. Water Chemistry: pH 6-8, 4-30 dH, 75-82 degrees F Social Behavior: Active Nocturnal Predator. It will eat smaller fish in the tank. It should live in groups or singly with other large, hardy fish. Food: Live fish, earthworms, tablets, meat scraps. Other: The Shovelnose Tiger Catfish is the most popular of the five Pseudoplatystoma species. It is a popular food fish in South America where it can be found easily in local fish markets.
The Coelacanth was once thought to be simply an extinct lobe-finned fish that was only known from fossils. Not any more. When the first Coelacanth, now known as the West Indian Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae), was discovered off the Chalumna River in South Africa in 1938 it changed the way we looked at this fish from the past.
Other Good Videos of the Coelacanth
In this short video Dr. John McCosker talkes about the prehistoric coelacanth and his travels to the Comoro Islands, off the coast of Madagascar.
The Sea Lamprey belongs to a group of fishes called Lampreys. They are by far some of the most primitive fish, along with hagfish. They are called cyclostomes, meaning ’round mouths’ which refers to their lack of jaws. Instead of jaws, sea lamprey have a round, sucker mouth full of many grasping teeth. Sea lampreys also lack bone. Instead they have a skeleton of cartilage.
Anadromous Fish
Just like Salmon and Alewives, the Sea Lamprey is a fish that swims into freshwater to breed. There are lampreys that never migrate to the ocean, though.
An Invasion
In 1835 the fish was introduced to Lake Ontario. In 1921 the Sea Lamprey invaded Lake Erie via the Welland Canal. They rapidly conlonized the lake and are causing big problems with the fisheries. They have large infestations now in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and reports by scientists are that one lamprey can eat up to 40 pounds of fish in a year.
Control of the Sea Lamprey
Sea Lampreys reached peak numbers in the 1950s and scientists were working to find a way to control them. In 1958 they found the chemical TFM which selectively kills sea lamprey larvae in the spawning grounds. This chemical has now decreased the numbers of lampreys to about 10 percent of their peak poplulation. The worry today, however, is that the surviving lampreys may develop a resistance to the chemical or begin breeding in deeper wates, where the lampricide is not effective.
More information
Alien Profile: Sea Lamprey
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
International Sea Lamprey Management on the St. Mary’s River: Everyone Wins…But the Sea Lampreys
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Sea Lamprey: The Battle Continues
Minnesota Sea Grant
Sea Lamprey: A Great Lakes Invader
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Sea Lamprey Assessment: Improving Control Through Better Understanding
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Sea Lamprey Barriers: New Technologies Help Solve an Old Problem
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Sea Lamprey Control
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Sea Lamprey in the Great Lakes Region
Great Lakes Information Network
Sterile-Male-Release-Technique: An Innovative Sea Lamprey Control Method
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
TFM and Sea Lamprey Control: A Success Story
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
The Pacific Hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii) or Slime Eel, is one of about 60 known species of hagfish. Its a very unusual looking creature. It looks less like a fish than a small rubber tube with a mounth on one end. The mouth has small sensory barbels.
The particular hagfish lives in the mesopelagic to the abyssal regions of the Pacific ocean. It is one of the few fishes that lack jaws and it thus thought to be a living remnanat of when fishes first evolved int he Paleozoic Era.
Hagfish Slime
The Pacific Hagfish is known for producing a great deal of slime when disturbed. The slime is a combination of protiens that mix with the salt water to swell and expand into a giant protective layer around the animal. Its believed that this slime is used as an anti-predatory device to keep them from being eaten by would-be-predators.
If placed into a bucket they can actually fill the bucket with slime in a relatively short time. In the wild they are able to free themselves from this slime cocoon by tying themselves into a knot and then sliding the knot down their body until they are no longer coated.
Where do I find hagfish?
Hagfish like the Pacific Hagfish can be found most easily feeding on dead carcases that float down from the surface. An ideal place might be on a dead whale. The hagfish have a unique way of feeding by eating an animal from the inside out.
Interesting Facts:
Hagfish are eaten in Japan and other Asian countries
Another Interesting Hagfish Video:
This video shows hagfish feeding on a dead whale carcass.
If you’re clicking here, chances are you’ve seen a white squirrel. You’re not alone. In fact, I currently curate the white and albino squirrel research in the US (as far as I know I’m the only one doing this). The best part is, we’re still doing this research and your spot can help answer some important questions! If you want to help, keep reading and check out this little video I made about them:
What is a White Squirrel?
White squirrels are almost always a white version of the eastern grey squirrel. There are a few types of genetic aberrations that cause the white coats. The first is albinism, caused by a mutation on a gene that codes for pigmentation. Albinos have red eyes. The other is a white morph, caused by a different gene. It is a naturally occurring trait of eastern grey squirrels that is very, very rare. In our study, we’re trying to figure out just how rare.
Photo taken by Theodore W. Hatem (prettygoodpix.com)
Why are there white squirrels?
For some odd reason, eastern grey squirrels in the US do have a gene that will make their coats white. It’s somewhat rare to see a white squirrel, though, because white squirrels are likely highly selected against. In other words, predators to squirrels such as hawks really like it when their prey is highlighted white!
There are a few towns in the US, though, that have very high numbers of white squirrels. This could be for a few reasons. First, predators in towns tend to be low. This cancels out the negative selection against the white morph. Sometimes in towns, a few neighbors will also select against the normal coloration of eastern grey squirrel. Yes, that happens. After a few generations, all you get are whites, and they can spread to the rest of the town! Fascinating!
I get lots of emails from people telling me what they’ve found. I want to hear from you too! If you’ve seen one please fill out this short report. Let me know if it was an albino or a white morph (albinos have red eyes). Also, give me very specific location information. We’re trying to map them and look at the abundance in urban and rural settings!
Where do you find White Squirrels? The latest map
The following map represents nearly 700 accounts that I’ve received over the last 3 years from people sending me email reports (thank you). I think you’ll find it extremely interesting. Even if your area is on the map, you should still send me an account!
How Can I Tell a White Morph from an Albino White Squirrel?
This is a great question and has a pretty simple answer. Albinism manifests as a lack of pigment in the eyes and skin of squirrels. That means you’re looking for squirrels with red eyes. Sometimes it’s hard to see from a distance, so look hard! I’m really interested in getting good reports that can distinguish the two (but no matter what, let me know what you saw).
Interesting Findings
So, after a good field season, I can offer a few interesting findings. Understand that results such as abundance should be seen mostly as an estimation and may be given as a range. The reason for this is that I find many people have a hard time distinguishing a white morph and an albino. Because of this, I use my best guess from the photos or accounts.
Here is what I found. First, about 70 to 80 percent of the findings tend to be white morphs. The rest are albinos. Almost all of the reports I’ve received are Eastern Grey Squirrels. I think the genes are present mostly in this species. However, I have also received a handful of reports of fox squirrel morphs, all of which I’ve confirmed with photos. These fox squirrels are generally not completely white but more of a blonde color. I discovered that the eastern grey squirrel has been introduced into California and South Africa because of white squirrel reports in those two areas. The reports in Colorado also seem to be an extension of the white squirrel range.
Thanks for sharing in the white squirrel fun with me. Remember, if you have seen a white squirrel and haven’t already filled out the report form, this is the best way to help. Click this link to fill out the report.
Capsicum annuum is the species of many sweet peppers and hot chili fruit, including the Bell Pepper. Some of the cultivars of this species are aleppo, anaheim, ancho, cascabel pepper, cayenne, guajillo, Italian sweet pepper, jalapeno, mirasol, puya, serrano, and tien tsin.
Bell Pepper Native to the Americas
The Bell Pepper is native to the Americas from Mexico south to northern South America. It was only when the Americas were discovered that the seeds spread to Europe and Asia.
What’s in a name?
Have you ever wondered why pepper is a name that designates two biologically different plants? Black peppers come from the inflorescence of a Piper vine. Bell Peppers come from a deadly nightshade. Black Peppers were already known to Europeans when Christopher Columbus brought back the first Capiscum to Europe. In fact, peppercorns were highly prized in Europe. The resulting name was really just a misrepresentation of the plant.
The alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is related to the common snapping turtle. The alligator snapping turtle, however, is considered the largest freshwater turtle in the world. It can live for more than 150 years and can grow to over 220 pounds!
Where is the Alligator Snapping Turtle Found?
Alligator snapping turtles live in the southeastern United States. They are found as far north as Chicago and as far west as Texas (map originally from National Geographic).
Reproduction
Female alligator snapping turtle lay only one batch of eggs per year. Males never leave the water, while females crawl out of the water to lay 25 to 30 eggs. They dig a small hole and place them within. From the time of laying, it takes 11 to 16 weeks for eggs to mature and hatch.
Unlike humans, turtles (as well as other related reptiles) the sex of the offspring are determined by the temperature of the eggs during incubation. Females are produced when the egg temperature is higher than a certain mean temperature, and males are produced when the egg temperature is lower than this mean temperature. (An easy way to remember this is “hot chicks, cool dudes.”) However, snapping turtles are different. According to David Madge, D.Sc., snapping turtles produce females at high and low temperature extremes, while males are produced at intermediate temperatures.
Baby Snapping Turtles
When young alligator snapping turtles hatch, they are two to three inches long and already look just like the adults. From the time of hatching, it takes 11 to 13 years before a turtle becomes reproductively mature and can start the life cycle again.
How long do Alligator Snapping Turtles live?
On average, an alligator snapping turtle will live for about 60 years. However, there have been reports of snapping turtles with bullets from the civil war in their carapace. This indicates that they can live up to 150 years.
What do Alligator Snapping Turtles eat?
These turtles eat almost anything they can get a hold of. Their primary diet consists of fish and invertebrates. Alligator snapping turtles are sit-and-wait ambush predators. Typically they lay on the mud at the bottom of a lake or stream. To attract their prey they expose a small, worm-like tongue that wiggles. When the small prey approaches, the jaws snap shut.
