Geastrum saccatum, commonly known as the rounded earthstar, is a species of mushroom belonging to the genus Geastrum. It has a worldwide distribution and is found growing on rotting wood. It is considered inedible by mushroomers because of its bitter taste. It is a common mushroom, but collections are at their peak during late summer. The opening of the outer layer of the fruiting body in the characteristic star shape is thought to be due to a buildup of calcium oxalate crystals immediately prior to dehiscence. G. saccatum is distinguished from other earthstars by the distinct circular ridge or depression surrounding the central pore. In Brazil, its common name translates to "star of the land".


The immature fruiting body is 0.6 to 2.5 centimetres (1⁄4 to 1 in) in diameter and 0.8 to 1.5 cm (3⁄8 to 5⁄8 in) tall. Initially, the fruiting body is egg-shaped—similar in appearance to puffballs—and has strands of mycelia (rhizomorphs) at the base that attach it to the growing surface. The 'skin,' or peridium, is composed of two separate layers: the outer layer (exoperidium), which is a golden tan to yellowish-brown color, separates away from the inner basidiocarp and splits into five to eight rays that curve backward (recurve) to the base. The mushroom is 2 to 5 cm (3⁄4 to 2 in) in diameter after the rays have expanded. Unlike some other members of the genus Geastrum (such as G. fornicatum) the arms do not push the basidiocarp off the ground; rather, it lies flat. The inner spore-bearing basidiocarp is 0.5 to 2 cm (1⁄4 to 3⁄4 in) broad, and has a central pore surrounded by a circular dull-brown apical disc; the disc is distinctly ridged or depressed. The inside of the interior sphere is white when young, but matures into a mass of brown, powdery spores mixed with thick-walled fibres known as capillitium. The species is inedible.


Geastrum saccatum is saprobic, and grows scattered or clustered together in leaf litter of humus, usually in late summer and fall. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, and is well adapted to tropical regions. It is common in Hawaiian dry forests. The species has been collected in the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Canada, China, Congo, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, South Africa, West Africa, Tanzania, India,  and Tobago.


The Ecuadorian hermit crab (Coenobita compressus) also known as the Pacific hermit crab is a species of land hermit crab. It is one of the two land hermit crabs commonly sold in North America as pets, the other being the Caribbean hermit crab (C. clypeatus).


Coenobita compressus is a member of the phylum Arthropoda and the class Malacostraca. They can be up to 12 mm (0.47 in) in length and are thought to be one of the smallest species of land hermit crabs. They have four walking legs, a small pincer, a large pincer, and antennae. Many people who keep these hermit crabs as pets notice that Ecuadorian crabs can be relatively fast walkers, even faster than Caribbean hermit crabs, and that they are quite active. Their eyes are more oval-shaped when compared to the round eyes of Caribbean hermit crabs and are thicker. Their big claw has four or five small ridges on the upper part. The tips of the second pair of walking legs are darker than the rest of the leg. The abdomen of the Ecuadorian hermit crab is short and fat.
Ecuadorian hermit crabs vary greatly in colour, some are bright (yellow, dark grey, or orange), but more often they are a tan colour. Sometimes, they may have a blue or green tint to their bodies or the insides of their legs.  They also have comma-shaped eyes, unlike the "purple pincher" (C. clypeatus), which has dot-shaped eyes.
When choosing a shell, they tend to give preference to shells with a wide and round aperture. As with all hermit crabs, painted shells are harmful to them, as they often eat the paint chips and can be poisoned with chemicals used in the paint. This significantly shortens their lives.


Although the red is better known, the eastern grey is the kangaroo most often encountered in Australia, due to its adaptability. Few Australians visit the arid interior of the continent, while many live in and around the major cities of the southern and eastern coast, from where it is usually only a short drive to the remaining pockets of near-city bushland where kangaroos can be found without much difficulty. The eastern grey prefers open grassland with areas of bush for daytime shelter and mainly inhabits the wetter parts of Australia. It also inhabits coastal areas, woodlands, sub-tropical forests, mountain forests, and inland scrubs.
Like all kangaroos, it is mainly nocturnal and crepuscular, and is mostly seen early in the morning, or as the light starts to fade in the evening. In the middle of the day, kangaroos rest in the cover of the woodlands and eat there but then come out in the open to feed on the grasslands in large numbers. The eastern grey kangaroo is predominantly a grazer, eating a wide variety of grasses, whereas some other species (e.g. the red kangaroo) include significant amounts of shrubs in their diet.


The eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) is a marsupial found in the eastern third of Australia, with a population of several million. It is also known as the great grey kangaroo and the forester kangaroo. Although a big eastern grey male typically weighs around 66 kg (146 lb) and stands almost 2 m (6 ft 7 in) tall, the scientific name, Macropus giganteus (gigantic large-foot), is misleading: the red kangaroo of the semi-arid inland is larger, weighing up to 90 kg (200 lb).


The sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) is a lacertid lizard distributed across most of Europe from France and across the continent to Lake Baikal in Russia. It does not occur in European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy. In the sand lizard's northern populations, such as in Great Britain, it is only able to survive along coastal heathlands where the sand is hot enough to incubate their eggs.
Males are known for their bright colorations and aggressive behaviors when competing for females. Their mating process is unique because of its relatively short time period and because males are generally more selective with who they mate with than females. Females typically only lay a single clutch in a year.
Sand lizards spend most of their time basking, foraging, or under vegetation and prefer to live in diverse habitats. Males have their own home territories that are very wide and often overlap with other males. These males compete with each other while females have smaller home territories that neighbor each other and will sometimes share habitats with each other. They can live for up to ten years and because of this relatively long lifespan, they are sometimes subject to inbreeding and producing malformed offspring.


The sand lizard is a sexually dimorphic legged lizard. In northwest Europe, both sexes are characterised by lateral and dorsal strips of ocellated (eye-shaped) markings, dark patches with pale centres. Colouration varies across their European and Russian range. Males have finer markings than females, and their flanks turn bright green during the spring mating season, fading again in the late summer. Male adults may reach a total body length of 19.3 cm, where female adults may reach 18.5 cm.
It has several subspecies, the westernmost of which is L. a. agilis. In this and the other main western subspecies (L. a. argus), the dorsal stripe is thin and interrupted, or not present at all.  This applies particularly to the latter subspecies, which also includes a plain red or brown-backed phase without any dorsal markings. In these two subspecies, only the flanks of the males turn green in the mating season, but in the eastern subspecies (predominantly L. a. exigua), males can be wholly green, even outside the breeding season.
Most of these lizards live in Eastern Europe. They are mostly common in Poland, Czech Republic, and countries around that area.
They bask on rocks in the day and at night they go into their holes under ground. To protect themselves, they pop off their tails and bite the predators.
Male sand lizards are known for their nuptial areas showing very green coloration, this coloration has been shown to be brighter depending on body mass and fighting ability. Males with brighter colors were more likely to initiate aggressive behaviors and win fights, which generally leads to them having a higher mating success.
Sand lizards can live for over ten years, with their average lifespan lasting between 5–6 years.


The sand lizard can be found in a variety of habitat. They prefer dry habitats such as outcrops, fields, hills, beaches, heathland, sand dunes, and rock gardens. While in continental Europe the sand lizard has a wide variety of habitat, in colder places like Great Britain they depend on sand to incubate their eggs and such are restricted to coastal habitats.
Male sand lizards have home ranges with an extremely high amount of overlap; however, female sand lizards have much smaller home ranges (generally less than 100 meters squared) that neighbor each other or they will even share burrows or basking areas with each other. They highly prefer and are much more active in areas with a wide variety of structural characteristics. This can create different temperature micro areas that they are able to move between depending on their needs.


Generally, males reach sexual maturity at a smaller size compared with females. Vitellogenesis happens when females are 45 days for the whole population. Both sexes tend to lose body fat during mating period, since their main energy resources come from body fat and from the liver and proximal at the tail. After a few weeks from the hibernation, male adults become extremely aggressive towards each other, trying to mate as many females as they can.
The female sand lizard lays eggs in loose sand in a sunny location, leaving them to be incubated by the warmth of the ground.
Female sand lizards usually only lay a single clutch each year and clutch sizes that range between six and 15 eggs in a single one. However, there is a lot of variation in the time of year when females end up laying their eggs. But generally a single female sand lizard has a relatively consistent egg laying timing from year-to-year, with the first ones to do so generally being larger, more physically fit females. These early clutches ended up producing offspring that were larger, more successful, and had higher survival rates. Generally offspring from earlier clutches were higher quality offspring.
When female sand lizards produce larger clutch sizes, the size of each individual offspring in it has been observed to decrease. On the opposite side, smaller clutch sizes had fewer, but larger, offspring. When food resources were increased so it was not a limiting factor, clutch size increased significantly, so it is likely that sand lizards produce clutch sizes with different offspring sizes based on resource availability. The other factor that contributes is the physical constraints of the space available to lay their clutches in.


Sarpa salpa, known commonly as the dreamfish, salema, salema porgy, cow bream or goldline, is a species of sea bream, recognisable by the golden stripes that run down the length of its body, and which can cause ichthyoallyeinotoxism when eaten.
It is found in the East Atlantic, where it ranges from the Bay of Biscay to South Africa, as well as in the Mediterranean. It has occasionally been found as far north as Great Britain. It is generally common and found from near the surface to a depth of 70 m (230 ft). Males are typically  15 to 30 cm (6–12 in) in length, while females are usually 31 to 45 cm (12–18 in). The maximum size is 51 cm (20 in).
Sarpa salpa became widely known for its ichthyoallyeinotoxic effects following widely publicized articles in 2006, when two men ingested it at a Mediterranean restaurant and began to experience many auditory and visual hallucinogenic effects. These hallucinations, described as frightening, were reported to have occurred two hours after the fish was ingested and had a total duration of 36 hours.
The fish, and especially its viscera, have been assessed as potentially unsafe by a study conducted on Mediterranean specimens. It is believed that the fish ingests a particular algae or phytoplankton which renders it ichthyoallyeinotoxic.


The chamois is native to the Pyrenees, the mountains of south and central Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus. It lives in precipitous, rugged, rocky terrain at moderately high elevations of up to at least 3,600 m (11,800 ft). In Europe, the chamois spends the summer months in alpine meadows above the tree line, but moves to elevations of around 800 m (2,600 ft) to spend the winter in pine-dominated forests.


Female chamois and their young live in herds of up to 15 to 30 individuals; adult males tend to live solitarily for most of the year. During the rut (late November/early December in Europe, May in New Zealand), males engage in fierce battles for the attention of unmated females. An impregnated female undergoes a gestation period of 170 days, after which a single kid is usually born in May or early June.  On rare occasions, twins may be born. If a mother is killed, other females in the herd may try to raise the young. The kid is weaned at six months of age and is fully grown by one year of age. However, the kids do not reach sexual maturity until they are three to four years old, although some females may mate at as early two years old. At sexual maturity, young males are forced out of their mother's herds by dominant males (who sometimes kill them), and then wander somewhat nomadically until they can establish themselves as mature breeding specimens at eight to nine years of age.
Chamois eat various types of vegetation, including highland grasses and herbs during the summer and conifers, barks and needles from trees in winter. Primarily diurnal in activity, they often rest around mid-day and may actively forage during moonlit nights.
Chamois can reach an age of 22 years in captivity, although the average recorded age in the wild ranges from 15 to 17 years. Common causes of mortality can include avalanches, epidemics and predation. At present, humans are the main predator of chamois. In the past, the principal predators were Eurasian lynxes, Persian leopards and gray wolves; with some predation possibly by brown bears and golden eagles. Chamois usually use speed and stealthy evasion to escape predators and can run at 50 kilometers per hour (31 mph) and can jump 2 m (6.6 ft) vertically into the air or over a distance of 6 m (20 ft).


The chamois or Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Rila–Rhodope massif, Pindus, the northeastern mountains of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand. Some subspecies of chamois are strictly protected in the EU under the European Habitats Directive.


The smooth toadfish is found along Australia's eastern and southeast coast, from Moreton Bay in southeastern Queensland to Port Lincoln in South Australia as well as Kangaroo Island and Tasmania. It is one of the most abundant fishes in the muddy areas of Port Philip Bay. It generally lives in shallow water less than 3 m (10 ft) deep, often over mudflats in estuaries. In areas of seagrass beds, smooth toadfish are more commonly found in sand areas bordering on the seagrass patches. They are more commonly found in seagrass patches in water less than 1.5 m (5 ft) deep rather than deeper water of 3.5–6 m (11–20 ft). A South Australian field study on wrack and associated fauna found that the smooth toadfish was associated with larger volumes and aggregations containing green algae.
Although its movements are poorly known, tagging patterns indicate that the smooth toadfish spends most of its life cycle and reproduces in estuaries. It can venture well into freshwater past brackish areas. In 1964 a school of toadfish were found in the Lang Lang River at the South Gippsland Highway—34 km (21 mi) from Western Port Bay and well beyond tidal areas.


The smooth toadfish (Tetractenos glaber) is a species of fish in the pufferfish family Tetraodontidae. It is native to shallow coastal and estuarine waters of southeastern Australia, where it is widespread and abundant. French naturalist Christophe-Paulin de La Poix de Fréminville described the species in 1813, though early records confused it with its close relative, the common toadfish (T. hamiltonii). The two are the only members of the genus Tetractenos after going through several taxonomic changes since discovery.
Up to 16 cm (6+1⁄4 in) long with distinctive leopard-like dark markings on its dorsal side, the smooth toadfish has a rounded front and tapers to a narrow tail at the back. Unlike most of its relatives, it does not have prominent spines on its body. Like other pufferfish, it can inflate itself with water or air. It forages for its preferred foods—molluscs and crustaceans—in sand and mud of the bottom sediment. Often an unwanted catch by anglers, the smooth toadfish is highly poisonous because of the tetrodotoxin present in its body, and eating it may result in death.


The smooth toadfish has strong jaws that readily crush shellfish and crustaceans. It feeds predominantly on benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms in the substrate of the bodies of water in which it forages. Its diet includes molluscs such as black mussels, pipis, white sunset shells (Soletellina alba) and oysters (Crassostrea), crustaceans such as semaphore crabs and shrimp, and brown algae. The proportions of crustaceans to molluscs can vary widely depending on the abundance of food items; hence in a 1999 field study, the soldier crab (Mictyris longicarpus) predominated in Cowan Creek while the black mussel did so in nearby Berowra Creek. Field experiments showed it was a consumer of oysters and the gastropod Bembicium auratum, and had a major impact on their numbers.
Because it is a common estuarine fish, it has been used in studies of heavy metal contamination in coastal waters. Fish tested around Sydney showed uptake was highest in the gonads, then muscle, gills and liver. It is unclear why metal concentrations were lower in toadfish livers (compared with studies of contamination in other fish) but their liver cells may be more effective at removing these elements. Lead, cadmium and nickel levels corresponded with those in the sediment from which the fish were taken, suggesting dietary intake. The gonads of male fish had twenty times as much arsenic as those of females, while the gills of female fish contained thirty times as much lead as those of males. Raised levels of arsenic, cobalt, cadmium and lead in gills suggested the fish absorbed these from the surrounding water. An experiment exposing smooth toadfish to radioactive cadmium and selenium in either food or water found that cadmium in food was taken up in and excreted by the liver, while cadmium in water was taken up in the gut lining and excreted in liver, gills and kidney, indicating the fish were consuming a lot of water. Selenium was taken up in the gills, kidneys and liver regardless of whether it was in food or water. Fieldwork in Sydney waterways showed that higher arsenic, lead, cadmium and cobalt corresponded with decreased lipid levels in liver and gonadal tissue, and raised cobalt and nickel correspond to increased protein levels in muscle, liver and gonadal tissue. Raised lead levels were consistent with smaller egg size. A study of asymmetry of fish bones in smooth toadfish in various parts of Sydney and Hawkesbury River estuaries showed a relationship between exposure to organochlorine pesticides but not heavy metals, indicating the finding may correlate to stress from organic toxicity.


Notorious for taking bait from fish hooks, the smooth toadfish is an unwanted catch for anglers as its flesh is highly poisonous and unfit for human consumption. Its lack of spines makes it easier to handle than other toadfish when it inflates itself after being caught. Its toxicity had been reported by local aborigines in Sydney to William Dawes in the late 18th century. A man named John Buff was fatally poisoned after catching and eating toadfish in Duck River in 1821 near Parramatta; his case and subsequent coroner's inquest were published in the Sydney Gazette. The smooth toadfish was responsible for the deaths of the wife and two children of Captain Bell of New Town near Hobart in a widely publicised case in March 1831. Colonial surgeon James Scott wrote,
"The melancholy and dreadful effect produced by eating it was lately instanced in the neighbourhood of Hobart town ... The poison is of a powerful sedative nature, producing stupor, loss of speech, deglutition, vision and the power of the voluntary muscles, and ultimately an entire deprivation of nervous power and death."
An inquest into the deaths took place on 29 March 1831. The family's three servants, one of whom appeared to have been poisoned as well and was ill, were placed in custody separately to stop them communicating with each other while the investigation proceeded. The jury replicated the effects by feeding the fish to (and poisoning) two cats. The jury learnt that the servant, Speed, had caught the 20 or so fish and taken them home to eat. A neighbour called out to him not to eat the fish as they were "no good", but he took it as a joke. The inquest concluded with a finding of accidental death, with some deliberation over whether Speed should have been charged with manslaughter or even murder after hearing the warning. Warnings about toadfish were subsequently issued.
Its toxicity is due to tetrodotoxin, which is concentrated particularly in the liver, ovaries, intestines and skin. Many species of pufferfish bear this toxin, obtaining it from tetrodotoxin-containing bacteria in their diet. Eating the fish can have fatal consequences. The symptoms of poisoning, which are predominantly neurological, include ataxia, in addition to numbness and/or paraesthesia (tingling) around the mouth, lips, and limb extremities. Cases of pets being poisoned have occurred when the fish have been left where they can eat them.


With a total adult length of anywhere from 3 to 16 cm (1+1⁄8–6+1⁄4 in), the smooth toadfish has an elongate body with a rounded back and flattened belly. The body narrows posteriorly to the slender tail, and its fins are all elongate and rounded. The dorsal fin has 9 to 11 rays. The pectoral fin has 15 to 18 rays, the first of which is very short. It arises well below the level of the eye. The anal fin has 7–9 rays and caudal fin has 11. The smooth toadfish has a small mouth with thin lips at its apex and a tiny chin. The round eyes are adnate (unable to rotate), their upper border is level with the profile of the back and the lower border is well above the mouth. In a slightly depressed area just in front of the eyes are two small nipple-shaped structures (papillae) that are the nasal organs. The openings face to the rear of the fish and are closed by flaps attached to the walls closest to the fish's midline. The first pharyngobranchial gill arch is elongated and narrow with many tiny teeth. The smooth toadfish has tiny spines that are entirely within the skin layer; these run along its back from the nasal organs almost to the dorsal fin, and along its sides from the eye to the pectoral fine, and along its underparts from behind its mouth to its vent. The skin is smooth even when the fish is fully inflated. It swallows water or air via a flap in its throat to swell itself up.
The base colour of the upperparts is pale tan to yellow-green, heavily marked with irregular brown spots in a reticulated pattern, and several broad dark brown bands, including ones between the eyes, between the pectoral fins and at the level of the dorsal fin. Reminiscent of a leopard's spots, the reticulated pattern continues on the upper lateral side along the body of the fish, becoming silver-white on the lower lateral parts. The chin and belly are white. The fins have a faint yellow-orange tinge, more noticeably in the tail fin. Fieldwork in Sydney waters found females to be larger and heavier than males. Smooth toadfish grow steadily larger as they grow older, with one  16 cm (6+1⁄4 in) long individual calculated to be 13 years old from examination of its otoliths. Their gonads develop when they reach a total length of about 7–8 cm (2+3⁄4–3+1⁄8 in). The smooth toadfish can be distinguished from the otherwise similar common toadfish by its lack of spines and its larger- and bolder-patterned markings on its upperparts.


This small cone snail is unusual, in that most cone snail species are tropical, whereas this species lives in the cooler, temperate waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, including most of the coast of California. The range of this species is from the Farallon Islands near San Francisco to Bahia Magdalena, in Baja California, Mexico.
This cone is found in both rocky and sandy areas, in the intertidal zone, and subtidally down to 30 meters depth.


The California cone hunts and eats marine worms, fish, and other mollusks. It is also a scavenger.


This shell is distinguished by its grayish-brown color and thick periostracum. It is round-shouldered with the aperture broader at the base. The spire is flat-sided, and the height of the shell ranges from 25–40 mm.


The Cascade golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus saturatus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae, in the order Rodentia. It is the largest species of the three within the genus Callospermophilus. It is found in the Cascade Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada and the state of Washington, United States.


The fungus is a choice edible when still immature and the inner flesh is white. Additionally, one guide says that the puffballs are edible when densely fruited. They can be used fresh, or cut into thin slices for drying, which can then be pulverized for use as a flavoring powder.
Caution should be used as the similar-looking Scleroderma citrinum and other species of Scleroderma are inedible.


The fruit body of the pear-shaped puffball measures 1.5 to 4.5 cm in width by 2 to 4.5 cm in height. They are often pear-shaped as the name suggests, but they may also be nearly spherical. When very young they are covered in small white spines that typically fall off before maturity. A small developing pore may be visible at the top, while the sterile base of the mushroom is small and appears to be pinched in. Colour ranges from nearly white to yellowish brown with the darker shades developing with age, though the base remains white. The central pore ruptures at late maturity to allow the wind and rain to disperse the spores. The base is attached to the wood by means of rhizomorphs (thick, cord-like strands of mycelium).
The gleba, or inner spore mass, is white when young, but it becomes greenish-yellow to dark olive-brown with age. The spores measure 3 to 4.5 µm and are round, smooth and a dark olive-brown in colour.
Lycoperdon perlatum is a similar species.


S. variabilis is one of the smaller species of the genus Sceloporus. Adults may attain a snout-vent length (SVL) of 54 mm (2.1 in).  With unbroken tails, they may reach a maximum total length of 140 mm (5.5 in).
Dorsally, it is tan or olive, with a double series of dark brown spots.  There are two yellowish dorsolateral stripes, one at each side of the back. Males are darker on the side below the dorsolateral stripe. Ventrally, it is dirty white or yellowish. Males have a large pink blotch on each side of the belly, which is bordered with dark blue, and they also have a black mark on the axilla.
The supraoculars are small, and they are bordered medially by a row of small scales, which prevent them from contacting the median head shields. The dorsal scales are keeled, pointed, and spiny. There are 58-69 dorsal scales from the interparietal shield to the base of the tail. A postfemoral pocket is present.  Males have 10-14 femoral pores.


The common watersnake can grow up to 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) in total length (including tail). Per one study, the average total length of females was 81.4 cm (2 ft 8 in), while that of males was 69.6 cm (2 ft 3+1⁄2 in). From known studies of this species in the wild, adult females can weigh between 159 and 408 g (5+1⁄2 and 14+1⁄2 oz) typically, while the smaller male can range from 80.8 to 151 g (2+7⁄8 to 5+3⁄8 oz). The largest females can weigh up to 560 g (20 oz) while the largest males can scale 370 g (13 oz).
N. sipedon can be brown, gray, reddish, or brownish-black. It has dark crossbands on the neck and dark blotches on the rest of the body, often leading to misidentification as a cottonmouth or copperhead by novices. As N. sipedon ages, the color darkens, and the pattern becomes obscure. Some individuals become almost completely black. The belly also varies in color. It can be white, yellow, or gray; usually, it also has reddish or black crescents.
The common watersnake is nonvenomous and harmless to humans, but superficially resembles the venomous cottonmouth. It is often killed by humans out of fear; killing snakes greatly increases the chance of being bitten. The two can be easily distinguished: the watersnake has a longer, more slender body and a flattened head the same width as the neck, round pupils, and no heat-sensing pits. The cottonmouth has a fatter body, a wedge-shaped head with prominent venom glands that are wider than the neck, cat-like pupils, and heat-sensing pits between the eyes and the nostrils.
Colubrid snakes also have flat scales on their heads, while vipers all possess smaller, rugose scutes.


N. sipedon is active during the day and at night. It is most often seen basking on rocks, stumps, or brush. During the day, it hunts among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds, and mammals. At night, it concentrates on minnows and other small fish resting in shallow water. It hunts using smell and sight. The Lake Erie watersnake subspecies, N. s. insularum, was once endangered, but now benefits from the introduction of the round goby, an invasive species, which constitutes up to 90% of its diet.
The common watersnake is common over most of its range and is frequently seen basking on stream banks, from which it dives into the water at the slightest disturbance. It is quick to flee from danger, but if cornered or captured, it usually does not hesitate to defend itself. Larger specimens can inflict a painful bite.


The common watersnake is found throughout eastern and central North America, from southern Ontario and southern Quebec in the north, to Texas and Florida in the south. Since at least 1992, this species, along with  N. fasciata, has been introduced in California, where they are considered invasive species likely to compete with native giant garter snake Thamnophis gigas.


N. sipedon inhabits streams, lakes, and ponds, as well as wetlands. Juveniles typically inhabit lower-order streams adjacent to the larger-order waterways where adults are found. This helps juveniles to avoid predators such as fish, birds, and turtles present in large water bodies.


The common watersnake mates from April through June. It is ovoviviparous (live-bearing), which means it does not lay eggs like many other snakes. Instead, the mother carries the eggs inside her body and gives birth to free-living young, each one 19–23 cm (7+1⁄2–9 in) long. A female may have as many as 30 young at a time, but the average is eight. They are born between August and October. Mothers do not care for their young. Multiple mating by females is common, leading to a focus in sperm competition. Research suggests successful males are not the ones who dedicate more energy to size, but to sperm.


Pantherophis alleghaniensis, commonly called the eastern ratsnake, is a nonvenomous colubrid species endemic to North America.


The eastern rat snake is primarily active at night during the summer, and diurnal in the spring and fall. It is a terrestrial burrower and an excellent climber, and it may enter water. It is found under rocks and boards, and in trees under bark and within knot holes and palm fronds. The snake is a constrictor, and adults eat mainly endotherms while young eat mainly ectotherms. The diet includes rodents, lizards, frogs, and birds and their eggs. The snakes can also eat young chickens and chicks, hence the common name chicken snake.
Rat snakes are most vulnerable to predators as juveniles.  Predators of P. alleghaniensis include hawks (Buteo spp.), great horned owls (Bubo virginianus), foxes, raccoons, and domestic cats. Adult eastern rat snakes have few known predators other than humans. When frightened, a rat snake will freeze. If harassed, it will produce a foul-smelling musk to deter predators.  If provoked further, it may coil, shake its tail, and snap at its attacker.
The snakes hibernate during the winter underground or in deep crevices. They may congregate in the same dens with other species of snakes, such as copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix), eastern racers (Coluber constrictor) and timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus). In Northern climes, the snakes are active from late April to October and mate in May or June. It is active earlier in the South.
Rat snakes reach sexual maturity in their fourth year. The snakes start to breed in May and June, earlier in the South. Males approach females to initiate breeding and may combat other males before breeding. About five weeks after mating, the female lays 5 to 27 eggs in hollow standing and fallen trees, compost and mulch heaps, sawdust piles, and decomposing logs.  Incubation is about two months, and eggs hatch from July through September. Hatchlings are usually just over a foot long at birth, with the distinct gray and black pattern characteristic of juveniles.


Pantherophis alleghaniensis is found in the United States east of the Apalachicola River in Florida, east of the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, east of the Appalachian Mountains, north to southeastern New York and western Vermont, eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, south to the Florida Keys. In the Florida Panhandle, it readily hybridizes with the gray rat snake (Pantherophis spiloides).


Adult snakes commonly measure 90 to 180 cm (36 to 72 in) in total length (including tail), with a few exceeding 200 cm (79 in). The longest recorded total length to date is 230 cm (90 in).
Adults are shiny black dorsally, with a cream or white chin and throat.  The belly has an irregular black and white checkerboard pattern, becoming uniformly slate gray towards the tail. Juveniles have dark dorsal blotches on a grayish ground color. The ventral pattern in juveniles is the same as in adults. The eyes are round with a black pupil, and particularly in juveniles but not always present in adults, a distinct white margin.
The dorsal scales are weakly keeled, and are arranged in 23 to 27 rows at midbody.
Males and females have the same coloration. Males have proportionally longer tails (16-19% of total body length) compared to females (14–18% of total body length).


The eastern rat snake occurs in a variety of habitats. These include farmlands, hardwood forests, forested wetlands, thickets and fields adjacent to forests, isolated urban woodlots and backyards that support populations of prey species. Eastern rat snakes do especially well in early successional and edge habitats. An arboreal species, the snakes can get into human residences, where they may live in attics undetected. At the northern limits of their range, distribution appears to be restricted by the availability of suitable hibernating sites. In these climates, the snakes require southern exposures to receive maximal thermal benefit from the winter sun and to provide basking areas in early spring and late fall.
The three U.S populations located more northerly (Illinois at 378N, Kansas at 388,Maryland at 398) hibernate, with very rare appearances before April and after October. In most northern locations latitudinal and longitudinal effects are likely because of thermal restriction or modification of activity associated with winter temperatures at higher temperatures. There are consequences of thermal constraints regarding ecological parameters such as causes of variation of seasonal mortality, population demography, limits to geographic distribution, and the expression or evolution of traits such as habitat selection, reproductive allocation, and mechanisms of physiological hibernation remain complex and incompletely understood.


Amanita velosa (also known as the springtime amanita) or bittersweet orange ringless amanita is an edible species of agaric found in California, as well as southern Oregon and Baja California.


It is part of Amanita section Vaginatae, and like other species in this group, it is characterized by its lack of an annulus, striate pileus margin, thick universal veil remnants comprising the veil, volva, and pileus patches, inamyloid spores, and lack of  characteristic Amanita toxins such as amatoxins and ibotenic acid. It is distinguished from other species in section Vaginatae by its lack of any kind of umbo on its pileus, its short pileus striae, and its distinct pale orange to pale salmon coloration when young. Its coloration can become more brownish with age and entirely white specimens are occasionally seen as well. Like many other Amanita, the gills are white, but occasionally have a distinct pinkish or orangish tint. In older specimens, the odor can become pungent and fishy.
The cap is 5–15 cm wide, convex then plane, with an orange-pink or salmon-like color; it usually has a white universal veil patch. The gills are adnexed to free, close and white (or pinkish with age). The stalk is 5–15 cm long, and 1–3 cm wide. The volva is white, saclike and sheathes the stalk base. The spores are white, smooth, elliptical, and inamyloid.


Amanita velosa is a late-season mushroom in its range of occurrence, being found from midwinter into spring, up until the end of the California rainy season. Its favored habitat is the ecotone between oak (particularly coast live oak) woodlands and open grassland, living in an ectomycorrhizal relationship with young oak trees.
Although this species is primarily known from the coastal regions of California, Oregon, and Baja California, it is also reported to have been found in association with aspen and conifers in the Sierra Nevada and there is also one report of this species being found growing with spruce in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in the eastern United States.


In late 2005, University of Melbourne researchers discovered that all monitors may be somewhat venomous. Previously, bites inflicted by monitors were thought to be prone to infection because of bacteria in their mouths, but the researchers showed that the immediate effects were more likely caused by envenomation. Bites on the hand by lace monitors have been observed to cause swelling within minutes, localised disruption of blood clotting, and shooting pain up to the elbow, which can often last for several hours. In vitro testing showed lace monitor mouth secretion impact on platelet aggregation, drop blood pressure and relax smooth muscle; the last effect mediated by an agent with the same activity as brain natriuretic peptide. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry found ample proteins with molecular masses of 2-4 kilodaltons (corresponding with natriuretic peptide), 15 kilodaltons (type III Phospholipase A2), and 23-25 kilodaltons (cysteine-rich secretory proteins and kallikrein) in these secretions. Washington State University biologist Kenneth V. Kardong and toxicologists Scott A. Weinstein and Tamara L. Smith, have cautioned that labelling these species as venomous oversimplifies the diversity of oral secretions in reptiles, and overestimates the medical risk of bite victims.


Lace monitors are predominantly carrion eaters, feeding on already dead carcasses of other wildlife. They consist of insects, reptiles, small mammals, birds, with eggs and young birds and mammals making up a larger part of their diet in spring and early summer. Lace monitors search for food on the ground, retreating to a nearby tree if disturbed. They also forage in areas inhabited by people, raiding chicken coops for poultry and eggs, and rummaging through unprotected domestic garbage bags and rubbish bins in picnic and recreational areas.
A 2012 study in Gippsland found that populations of lace monitors near two rubbish tips were thirty five times greater, with individuals around twice as heavy, as populations in natural forest. The lizards near rubbish tips foraged predominantly on food waste there, with a greater caloric intake. These populations had 5.3 males for each female, compared with 1.9 males per female in natural areas. Despite the apparent increase in population and size, the long-term effect of human impact on the species is unclear.
As they often swallow meat whole, they can be at risk of harm from some meat scraps; one was reported with a t-bone steak bone stuck in its throat and another with a plastic fork in its stomach. Another swallowed six golf balls that a chicken owner had placed in their coop to prompt their chickens to lay eggs.
They frequently attack the large composting nests of scrub turkeys to steal their eggs, and often show injuries on their tails inflicted by male scrub turkeys pecking at them to drive them away.
The species (particularly larger individuals) declined in numbers when the species encountered the advancing cane toad, however lace monitors were abundant in some areas where cane toads had been established for many years. Fieldwork published in 2016 found that larger individuals were less cautious in what they ate, but all lace monitors quickly learned to avoid toads after they had been poisoned.


These common terrestrial and often arboreal monitors are found in eastern Australia and range from Cape Bedford on Cape York Peninsula to south-eastern South Australia. They frequent both open and closed forests and forage over long distances (up to 3 km (1.9 mi) a day).
The lace monitor is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
They are mainly active from September to May, but are inactive in cooler weather and shelter in tree hollows or under fallen trees or large rocks.


The second-largest monitor in Australia after the perentie, the lace monitor can reach 2 m (7 ft) in total length, or 76.5 cm snout–vent length (SVL), and weigh up to 14 kg (30 lb). The male reaches sexual maturity when it  has a SVL of 41.5 cm. Females are generally smaller than males, with a maximum SVL of 57.5 cm, and becoming sexually mature at a SVL of 38.5 cm. The tail is long and slender and about 1.5 times the length of the head and body. The tail is cylindrical at its base, but becomes laterally compressed towards the tip.
Historically, it has been described as growing as much as 8 ft long. Regardless of the accuracy of these reports, lace monitors of such size likely no longer exist.


In at least the temperate regions, the breeding season takes place in the summer.
Male lace monitors fight each other by grappling while standing on the hind legs in the breeding season, and up to six males may gather around a receptive female to try and court her. Mating takes several hours.
Females lay an average of eight eggs in active termite nests either on the ground or in the trees, although they may lay as many as 12 eggs. When such nests are in short supply, females often fight over them or lay the eggs in burrows and perhaps hollow logs. The eggs overwinter to hatch 6–7 months later. Hatchlings remain around the nest for about a week or more before leaving its vicinity. Females may return to the same termite nest to lay their next clutch of eggs. These monitors can potentially live to reach over 20 years of age.


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Baggio, Cristiane Hatsuko; Freitas, Cristina Setim; Martins, Daniel Fernandes; Mazzardo, Leidiane; Smiderle, Fhernanda Ribeiro; Sassaki, Guilherme Lanzi; Iacomini, Marcello; Marques, Maria Consuelo Andrade; Santos, Adair Roberto Soares (October 2010). "Antinociceptive Effects of (1→3),(1→6)-Linked β-Glucan Isolated From Pleurotus pulmonarius in Models of Acute and Neuropathic Pain in Mice: Evidence for a Role for Glutamatergic Receptors and Cytokine Pathways". The Journal of Pain. 11 (10): 965–971. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2010.01.005. PMID 20418177.
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Smiderle, Fhernanda R.; Olsen, Lorena M.; Carbonero, Elaine R.; Baggio, Cristiane H.; Freitas, Cristina S.; Marcon, Rodrigo; Santos, Adair R.S.; Gorin, Philip A.J.; Iacomini, Marcello (November 12, 2008). "Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties in a rodent model of a (1→3),(1→6)-linked β-glucan isolated from Pleurotus pulmonarius". European Journal of Pharmacology. 597 (1–3): 86–91. doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2008.08.028. PMID 18789924.
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Several studies done on animals and in vitro suggest P. pulmonarius and its extracts may have possible medicinal applications for a wide range of conditions.
A polysaccharide called β-D-Glucan from P. pulmonarius reduces sensitivity to pain in mice, and could be an "attractive" basis for new analgesic medications. In a different study on mice, a glucan from P. pulmonarius showed potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. A methanol extract of P. pulmonarius displayed anti-inflammatory and antitumor activity comparable to the standard reference drugs diclofenac and cisplatin, respectively.
A 2010 study concluded that extracts of P. pulmonarius may slow the proliferation of cancer cells with high galectin-3 levels, while at the same time downregulate tumour cell adherence – which is directly related to the progression and spread of cancer. Extracts of P. pulmonarius added to the diet of mice delayed carcinogenesis, suggesting that these extracts may be useful as an adjuvant to cancer therapies.
An orally administered hot water extract of P. pulmonarius had a significant antihyperglycemic effect, halted the progression of diabetes, and reduced the mortality of alloxan induced diabetic mice by approximately 50%. It showed a synergistic effect with the antidiabetic drug glibenclamide, supporting the possibility of effective combination therapy of glibenclamide and P. pulmonarius for diabetes.
Pleurotus pulmonarius may be effective in the treatment of hay fever by inhibiting the release of histamine. Powdered P. pulmonarius mushrooms caused a significant reduction in sneezing and nasal rubbing when fed in water to sensitized mice, although the effect gradually builds up over a matter of weeks. When they were given 500 mg/kg a day, a significant effect was observed after two weeks, and it was four weeks before a significant change was observed at 200 mg/kg.
Extracts of P. pulmonarius attenuated the development of acute colitis in a mouse model, suggesting a possible clinical use in the treatment of colitis. A further study by the same authors concluded that the extracts also inhibit colon cancer formation associated with colitis in mice.
Extracts of P. pulmonarius have antimicrobial properties and exhibit antioxidant activity in vitro.


Pleurotus pulmonarius is the most cultivated oyster mushroom (Pleurotus) species in Europe and North America. The most popular varieties for cultivation are the warm weather varieties, often marketed by spawn manufacturers  and cultivators under the incorrect name "Pleurotus sajor-caju". The real Pleurotus sajor-caju (Fr.) Singer is in fact a separate species of mushroom, which was returned to the genus Lentinus by Pegler (1975), and is now called Lentinus sajor-caju (Fr.) Fries.
Pleurotus pulmonarius is commercially cultivated in New Zealand, and is sometimes sold as "Oyster mushrooms". The archetypal oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, cannot be imported into New Zealand due to perceived risks to their forestry industry.
The cultivation of Pleurotus pulmonarius is very similar to how one would cultivate other types of Pleurotus species like P. ostreatus by transferring mycelium from a petri plate onto grain and then transferring the  grain spawn after the mycelium colonizes it to substrates of straw, wood chips, sawdust, cardboard, coffee grounds, and other cellulose-based substrates.


Pleurotus pulmonarius is widespread in temperate and subtropical forests throughout the world. In the eastern United States, this species is generally found on hardwoods while in the west it is commonly found on conifers.


Pileus: 5 — 20+ cm, convex, becoming broadly convex to flat; fruit bodies may yellow with age
Gills: Whitish; decurrent if stipe is present; small beetles may be present
Spore print: White to yellowish
Stipe: If present, short and offset from the center of the cap, with a hairy base
Microscopic features: Spores white to yellowish to lavender-gray when dense, more or less cylindrical, 7.5–11 × 3–4 μm.
Odour: Pleasant, like anise


Pleurotus pulmonarius, commonly known as the Indian oyster, Italian oyster, phoenix mushroom, or the lung oyster, is a mushroom very similar to Pleurotus ostreatus, the pearl oyster, but with a few noticeable differences. The caps of pulmonarius are much paler and smaller than ostreatus and develops more of a stem. P. pulmonarius also prefers warmer weather than ostreatus and will appear later in the summer. Otherwise, the taste and cultivation of the two species is generally described as largely the same. Another similar species, North America's Pleurotus populinus, is restricted to growing on aspen and cottonwood.


The spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae It is found in Canada and the United States. The generic name, Gyrinophilus, means "tadpole lover" and refers to the long period of time it spends as a gilled larva before maturing. The specific name, porphyriticus, is Latin from Greek, meaning the color of porphyry, a purple stone, and this salamander has also been called the purple salamander.
Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, inland karsts, and caves. In addition to insects, worms, and other small invertebrates, the fairly large spring salamander may also consume smaller stream dwelling salamanders such as two-lined and dusky salamanders.
In fact, they are considered salamander specialist in some areas such as the North Carolina Mountains, where 50% of their diets consist of other salamanders including their own kind
Although deforestation is a potential threat, the spring salamander occurs in many protected areas and is not listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List.


Like all members of the family Plethodontidae these salamanders have a nasolabial groove. The subspecies G. p. porphyriticus and G. p. duryi can be 4.75–7.5 in (12.1–19.1 cm) long. The record length is 9.125 in (23.18 cm). The light line from eye to nostril is bordered below by gray pigment, but the markings are not always conspicuous. The dorsal coloration varies from salmon or light brownish to pink or reddish. The ground color has a cloudy appearance, and the darker markings are vague. The subspecies G. p. danielsi and G. p. dunni can be 5–7.5 in (13–19 cm). The record length is 8.06 in (20.5 cm). Adults reach larger sizes at higher elevations as a consequence of delay in development to maturity after metamorphosis in high-level populations. The white line from eye to nostril, bordered below by a conspicuous black or dark brown line, is distinctive. There also may be a dark line above the white line, often conspicuous. The dorsal coloration can be clear reddish, salmon, or orange-yellow marked with black or brown spots or flecks. 17 to 19 costal grooves. Larvae are aquatic and have stream-type morphology. Juveniles are typically more brightly colored than adults.


Lunella smaragda is an endemic species found both at the intertidal and low subtidal rocky shores and soft substrates (including seaweeds) of New Zealand. It is found around the North, South, and Stewart islands, on rocks between low and mid tide.


This species has a green operculum. The size of the shell varies between 35 mm and 70 mm.
The depressed,  imperforate, solid shell has a heliciform shape. It is covered with a strong blackish cuticle, beneath which it is green. It is usually eroded at the apex and contains 4 to 5 whorls. The upper ones are spirally sulcate or carinate. The body whorl is large, flattened above, with incremental wrinkles and subobsolete spiral sulci. The large aperture is oblique, rounded, pearly white within. The outer lip is thin and black-edged. The arched columella has a pearly callus. The white umbilico-parietal area is excavated and concave.
The common name "cat's eye" for the synonym Turbo smaragdus is a reference to the attractively colored operculum of this species, which looks somewhat like an eye, and which is sometimes used for decorative purposes. The operculum is flat inside with four whorls. The nucleus is more than one-third the distance across the face. The outside is deep green except on the side of increment which is white. It is very minutely remotely granose.


The bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, is one of several species of cleaner wrasses found on coral reefs from Eastern Africa and the Red Sea to French Polynesia. Like other cleaner wrasses, it eats parasites and dead tissue off larger fishes' skin in a mutualistic relationship that provides food and protection for the wrasse, and considerable health benefits for the other fishes.


This is a small wrasse, averaging 10 cm long (14 cm max). It can be recognized thanks to a wide longitudinal black stripe running along the side and eye; the back and the stomach are white (sometimes slightly yellowish). This white part changes to a bright blue on the front of the animal, while the black band widens at the tail. The young are black with an electric blue line.
A genetic analysis of L. dimidiatus revealed the population fell into two monophyletic clades, with Indian Ocean populations generally having different stripe widths to western Pacific fishes. The Japanese cleaner wrasses, though, fell within the same group as Indian Ocean fish, despite differing in appearance, and both clades overlap around Papua New Guinea. Two closely related cleaner wrasse species, Labroides pectoralis and Labroides bicolor, were grouped inside the L. dimidiatus clade, so the bluestreak cleaner wrasse may in fact be polyphyletic, incorporating several species.


This species occurs in canyons, stream sides, and rocky terrain. It has been collected in a variety of habitats in Mexico, including open desert-scrub and mesquite-grasslands, tropical areas, mountains, coastal plains, cornfields surrounded by brushland or adjacent to grassy plains and thickets of bull-horn acacia, thorn woodland, and riparian forests, characterized by live-oaks, pecans, sycamores, and Texas persimmons and an understory of briars, grasses, and weeds. It also has been found in pine–oak forest and in scrub and cacti. In Kleberg County, Texas, C. leuconotus occurs in mesquite-brushland, pastures, and native grassland, used exclusively for cattle ranching. Thorny brush and cactus are the predominant vegetation in the region of southern Texas where this species occurs.
It is omnivorous, feeding primarily on insects and vegetation, though it will take small mammals and reptiles when available. While sometimes considered a pest by crop farmers due to their rooting habits, this is largely misplaced, as it generally prefers insects to agricultural plants. Like all skunk species, it possesses powerful anal glands used to deter would-be attackers.


C. leuconotus breeds from late February through early March; most adult females are pregnant by the end of March. Typically, gestation lasts about 60 days. Birth occurs in April and May. Half-grown young have been observed in late July and mid-August, and by late August young begin to disperse. The litter size is one to five young, although two to four are most common.


The Atlantic surf clam (Spisula solidissima), also called the bar clam, hen clam, skimmer or simply sea clam, is a very large, edible, saltwater clam or marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mactridae. It is commonly found in the western Atlantic Ocean. Reaching up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) or more in length, it is much larger than Spisula solida, which resides in the eastern Atlantic coastal waters.
The shell of this species is a well-known object to beach-goers in the northeastern United States. People on the beach often pick up a large empty shell of this species, either to dig in the sand with, or take home to use as a decorative dish or ashtray.
The species is exported commercially as a food item.


Atlantic surf clams live buried in coarse or fine sand. They live offshore as well as in the low intertidal and surf zones.


The body profile of the yellowtail horse mackerel is a moderately compressed, oval shape body. The yellowtail horse mackerel is very similar to the greenback horse mackerel, but has 68 to 73 lateral line scutes, compared with 76 to 82 for the greenback horse mackerel. The coloration of the yellowtail horse mackerel is a bright olive green above, transitioning to a more golden green ventrally, before becoming silvery white on the underside of the fish. Nine to 16 faint grey bars run vertically on the sides of the fish, as well as a black spot slightly smaller than the eye on the upper margin of the operculum and adjacent shoulder region.
In some parts of Australia, the Yakka are prone to the parasite Cymothoa exigua which first eats and then replaces the tongue of the host fish. The parasite does not otherwise harm the fish and has no effect on humans. The parasite should however be removed before consumption.


The species is not considered edible; the flesh has an acrid taste, with a slightly fruity smell. The fungus has economic significance; it depreciates timber value as the parasitic infection advances. Fomes fomentarius infects trees through damaged bark. It will often infect trees already weakened from beech bark disease and thus has the important and useful role of decomposing unusable timber.


Fomes fomentarius (commonly known as the tinder fungus, false tinder fungus, hoof fungus, tinder conk, tinder polypore or ice man fungus) is a species of fungal plant pathogen found in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. The species produces very large polypore fruit bodies which are shaped like a horse's hoof and vary in colour from a silvery grey to almost black, though they are normally brown. It grows on the side of various species of tree, which it infects through broken bark, causing rot. The species typically continues to live on trees long after they have died, changing from a parasite to a decomposer.
Though inedible, F. fomentarius has traditionally seen use as the main ingredient of amadou, a material used primarily as tinder, but also used to make clothing and other items. The 5,000-year-old Ötzi the Iceman carried four pieces of F. fomentarius, concluded to be for use as tinder. It also has medicinal and other uses. The species is both a pest and useful in timber production.


Fomes fomentarius has a fruit body of between 5 and 45 centimetres (2.0 and 17.7 in) across, 3 and 25 cm (1.2 and 9.8 in) wide and 2 and 25 cm (0.8 and 9.8 in) thick, which attaches broadly to the tree on which the fungus is growing. While typically shaped like a horse's hoof, it can also be more bracket-like with an umbonate attachment to the substrate. The species typically has broad, concentric ridges, with a blunt and rounded margin. The flesh is hard and fibrous, and a cinnamon brown colour. The upper surface is tough, bumpy, hard and woody, varying in colour, usually a light brown or grey. The margin is whitish during periods of growth. The hard crust is from 1 to 2 mm (0.04 to 0.08 in) thick, and covers the tough flesh. The underside has round pores of a cream colour when new, maturing to brown, though they darken when handled. The pores are circular, and there are 2–3 per millimetre. The tubes are 2 to 7 mm (0.08 to 0.28 in) long and a rusty brown colour.
The colouration and size of the fruit body can vary based on where the specimen has grown. Silvery-white, greyish and nearly black specimens have been known. The darkest fruit bodies were previously classified as Fomes nigricans, but this is now recognised as a synonym of Fomes fomentarius. The colour is typically lighter at lower latitudes and altitudes, as well as on fruit bodies in the Northern Hemisphere that grow on the south side of trees. However, studies have concluded that there is no reliable way to differentiate varieties; instead, the phenotypic differences can "be attributed either to different ecotypes or to interactions between the genotype and its environment".


Fomes fomentarius can easily be confused with Phellinus igniarius, species from the genus Ganoderma and Fomitopsis pinicola. An easy way to differentiate F. fomentarius is by adding a drop of potassium hydroxide onto a small piece of the fruit body from the upper surface. The solution will turn a dark blood red if the specimen is F. fomentarius, due to the presence of the chemical fomentariol.


When young, its diet consists mainly of insects. As an adult, it mostly eats invertebrates (notably insects and snails), but regularly take fruits and can function as a seed disperser. They may also take small vertebrates prey such as small birds and reptiles (including other anoles), but studies indicate that they do this less frequently than several other anole species.


The knight anole (Anolis equestris) is the largest species of anole (US: /əˈnoʊ.li/ (listen)) in the Dactyloidae family. Other common names include Cuban knight anole or Cuban giant anole, highlighting its native country, but it has also been introduced to Florida.  In its native Cuba, this large anole is called chupacocote.


Adult knight anoles are about 13–20 in (33–51 cm) in total length, including their tail that is longer than the head-and-body, and weigh 0.56–4.83 oz (16–137 g). Males grow larger than females, with adults of the former having a snout–vent length of 3.9–7.5 in (10–19 cm) and the latter 3.5–6.3 in (9–16 cm). It is mostly bright green with a yellow stripe on the side of the head and another on the shoulder, but it is able to perform some color changes. It has a pinkish-white dewlap. Juveniles have light bands on the body.


Knight anoles are native to Cuba, but have been widely introduced into South Florida, where they reproduce and spread readily as an invasive species. They cannot withstand cold temperatures; in winter freezes in Florida, they have been known to fall to the ground from tree canopies. In highland parts of its native Cuba, a few individuals may rest adjacent to each other during the relatively cold winters (otherwise the species is solitary and highly territorial).
In Cuba they can be seen from near sea level to an altitude of 3,300 ft (1,000 m) in a wide range of habitats with trees, such as forest, mangrove, savanna, cultivated areas and gardens. In its introduced Florida range it even occurs in trees along roads in Miami. Knight anoles are arboreal, mostly found high in trees on the trunk or branches in the canopy, but will descend to the ground to get from one tree to another, or for thermoregulation, when occasionally seen on warm asphalt, rocks, or sidewalks.


Fruit bodies of Boletinellus merulioides grow on the ground scattered or in groups, almost always near ash (Fraxinea spp.), but rarely near maple and white pine. Unusual for boletes, it forms abundant sclerotia. These are spherical to roughly elliptical structures measuring 2–3 mm wide, which have a hard, black to dark brown rind and a hollow internal medulla. Occurring singly or in clumps of over 100, they are usually found between the mineral and organic layers of the soil. The sclerotia allow the fungus to survive harsh conditions such as low temperatures, and will rapidly colonize nearby soil when conditions are favorable. The fungus's preference for growing near ash is not due to a mycorrhizal association between them, but rather because the fungus has a relationship with a parasitic aphid that occurs only on these trees. The aphid feeds on the tree roots, and shelters inside hollow sclerotia formed by the fungus in the soil, or attached to the root system. The aphid secretes carbohydrates and other nutrients that benefit the fungus.
The fungus is found in eastern North America, from eastern Canada south to Alabama and west to Wisconsin. It is also found in Mexico. A common species, it fruits in summer and autumn. It has also been reported in Asia (Japan).


The cap is initially convex before becoming flattened to convex in maturity, and attains a diameter of 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in). The cap surface is dry to slightly sticky, and smooth or covered with tiny fibrils. Its color ranges from yellow brown to reddish brown, and will bruise dull yellow-brown. The flesh is yellow and, when cut, will either have no color reaction or change slowly to blue-green. It has no distinctive odor. The pore surface is pale yellow to dull gold or olive, but will slowly turn blue and then reddish brown as a reaction to injury. The pores are boletinoid, meaning that they have a structure intermediate between gills and pores. They are about 1 mm wide, and the tube layer is 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) deep.
The fruit bodies are edible but of low quality, with an acidic taste. The mushrooms can be used in mushroom dyeing to produce light brown or dark orangish brown colors, depending on the mordant used. It can be sold for 500 dollars per kg.


The oak toad's natural habitat includes sandy pine flatwoods and oak scrub, open pine and pine-oak woods, pine or oak savanna with sandy soils, and maritime forests. They appear to favor open-canopied pine flatwoods with grassy ground cover.
The toad's range extends across the coastal plains of the southeastern United States from eastern Louisiana to southeast Virginia and south throughout Florida.


Eggs develop quickly, hatching in a mere 24 to 36 hours. The tadpole reaches a maximum length of 18 to 19.4 mm (0.71 to 0.76 in). It is grayish olive or grape-green dorsally and purplish ventrally. The tail has 6 or 7 black saddle marks. The tadpole completes metamorphosis into a juvenile toadlet in 4 to 6 weeks, and it reaches adulthood and sexual maturity at 1.5 to 2.3 years of age.

The length of the lifespan is unclear. There are records of specimens living for four years in captivity, and the reported average lifespan in captivity is 1.9 years.


The oak toad eats mainly small insects and other arthropods. The adult has a strong preference for ants.
It is mostly diurnal and spends much of its time burrowed into the loose soil of its habitat. It may remain in its burrow during the winter, often in hibernation.

Breeding takes place in shallow pools that accumulate during heavy rains. The male expands his distinctive elongated vocal sac to produce a chirping call. The breeding season extends from April to October, peaking early on. Heavy, warm spring rains stimulate mating behavior.
An average of 300–500 eggs are laid in short strands of 3 to 8 eggs each, with each egg about a millimeter wide. The strands are attached to vegetation, usually submerged blades of grass 4 to 12 cm (1.6 to 4.7 in) beneath the surface. Energy investment in producing this quantity of eggs is significant, and many females are found dead during the mating season due to the rigors of the process. Fertilization takes place externally, with sperm being released in the vicinity of the eggs. As with other species of toad, the male oak toad has a Bidder's organ, which can become a functional ovary in the event of testicular malfunction.


The striped whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus) is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. It is closely related to the California whipsnake (Masticophis lateralis). The striped whipsnake is native to the western United States and adjacent northern Mexico.


The species M. taeniatus is diurnal, active during the day, and is very alert and fast moving. It seeks shelter in rock outcrops, small mammal burrows, as well as in trees and shrubs depending on the habitat they occupy. This snake is nonvenomous, but it preys on a wide variety of species including lizards, other snakes (including venomous rattlesnakes), small mammals, young birds, frogs, and insects.


The striped whipsnake is found throughout the western United States and northern Mexico. The northernmost part of its geographic range is in south central Washington, and continues southward into the Great Basin between the Cascade-Sierran crest and the continental divide. Its range then continues southeast across the continental divide into New Mexico and western and central Texas. The southernmost part of its range lies in Michoacán, Mexico. In the Western United States its range also extends outside of the Great Basin into the Rogue River Valley in southwestern Oregon and northern California. There is a population in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.


The striped whipsnake is approximately 30-72 inches (76–183 cm) in total length (including tail). This snake exhibits black, dark brown, or gray coloration on its back, often with an olive or bluish tint. Along the center of each of the first four rows of pale dorsal scales, is a dark longitudinal stripe. There is a white to cream-colored stripe down its side that is bisected by either a solid or dashed black line. The coloring on the snake's belly tends to be cream to yellowish, fading to white toward the head, and coral pink toward the tail. This snake also features a lower preocular between the upper labial scales of the mouth. The anal scale is divided.


The striped whipsnake is commonly found in a wide variety of habitats including shrub lands, grasslands, sagebrush flats, canyons, piñon-juniper woodlands, and open pine-oak forests. It is attracted to both permanent and seasonal rocky streams, and it frequents both flatlands and mountains.


Little is known about the reproductive activities of M. taeniatus. After fertilization the female striped whipsnake will lay a clutch of 3-12 eggs, between the months of June and July, usually in an abandoned rodent burrow. One study has shown a natural incubation period of 44 to 58 days.


The whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, and the only member of its genus. A small shark that does not usually exceed 1.6 m (5.2 ft) in length, this species is easily recognizable by its slender body and short but broad head, as well as tubular skin flaps beside the nostrils, oval eyes with vertical pupils, and white-tipped dorsal and caudal fins. One of the most common sharks found on Indo-Pacific coral reefs, the whitetip reef shark occurs as far west as South Africa and as far east as Central America. It is typically found on or near the bottom in clear water, at a depth of 8–40 m (26–131 ft).
During the day, whitetip reef sharks spend much of their time resting inside caves. Unlike other requiem sharks, which rely on ram ventilation and must constantly swim to breathe, this shark can pump water over its gills and lie still on the bottom. At night, whitetip reef sharks emerge to hunt bony fishes, crustaceans, and octopus in groups, their elongate bodies allowing them to force their way into crevices and holes to extract hidden prey. Individuals may stay within a particular area of the reef for months or years, frequently returning to the same shelter. This species is viviparous, in which the developing embryos are sustained by a placental connection to their mother.
Whitetip reef sharks are rarely aggressive towards humans, though they may investigate swimmers closely. However, spear fishers are at risk of being bitten by one attempting to steal their catch. This species is caught for food, though ciguatera poisoning resulting from its consumption has been reported. The IUCN has assessed the whitetip reef shark as Vulnerable, noting its numbers are dwindling due to increasing levels of unregulated fishing activity across its range. The slow reproductive rate and limited habitat preferences of this species renders its populations vulnerable to overfishing.


With its slender, lithe body, the whitetip reef shark specializes in wriggling into narrow crevices and holes in the reef and extracting prey inaccessible to other reef sharks. Alternatively, it is rather clumsy when attempting to take food suspended in open water. This species feeds mainly on bony fishes, including eels, squirrelfishes, snappers, damselfishes, parrotfishes, surgeonfishes, triggerfishes and goatfishes, as well as octopuses, spiny lobsters, and crabs. The whitetip reef shark is highly responsive to the olfactory, acoustic, and electrical cues given off by potential prey, while its visual system is attuned more to movement and/or contrast than to object details. It is especially sensitive to natural and artificial low-frequency sounds in the 25–100 Hz range, which evoke struggling fish.
Whitetip reef sharks hunt primarily at night, when many fishes are asleep and easily taken. After dusk, groups of sharks methodically scour the reef, often breaking off pieces of coral in their vigorous pursuit of prey. Multiple sharks may target the same prey item, covering every exit route from a particular coral head. Each shark hunts for itself and in competition with the others in its group. Unlike blacktip reef sharks and grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks do not become more excited when feeding in groups and are unlikely to be stirred into a feeding frenzy. Despite their nocturnal habits, whitetip reef sharks will hunt opportunistically in daytime. Off Borneo, this species gathers around reef drop-offs to feed on food brought up by the rising current. Off Hawaii, they follow Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) and attempt to steal their catches. A whitetip reef shark can survive for six weeks without food.


A relatively small species, few whitetip reef sharks are longer than 1.6 m (5.2 ft). The maximum length this species attains is often given as 2.1 m (6.9 ft), though this was originally based on visual observations and may be dubious. The maximum reported weight is 18.3 kg (40 lb). The whitetip reef shark has a slim body and a short, broad head. The snout is flattened and blunt, with large flaps of skin in front of the nares that are furled into tubes. The eyes are small and oval with vertical pupils and prominent ridges above, and are often followed by a small notch. The mouth has a distinct downward slant (imparting a disgruntled expression to the shark), with short furrows at the corners. There are 42–50 tooth rows in the upper jaw and 42–48 tooth rows in the lower jaw. Each tooth has a single narrow, smooth-edged cusp at the center, flanked by a pair of much smaller cusplets.
The first dorsal fin is positioned well back on the body, closer to the pelvic than the pectoral fins. The second dorsal and anal fins are large, about half to three-quarters as high as the first dorsal fin. The broad, triangular pectoral fins originate at or slightly before the level of the fifth gill slit. There is no ridge between the first and second dorsal fins. The lower lobe of the caudal fin is half the length of the upper, which has a strong notch near the tip. The dermal denticles are small and overlapping, usually with 7 horizontal ridges, giving the skin a smooth feel. The coloration is grayish to brownish above and white below, with a pattern of scattered small, dark spots unique to each individual. The tips of the first dorsal fin and upper caudal fin lobe, and sometimes also the second dorsal fin and lower caudal fin lobe, are bright white.


Fruit bodies begin as spherical, closed globules, before expanding. The smooth, bright yellow fruit bodies are small—typically less than 3 mm (1⁄8 in) in diameter and up to 1 mm (1⁄32 in) high—and shallowly cup- or disc-shaped. The inner surface is smooth, and bright yellow, while the outer surface is a paler yellow. In mass, the spore color is white. The stalk is broad, pale yellow in color, and short to nearly absent; when present it is rarely more than 1 mm. The fruit bodies may be so numerous that their shapes are distorted by overcrowding. Fruit bodies that have dried are wrinkled and have a dull orangish-brown color. The fruit bodies have no distinctive taste nor odor, and are not edible.
The smooth spores are roughly elliptical, measuring 8–14 by 3–5 μm; in maturity they have one cross-wall, and oil drops at either end. The asci (spore-bearing cells) measure 100–135 by 7–10 μm. The paraphyses are shaped liked narrow cylinders with diameters up to 1.5 μm, and have tips that are rounded or somewhat club-shaped. β-Carotene is the predominant pigment responsible for the yellow color of the fruit body.


Bisporella citrina, commonly known as yellow fairy cups or lemon discos, is a species of fungus in the family Helotiaceae. The fungus produces tiny yellow cups up to 3 mm (1⁄8 in) in diameter, often without stalks, that fruit in groups or dense clusters on decaying deciduous wood that has lost its bark. The widely distributed species is found in North Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Central and South America. Found in late summer and autumn, the fungus is fairly common, but is easily overlooked owing to its small size. There are several similar species that can in most cases be distinguished by differences in color, morphology, or substrate. Microscopically, B. citrina can be distinguished from these lookalikes by its elliptical spores, which have a central partition, and an oil drop at each end.


There are several small yellow discomycetes with which Bisporella citrina might be confused. Lookalikes include the acorn cup (Hymenoscyphus fructigenus) that grows on fallen acorns and hickory nuts. The green stain fungus (Chlorociboria aeruginascens) forms blue-green cups, and stains its wood substrate bluish-green. Lachnellula arida is up to 6 mm (1⁄4 in) in diameter, and has hairs around the edge of its cup, and its outer surface is covered with short brown hairs.
Fruit bodies of Bisporella sulfurina have a coloration similar to B. citrina, but they are smaller and grow in clusters on old, blackened, fungal stroma on wood.
Other lookalikes include Hymenoscyphus species, including H. calyculus, but these can be distinguished by their distinct stalks, and growth on smaller woody debris like sticks and twigs, rather than logs and stumps. Many other small, yellow discos have fringed or hairy margins to the discs, like Anthracobia melaloma; this latter species grows on or near moss, rather than wood. Chlorosplenium chlora is another small cup fungus resembling B. citrina. It has a bright yellow outer surface, but the hymenium becomes develops greenish tints in age. The common jellyspot fungus (Dacrymyces stillatus) is usually smaller but can approach the dimensions of B. citrina. Similar in color, its fruit bodies are usually blob-like rather than cup shaped. Another cup fungus that grows on dead beech wood is Neobulgaria pura, but its fruit bodies are larger, ranging from 2–4 cm (3⁄4–1+5⁄8 in).
Also similar are Bisporella pallescens, Dacrymyces capitatus, Guepiniopsis alpina, and members of Octospora.


Leucauge argyra has three lines on the abdomen that run parallel only about halfway across the abdomen, where the outer two bend inward before continuing parallel again through the rest of the abdomen. These markings can be somewhat variable, and different from L. venusta, where the abdomen has inverted V-markings.
The web of juveniles has an upper tangle with threads connecting it to the hub and occasionally another tangle below the orb web, but these tangles are absent in webs of adults. The upper tangle consists of a few threads that cover only a narrow section across the middle of the orb.
A similar species to L. argyra is Leucauge mariana.


Leucauge argyra is a spider and is known for being the host of the Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga, a Costa Rican or Puerto Rican parasitoid wasp. It is found in Asia, United States and Brazil. Leucauge argyra (and many other Leucauge spp.) is known to be a colonial species, with spiders maintaining individual territories/orb webs within a scaffolding of shared support lines maintained by the group. Colonies of multi-generational individuals are often seen with some levels of size stratification (where larger individuals/adults occupy the highest web positions and smaller individuals/juveniles occupy lower web positions).


The southern stingray (Hypanus americanus) is a whiptail stingray found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Western Atlantic Ocean from New Jersey to southern Brazil. It has a flat, diamond-shaped disc, with a mud brown, olive, and grey dorsal surface and white underbelly (ventral surface). The barb on its tail is serrated and covered in a venomous mucus, used for self-defense.


This species is found in northern Europe (including Great Britain and Ireland), Canada, the Pacific Northwest, and most recently in Australia and some Caribbean countries:
Great Britain: often found in habitats more wooded and less human-dense than those in which A. rufus occurs
Maladeta Mountains, Spain: often an agricultural pest
Ireland, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia,  and Gerês, Portugal
Canada [invasive]: first document in 1941, established pest by 1960
British Columbia
Newfoundland
Quebec (specifically on Mont Bellevue in Sherbrooke)
United States [invasive]: Within its native habitats, this species functions as a decomposer/consumer and often becomes an agricultural pest. This species is well-established in Washington and Oregon, and it is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species which could negatively affect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore, it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine significance in the USA.
Australia [invasive]: The Museum Victoria reports the black slug to have been first documented in Australia in 2001 with multiple reports of these slugs in cultivated gardens and farms since, but as of 2009, the species was still not considered to be an established species in Australia.


Arion ater has been introduced to southeastern Australia and to North America, where it occurs in Newfoundland, southern British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest of the United States and some parts of Alaska. In the past two decades, its mating with the non-native (at northern latitudes) pest species Arion vulgaris (or Spanish slug) has resulted in a more resilient hybrid exhibiting increased tolerance to cold.
These slugs might endanger sensitive ecosystems, especially as an invasive species, and it is yet unclear how drastically these slugs might alter plant community compositions. The black slug is a voracious seedling predator. Terrestrial slugs are considered to be especially dangerous because they alter plant species abundance, adult plant fecundity, and the production of plant defensive compounds. Black slugs are of special concern in fragmented ecosystems and areas with high shrub and tree cover. In Alaska, the black slug threatens seedling populations of lilies and orchids after already having diminished sensitive populations of deltoid balsamroot and yellow montane violet in BC Canada.
There is much debate concerning black slug effect upon plant species diversity. Slug impacts change over successional stages, and Alaska conservationists observed the black slug's impact on species diversity depends upon community composition. If a system is composed of sensitive species, the black slug will likely have a negative impact by pressuring said species. If a system presents more evenness with less sensitive species, the black slug may promote species diversity and encourage healthy succession rates.
Around the 1970s, the black slug came to Alaska via nursery plants, potting soil, or among shipments containing wood pallets. The Alaska National Heritage Project published an invasive ranking for the black slug, providing a recent case study of the species as an invasive. They ranked the species based upon distribution, biological characteristics, ecological impacts, and feasibility of control. These categories were assigned points, and Arion ater received a 62/100, awarding it a qualitative score of “moderately invasive.” This report stated the black slug can often be found in disturbed soils or areas with well-irrigated soils such as lawns. Frequent sightings along roads suggest the black slug might move more easily along human traffic corridors; however, the black slug is believed to migrate little during its one-year life span. Arion ater’s biology awarded it its highest risk factor. Again, the black slug is a prolific, omnivorous consumer, capable of inhabiting a wide range of conditions with high fecundity. Its effect upon local ecology received a moderate score; while the black slug puts pressure on native systems, it does not appear to catalyze entire regime shifts within the habitats where it has invaded. Greatest concern appears to be its possible pressure on early successional plants and native slugs. The black slug often feeds upon seedlings, diminishing plants’ reproductive success, but the black slug does not appear to be feeding selectively, endangering one plant species over another. And the black slug's effect on native-Alaska slugs is unknown, but the black slug might be displacing the banana slug in BC, Canada; however, such displacement might not have implications beyond those for the banana slugs. Slugs facilitate seed and spore dispersal through fecal matter. The black slug facilitates nutrient cycling by decomposing decaying and fecal matter; additionally, slug mucus left behind in the soil helps cycle nutrients, and Arion ater may merely step into this niche in place of native slugs. Arion ater has spread in Alaska in the following places: Anchorage, Cordova, Yakutat, Gustavus, Juneau, Sitka, Tenakee Springs, Ketchikan, and Kodiak Island, and in some of these areas, the black slug threatens lilies and orchids. It is unlikely complete removal can be achieved given high fecundity, but fencing and educating the public to hand pick black slugs might mitigate associated invasion risks.
Conservationists within the Pacific Northwest and BC Canada are concerned about competition between Arion ater and native slugs such as the banana slug (Ariolimax californicus, A. columbianus, and A. dolichophallus). The University of British Columbia's zoology department published a study on this interaction in 2015. They determined the two slugs to be functionally different but proposed further studies to determine whether black slugs are displacing native slugs. Their study found black slugs were more abundant and consumed a greater quantity of mushrooms than native banana slugs but could not determine reasons for differences in population sizes. They theorized the greater abundance of black slugs could be because the black slug displaced banana slugs or because the black slug might be invading areas with previously low banana slug numbers; however, there is no data for banana slug population sizes prior to the arrival of Arion ater. This complicates determining whether alien slugs have a negative or negligible effect upon native slug numbers. Additionally, this study could not determine whether high fungi-consumption resulted from dietary preference or from higher concentrations of alien slugs amidst Douglas fir forests, which promote fungal growth. The study also concluded that black and banana slugs compete for under-story berries. The study demonstrated neither native nor alien slugs consume conifer or fern seedlings. It also demonstrated no significant difference between metabolic rates. However, they concluded the black slug may eat more because of its shorter life span (one compared to several years), requiring faster consumption rates to reach sexual maturity. The study demonstrated both slugs benefit ecosystems by dispersing seeds and spores. This study demonstrates the two slugs to be functionally different; however, this study proposed further research on the following to determine if black slugs are displacing banana slugs: interactions between Arion ater and fungal communities and comparative studies looking at seed dispersal rates to determine their effect on native, fruit-bearing plant communities.


The black slug is mainly nocturnal and avoids exposure to sunlight, although in introduced areas, it has been observed to be active all parts of the day and night. It is omnivorous, eating carrion, fungi, animal feces, algae, lichen, and vegetation (living or decaying). These slugs prefer to eat on cloudy days or at night when temperatures are above 10 degrees Celsius. Mucus-production necessitates moist habitats, such as among leaf-litter, mosses, or fallen trees. Consequently, the black slug becomes most active after rainfall. A 1976 study compared black slug assimilation rates to that of similar slugs in the UK. The study determined the black slug feeds at similar rates to other European slugs (in terms of biomass), suggesting the black slug is an equally important decomposer/consumer in forest systems. The study theorized these high assimilation rates might result from abundant enzymes in slug digestive systems: amylase, invertase, cellulase, xylanase, and chitinase. The last might be especially indicative of how these slugs can consume large quantities of fungi such as Armillaria mellea. Microbiota within black slug digestive systems produce these enzymes—such as the bacteria that produce cellulose—enabling the slugs to break down lignocellulose. A recent study further explored Arion ater’s gut microbiome and discovered the black slug to have far more bacteria within its gut than did neighboring, northern European insects, including members of the orders Coleoptera, Isoptera, Orthoptera, and Diptera. This study learned the black slug’s gut microbiome to be functional at a wide range of temperatures and pH levels, and its results suggest that the mycobacterial culture may be uniform throughout the black slug’s gut and that Gammaproteobacteria composes most of this culture. This study contrasted its results to studies of North American black slugs that presented higher levels of cellulolytic activity at a narrower pH range. In summary, Arion ater can digest diverse food material such as cellulose because gut bacteria produce digestive enzymes.
As decomposers/consumers, slugs engage an important niche, contributing to ecosystem health. A 2005 study looked at another Arion slug species and concluded slugs may promote plant biodiversity. This study suggested that slugs promote plant—especially forb—species diversity and that slugs support annual plant species’ fitness, reducing rates of successional change. Additionally, slugs help disperse seeds and spores through their waste, and slugs facilitate nutrient cycling by being an omnivorous consumer (especially a decomposer) and by leaving behind their mucus, which also facilitates decomposition.
Slugs are common agricultural and horticultural pests. They consume abundant vegetative matter, especially seedlings. Additionally, many people find slugs to be unsightly.
Most animals prefer not to prey upon the black slugs because of the taste of its mucus and because this mucus can make them slippery and consequently difficult to capture; however, this slug does have some natural predators, including the hedgehog, badger, shrew, mole, mouse, frog, toad, snake, carnivorous beetle, and some birds. When picked up or touched, the black slug will contract to a hemispherical shape and begin to rock from side to side. This defensive behavior confuses predators, and is unique in the family Arionidae.