The Yucatan squirrel lives in dry deciduous and evergreen forests, semiarid pine-oak woodlands, and secondary forest growing in formerly logged areas. They are found in lowlands below an altitude of 750 metres (2,460 ft). They are active during the day and rest during the night, spending most of their time in trees. They are most active in the early morning, but may be seen sunning on a branch later in the day.
Their dreys (or nests), to be found in branches high up in the trees, are built from leaves and twigs. Their food consists of soft fruit, nuts and seeds, whilst Reid in 2009 concluded that their main diet consists of flowers, buds, and shoots. Females generally give birth to two or three young during the April to August dry season.
They are predated by birds of prey, wild cats and dogs, procyonids, primates, and snakes.


The Yucatan squirrel (/ˌjuːkəˈtæn/ (listen),  Sciurus yucatanensis), originally named the Yucatan gray squirrel, also once named the Campeche squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus found in the Yucatán Peninsula and adjacent areas. It is native to northern Belize, northeastern Guatemala, and southeast Mexico.


Marasmius rotula is a common species of agaric fungus in the family Marasmiaceae. Widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, it is commonly known variously as the pinwheel mushroom, the pinwheel marasmius, the little wheel, the collared parachute, or the horse hair fungus. The type species of the genus Marasmius, M. rotula was first described scientifically in 1772 by mycologist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli and assigned its current name in 1838 by Elias Fries.
The fruit bodies, or mushrooms, of M. rotula are characterized by their whitish, thin, and membranous caps up to 2 cm (0.8 in) wide that are sunken in the center, and pleated with scalloped margins. The slender and wiry black hollow stems measure up to 8.0 cm (3.1 in) long by 1.5 mm (0.06 in) thick. On the underside of the caps are widely spaced white gills that are attached to a collar encircling the stem. The mushrooms grow in groups or clusters on decaying wood such as fallen twigs and sticks, moss-covered logs, and stumps.
Unlike other mushrooms known to release spores in response to a circadian rhythm, spore release in M. rotula is dependent upon sufficient moisture. Dried mushrooms may revive after rehydrating and continue to release spores for up to three weeks—a sustained spore production of markedly longer duration than other typical agarics. There are several species of Marasmius with which M. rotula might be confused due to somewhat similar overall appearances, but differences in size, gill arrangement, and substrate are usually sufficient field characteristics to distinguish them. M. rotula mushrooms are not generally considered edible. They produce a unique peroxidase enzyme that is attracting research interest for possible use in bioengineering applications.


Marasmius rotula is generally considered inedible, but is not poisonous. The mushroom has no distinguishable odor, and its flavor varies from bland or bitter. Louis Krieger, writing in National Geographic in the 1920s, noted that the mushroom was used as an addition to gravies and, when used to garnish venison, "adds the appropriate touch of the wild woodlands." The fruit bodies will bioaccumulate cadmium: a study of the metal concentration of 15 wild mushroom species of India showed that M. rotula accumulated the highest concentration of that metal.
A peroxidase enzyme known as MroAPO (Marasmius rotula aromatic peroxygenase) is attracting research interest for possible applications in biocatalysis. In general, enzymes that catalyze oxygen-transfer reactions are of great utility in chemical synthesis since they work selectively and under ambient conditions. Fungal peroxidases can catalyze oxidations that are difficult for the organic chemist, including those involving aromatic substrates such as aniline, 4-aminophenol, hydroquinone, resorcinol, catechol, and paracetamol. The M. rotula enzyme is the first fungal peroxygenase that can be produced in high yields. It is highly stable over a wide pH range, and in a variety of organic solvents. The enzyme has other potential for use as a biosensor for aromatic substances in environmental analysis and drug monitoring.


The cap of the fruit body is thin and membranous, measuring 3 to 20 mm (0.1 to 0.8 in) in diameter. It has a convex shape slightly depressed in the center, conspicuous furrows in an outline of the gills, and scalloped edges. Young, unexpanded caps are yellowish brown; as the cap expands, the color lightens to whitish or light pinkish-white, often with a darker, sometimes brown center. The variety fusca has brown caps.  The white or slightly yellowish flesh is very thin, reaching about 0.25–1.5 mm thick in the central part of the cap, and even thinner at the margin.
Gills are attached to a collar, never to the stem, although some specimens have the collar pressed close enough to it that this characteristic may be less obvious. Widely spaced, they have the same whitish to pale yellow color as the flesh, and typically number between 16 and 22. They are initially narrow, but thicken downward to about 1–3 mm at the exposed edge. The stem is 1.2 to 8.0 cm (0.5 to 3.1 in) long and up to 0.15 cm (0.06 in) thick, with a smooth, sometimes shiny surface. It is tough, hollow, and either straight or with some curving. The color is blackish-brown up to a lighter, almost translucent apex. The base of the stem may be connected to dark brown or black root-like rhizomorphs 0.1–0.3 mm thick. Mature specimens display no veil.
Details of the fruit bodies' appearance, color in particular, are somewhat variable and dependent on growing conditions. For example, specimens growing on logs in oak and hickory forests in the spring tend to have more yellowish-white, depressed caps than those found in the same location in autumn, which are light yellow brown and more convex in shape. The fruit body development of M. rotula is hemiangiocarpous, with an hymenium that is only partially enclosed by basidiocarp tissues. Robert Kühner showed that a cortina-like tissue covers the young gills before the expanding cap breaks away from the stem. In unfavorable weather conditions, the mushrooms may fail to develop normally and instead produce semi-gasteroid basidiocarps.


Marasmius rotula is a saprobic species and as such obtains nutrients by decomposing dead organic matter. It grows in deciduous forests and fruits in groups or clusters on dead wood (especially beech), woody debris such as twigs or sticks, and occasionally on rotting leaves. The fruit bodies, which are easily overlooked because of their diminutive size, are often present in abundance after rains. The species is relatively intolerant of low water potentials, and will grow poorly or not at all under water stress conditions. It is unable to degrade leaf litter until it becomes more fragmented and more compacted so that the water-holding capacity increases in the deeper layers of the soil. The magnolia warbler has been noted to line its nests with the fruit bodies' stems.
In 1975 American mycologist Martina S. Gilliam investigated the periodicity of spore release in M. rotula and concluded that spore discharge did not follow a regular circadian rhythm, as is typical of agaric and bolete mushrooms, but rather was dependent on rain. A threshold of rainfall is required to elicit a spore discharge response and the duration of peak spore discharge correlates with the amount of rainfall, rather than its duration. Furthermore, Gilliam noted that spore prints were more readily obtained if the stem ends were placed in water, suggesting that water must enter through the fruit body for discharge to occur.
Like those of many other species of Marasmius, the fruit bodies of M. rotula can desiccate and shrivel in dry periods, then revive when sufficient moisture is available again in the form of rain or high humidity. Gilliam's study demonstrated that revived fruit bodies were capable of discharging spores over a period of at least three weeks, whereas previous studies using similar methods with other Agaricomycetes showed spore discharge occurred over a shorter period of up to six days after revival. The potential for sustained spore production and discharge may be due to the growth of new basidioles (immature basidia) during periods of growth, which then complete maturation when the mushroom revives. This may also explain why the gills become thicker as the mushroom matures.
The fungus is widespread and common in its preferred habitats in North America, Europe, and northern Asia. Although far less common in southerly locations, isolated collections have been reported from Africa (Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania) and South Asia (India). In North America M. rotula is most common in the eastern part of the continent.


The western hognose snake is a relatively small, stout-bodied snake. Its color and pattern is highly variable between subspecies, although most specimens appear much like rattlesnakes to the untrained eye, which appears to be Batesian mimicry. Males are considerably smaller than females, with adults rarely exceeding a total length (including tail) of 40–50 cm (15–20 inches). This snake gets its common name, "hognose", from the modified rostral (nose) scale that is formed in an upturned manner, providing a very "hog-like" look. Additionally, this adaptation makes these snakes adept burrowers.
The species is not dangerous to humans, but there exists scientific debate regarding whether the mild toxins in the hognose's bite result from saliva, harmful to its preferred wild food source – toads – or an extremely mild venom produced in glands connecting to the hognose's minuscule rear fangs. In either case, no deaths or systemic effects from the extremely rare bite from this rear-fanged snake have been recorded. Although bites may uncommonly be medically significant, the species is not regarded as venomous.
In captivity, the species has been bred into about 52 different "designer" color morphs.


The western hognose snake occurs from southern Canada throughout the United States to northern Mexico. It frequents areas with sandy or gravelly soils, including prairies, river floodplains, scrub and grasslands, semi-deserts, and some semiagricultural areas. It has been found at elevations of up to 2,500 m (8,200 feet).


The sixbar wrasse is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific between 30°N and 32°S. Its range extends from East Africa and Madagascar to Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, northern Australia and various island groups in the Western Pacific. It is found on coral reefs, reef slopes and in lagoons, down to depths of 15 m (50 ft) or more.


The sixbar wrasse or six-banded wrasse (Thalassoma hardwicke) is a species of wrasse in the family Labridae, native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.  It is an inhabitant of reef environments at depths from the surface down to 15 m (50 ft).  This species can grow to 20 cm (8 in) in total length, though most individuals do not exceed 15 cm (6 in).  It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can also be found in the aquarium trade.


The sixbar wrasse is diurnal and has a home range that exceeds 1,000 m² (11,000 sq ft). It forms small groups and feeds on planktonic and benthic crustaceans, foraminiferans, small fish, fish eggs and fish larvae. Males and females form pairs during the breeding season, and at this time males develop a gaudier colour and a black spot in the centre of the caudal fin.
An aquarium fish of this species was observed to use a rock as an anvil. The fish was fed pellets that were too hard for it to chew and too large for it to swallow. The fish carried each pellet to a particular rock where it succeeded in breaking the pellet in pieces. It used the same behaviour and the same rock on a number of occasions, demonstrating a capacity for remembering how to solve the hard-pellet problem.


The California spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus) is a species of spiny lobster found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Monterey Bay, California, to the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico. It typically grows to a length of 30 cm (12 in) and is a reddish-brown color with stripes along the legs, and has a pair of enlarged antennae but no claws. The interrupted grooves across the tail are characteristic for the species.
Females can carry up to 680,000 eggs, which hatch after 10 weeks into flat phyllosoma larvae. These feed on plankton before the metamorphosis into the juvenile state. Adults are nocturnal and migratory, living among rocks at depths of up to 65 m (213 ft), and feeding on sea urchins, clams, mussels and worms. The spiny lobster is eaten by various fish, octopuses and sea otters, but can defend itself with a loud noise produced by its antennae. The California spiny lobster is the subject of both commercial and recreational fishery in both Mexico and the United States, with sport fishermen using hoop nets and commercial fishermen using lobster traps.


While not endangered or threatened, the main threat to N. rhombifer is human ignorance. The diamondback water snake is often mistaken for the cottonmouth or rattlesnakes and is killed out of fear. In actuality, the diamondback water snake and other species of water snakes are far more common than the venomous snakes in their range, especially in areas that are frequented by humans.


The diamondback water snake is found in the central United States, predominantly along the Mississippi River valley, but its range extends beyond that. It ranges within the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama. It is also found in northern Mexico, in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.
This snake has been introduced to Lafayette Reservoir in Contra Costa County, California. It was first observed in the late 1980s and had reached high densities in the early 1990s, causing fisherman and other visitors to complain as they believed that the snakes were eating the reservoir's fish, frogs and, turtles—mostly stocked fish, American bullfrogs, and red-eared sliders—all non-native species too. In 1996 a contract was awarded to a wildlife control company to cull the snake population. Just when the control effort began in late 1997, dead watersnakes and turtles were observed in large numbers. The precise cause of the die-off is unknown, but a respiratory tract fungus was found in dissected snakes. A cause for the outbreak might have been an abnormally wet and cold El Niño weather system. There have been no confirmed observations of watersnakes at Lafayette Reservoir since late 1999, but sightings are occasionally reported, and the population may still continue to present in low numbers.


Nerodia rhombifer, commonly known as the diamondback water snake, is a species of nonvenomous natricine colubrid endemic to the central United States and northern Mexico. There are three recognized subspecies of N. rhombifer, including the nominotypical subspecies.


The diamondback water snake is predominantly brown, dark brown, or dark olive green in color, with a black net-like pattern along the back, with each spot being vaguely diamond-shaped. Dark vertical bars and lighter coloring are often present down the sides of the snake. In typical counter-colored fashion, the underside is generally a yellow or lighter brown color, often with black blotching.
The dorsal scales are heavily keeled, giving the snake a rough texture. The dorsal scales are arranged in 25 or 27 rows at midbody. There are usually 3 postoculars.
Adult males have multiple papillae (tubercles) on the under surface of the chin, which are not found on any other species of snake in the United States.
Nerodia rhombifer grows to an average total length (including tail) of 76–122 cm (30–48 inches). The record total length is 180 cm (69 inches).
Neonates are often lighter in color, making their patterns more pronounced, and they darken with age.


The diamondback water snake is one of the most common species of snake within its range. It is found predominantly near slow-moving bodies of water such as streams, rivers, ponds, or swamps.


Like other Nerodia species, the diamondback water snake is ovoviviparous. Adults breed in the spring, and gravid females give birth in the late summer or early fall. Neonates are around 8–10 in (20–25 cm) in length. Though its range overlaps with several other species of water snakes, interbreeding is not known.


The dice snake (Natrix tessellata) is a Eurasian nonvenomous snake belonging to the family Colubridae, subfamily Natricinae. It is also called water snake.


The dice snake is found throughout much of Eurasia:
Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary,  India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. The species is also present in Egypt.


Females are bigger than males. Their typical size is 1.0–1.3 m (39–51 in) long. Their color may vary from greyish green to brownish or almost black, with dark spots on the back. The belly is sometimes vividly coloured in yellow or orange, with black spots, very similar to dice, hence the name.


Living mainly near rivers, streams and lakes, it frequently feeds on fish. Sometimes, it feeds also on amphibians such as frogs, toads, and tadpoles.
Classified as nonvenomous, N. tessellata produces a potent antihemorrhagin in its serum and has been said to produce a neurotoxin through a gland in its mouth. As a defence, it spreads a very bad-smelling secretion from its cloaca. Another defence mechanism is thanatosis, playing dead.
During the mating season (March–May), they congregate in large groups. Egg-laying is usually in July, and one clutch consists of 10–30 eggs. The young snakes hatch in early September.
Dice snakes hibernate from October to April in dry holes near the water.


The desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), also known as Audubon's cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, and a member of the family Leporidae. Unlike the European rabbit, they do not form social burrow systems, but compared with some other leporids, they are extremely tolerant of other individuals in their vicinity.
Cottontails give birth to their kits in burrows vacated by other mammals. They sometimes cool off, or take refuge in scratched out shallow created depressions of their own making, using their front paws like a back hoe. They are not usually active in the middle of the day, but can be observed foraging in the early morning, and early evening. Cottontails are rarely found out of their burrows looking for food on windy days, because the wind interferes with their ability to hear approaching predators, their primary defense mechanism.


Cottontails are herbivores, with 90% of their diet consisting of grass.  They also feed on the leaves and peas of mesquite, barks, fallen fruit, the juicy pads of prickly pear and twigs of shrubs. It rarely needs to drink, getting its water mostly from the plants it eats or from dew. Due to seasonality and changes in moisture conditions of their habitat, cottontails adjust their diets based on many influential factors that impact the seasonal changes of vegetation (i.e. moisture content, abundance, nutrition value, etc.). Like most lagomorphs, it is coprophagic, re-ingesting and chewing its own feces to extract the nutrients as effectively as possible.
The desert cottontail, like all cottontails, eats on all fours. It can only use its nose to move and adjust the position of the food that it places directly in front of its front paws on the ground. The cottontail turns the food with its nose to find the cleanest part of the vegetation (free of sand and inedible parts) to begin its meal. The only time a cottontail uses its front paws to enable eating is when vegetation is above its head on a living plant. The cottontail then lifts a paw to bend the branch and bring the food within reach.


Many desert animals prey on cottontails, including birds of prey, mustelids, the coyote, the bobcat, wolves, mountain lions, snakes, weasels, humans, and even squirrels, should a cottontail be injured or docile from illness. Alien species, such as cats and dogs, are also known predators, and also pose a threat. Southwestern Native Americans hunted them for meat but also used their fur and hides. It is also considered a game species, due to which it is hunted for sport. The desert cottontail's normal behavior upon spotting a potential predator is to freeze in place in an attempt to avoid being detected. If it determines that it is in danger, it will flee the area by hopping away in a zigzag pattern. Cottontails can reach speeds of over 30 km/h (19 mph). When defending itself against small predators or other desert cottontails, it will nudge with its nose, or slap with its front paws, usually preceded by a hop straight upwards as high as two feet when threatened or taken by surprise.
Habitat loss due to land clearing and cattle grazing may severely affect the population of the desert cottontail. Human-induced fires are also a potential threat for desert cottontail populations. Another factor is its competition with the black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), because both have the same diet, and share the same habitat. When a season has been particularly dry, there is less plant life to go around. The cottontail does not fear the jackrabbit, in fact the jackrabbit is very skittish and will retreat from a confrontation in most instances. However, the black-tailed jackrabbit is much bigger, and consumes much more food at eating times.


The desert cottontail is found throughout the Western United States from eastern Montana to western Texas, and in Northern and Central Mexico. Its eastern range extends barely into the Great Plains. Westwards its range extends to central Nevada and southern California and Baja California, touching the Pacific Ocean. It is found at heights of up to 1,830 m (6,000 ft). It is particularly associated with the dry near-desert grasslands of the American southwest, though it is also found in less arid habitats such as pinyon-juniper forest. It is also frequently found in the riparian zones in arid regions.


The lifespan of a cottontail that reaches adulthood averages less than two years, depending on the location. Unfortunately for the cottontail, almost every local carnivore larger or faster than the lagomorph is its predator. Some predators, like snakes for example, are familiar with the area inhabited by the cottontails, and can catch and eat the young at will; the mother is unable to defend the litter. Although cottontails are highly active sexually, and mated pairs have multiple litters throughout the year, few young survive to adulthood. Those that survive grow quickly and are full grown at three months.


The 3rd edition of Mammal Species of the World listed 45 subspecies as valid. In 2010, a distinct 46th subspecies, the Sacramento Valley red fox (V. v. patwin), which inhabits the grasslands of the Sacramento Valley, was identified through mitochondrial haplotype studies. Castello (2018) recognized 30 subspecies of the Old World red fox and nine subspecies of the North American red fox as valid.
Substantial gene pool mixing between different subspecies is known; British red foxes have crossbred extensively with red foxes imported from Germany, France, Belgium, Sardinia and possibly Siberia and Scandinavia. However, genetic studies suggest very little differences between red foxes sampled across Europe. Lack of genetic diversity is consistent with the red fox being a highly agile species, with one red fox covering 320 km (200 mi) in under a year's time.
Red fox subspecies in Eurasia and North Africa are divided into two categories:
Northern foxes are large and brightly coloured.
Southern grey desert foxes include the Asian subspecies V. v. griffithi, V. v. pusilla, and V. v. flavescens. These foxes display transitional features between the northern foxes and other, smaller fox species; their skulls possess more primitive, neotenous traits than the northern foxes and they are much smaller; the maximum sizes attained by southern grey desert foxes are invariably less than the average sizes of northern foxes. Their limbs are also longer and their ears larger.
Red foxes living in Middle Asia show physical traits intermediate to the northern foxes and southern grey desert foxes.


Red foxes are omnivores with a highly varied diet. Research conducted in the former Soviet Union showed red foxes consuming over 300 animal species and a few dozen species of plants. They primarily feed on small rodents like voles, mice, ground squirrels, hamsters, gerbils, woodchucks, pocket gophers and deer mice. Secondary prey species include birds (with Passeriformes, Galliformes and waterfowl predominating), leporids, porcupines, raccoons, opossums, reptiles, insects, other invertebrates and flotsam (marine mammals, fish and echinoderms). On very rare occasions, foxes may attack young or small ungulates. They typically target mammals up to about 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) in weight, and they require 500 grams (18 oz) of food daily. Red foxes readily eat plant material and in some areas fruit can amount to 100% of their diet in autumn. Commonly consumed fruits include blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, persimmons, mulberries, apples, plums, grapes and acorns. Other plant material includes grasses, sedges and tubers.
Red foxes are implicated in the predation of game and song birds, hares, rabbits, muskrats and young ungulates, particularly in preserves, reserves and hunting farms where ground-nesting birds are protected and raised, as well as in poultry farms.
While the popular consensus is that olfaction is very important for hunting, two studies that experimentally investigated the role of olfactory, auditory and visual cues found that visual cues are the most important ones for hunting in red foxes and coyotes.
Red foxes prefer to hunt in the early morning hours before sunrise and late evening. Although they typically forage alone, they may aggregate in resource-rich environments. When hunting mouse-like prey, they first pinpoint their prey's location by sound, then leap, sailing high above their quarry, steering in mid-air with their tails, before landing on target up to 5 metres (16 ft) away. They typically only feed on carrion in the late evening hours and at night. They are extremely possessive of their food and will defend their catches from even dominant animals. Red foxes may occasionally commit acts of surplus killing; during one breeding season, four red foxes were recorded to have killed around 200 black-headed gulls each, with peaks during dark, windy hours when flying conditions were unfavourable. Losses to poultry and penned game birds can be substantial because of this. Red foxes seem to dislike the taste of moles, but will nonetheless catch them alive and present them to their kits as playthings.
A 2008–2010 study of 84 red foxes in the Czech Republic and Germany found that successful hunting in long vegetation or under snow appeared to involve an alignment of the red fox with the Earth's magnetic field.


The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus parts of North Africa. It is listed as least concern by the IUCN. Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been introduced to Australia, where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Due to its presence in Australia, it is included on the list of the "world's 100 worst invasive species".
The red fox originated from smaller-sized ancestors from Eurasia during the Middle Villafranchian period, and colonised North America shortly after the Wisconsin glaciation. Among the true foxes, the red fox represents a more progressive form in the direction of carnivory. Apart from its large size, the red fox is distinguished from other fox species by its ability to adapt quickly to new environments. Despite its name, the species often produces individuals with other colourings, including leucistic and melanistic individuals. Forty-five subspecies are currently recognised, which are divided into two categories: the large northern foxes and the small, basal southern grey desert foxes of Asia and North Africa.
Red foxes are usually together in pairs or small groups consisting of families, such as a mated pair and their young, or a male with several females having kinship ties. The young of the mated pair remain with their parents to assist in caring for new kits. The species primarily feeds on small rodents, though it may also target rabbits, squirrels, game birds, reptiles, invertebrates and young ungulates. Fruit and vegetable matter is also eaten sometimes. Although the red fox tends to kill smaller predators, including other fox species, it is vulnerable to attack from larger predators, such as wolves, coyotes, golden jackals, large predatory birds such as golden eagles and Eurasian eagle owls, and medium- and large-sized felines.
The species has a long history of association with humans, having been extensively hunted as a pest and furbearer for many centuries, as well as being represented in human folklore and mythology. Because of its widespread distribution and large population, the red fox is one of the most important furbearing animals harvested for the fur trade. Too small to pose a threat to humans, it has extensively benefited from the presence of human habitation, and has successfully colonised many suburban and urban areas. Domestication of the red fox is also underway in Russia, and has resulted in the domesticated red fox.


Red foxes reproduce once a year in spring. Two months prior to oestrus (typically December), the reproductive organs of vixens change shape and size. By the time they enter their oestrus period, their uterine horns double in size, and their ovaries grow 1.5–2 times larger. Sperm formation in males begins in August–September, with the testicles attaining their greatest weight in December–February. The vixen's oestrus period lasts three weeks, during which the dog-foxes mate with the vixens for several days, often in burrows.  The male's bulbus glandis enlarges during copulation, forming a copulatory tie which may last for more than an hour. The gestation period lasts 49–58 days. Though foxes are largely monogamous, DNA evidence from one population indicated large levels of polygyny, incest and mixed paternity litters. Subordinate vixens may become pregnant, but usually fail to whelp, or have their kits killed postpartum by either the dominant female or other subordinates.
The average litter size consists of four to six kits, though litters of up to 13 kits have occurred. Large litters are typical in areas where fox mortality is high. Kits are born blind, deaf and toothless, with dark brown fluffy fur. At birth, they weigh 56–110 g (2.0–3.9 oz) and measure 14.5 cm (5.7 in) in body length and 7.5 cm (3.0 in) in tail length. At birth, they are short-legged, large-headed and have broad chests. Mothers remain with the kits for 2–3 weeks, as they are unable to thermoregulate. During this period, the fathers or barren vixens feed the mothers. Vixens are very protective of their kits, and have been known to even fight off terriers in their defence. If the mother dies before the kits are independent, the father takes over as their provider. The kits' eyes open after 13–15 days, during which time their ear canals open and their upper teeth erupt, with the lower teeth emerging 3–4 days later. Their eyes are initially blue, but change to amber at 4–5 weeks. Coat colour begins to change at three weeks of age, when the black eye streak appears. By one month, red and white patches are apparent on their faces. During this time, their ears erect and their muzzles elongate. Kits begin to leave their dens and experiment with solid food brought by their parents at the age of 3–4 weeks. The lactation period lasts 6–7 weeks. Their woolly coats begin to be coated by shiny guard hairs after 8 weeks. By the age of 3–4 months, the kits are long-legged, narrow-chested and sinewy. They reach adult proportions at the age of 6–7 months. Some vixens may reach sexual maturity at the age of 9–10 months, thus bearing their first litters at one year of age. In captivity, their longevity can be as long as 15 years, though in the wild they typically do not survive past 5 years of age.


The blue monkey is found in evergreen forests and montane bamboo forests, and lives largely in the forest canopy, coming to the ground infrequently. It is very dependent on humid, shady areas with plenty of water. It eats mainly fruit and leaves, but will take some slower-moving invertebrates. It prefers to live in tall trees, which provide both food and shelter, and is, therefore, like almost all guenons, suffering from the loss of its natural habitat. Where pine plantations replace natural forest, the monkey may be treated as a threat by foresters, since it sometimes strips bark from exotic trees in a search for food or moisture. It is also hunted for bushmeat.


Blue monkeys eat fruits, figs, insects, leaves, twigs, and flowers. “They are primarily frugivores, with 50% of their diet consisting of fruit, with leaves or insects as their main source of protein, with the rest of the diet being made up of seeds, flowers, and fungi. They rarely eat vertebrates. They eat a variety of plants, but concentrate on a few species, which means their population density is generally dependent on
plant species' richness and diversity.”


The blue monkey or diademed monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the East African Rift and south to northern Angola and Zambia. It sometimes includes Sykes', silver, and golden monkeys as subspecies.


The mating system is polygynous, with a corresponding sexual dimorphism in size, as the males are the substantially  larger sex. Females normally give birth every two years, during the onset of the warm, rainy season; gestation is around five months, and the infants are born with fur and with their eyes open. Group sizes range from 10 to 40, containing only a single adult male. It is often found in groups with other species of monkeys such as the red-tailed monkey and various red colobus monkeys.
C. mitis males mate with more than one female, but the females only mate with one male. The female attracts males to copulate with her through body language. They breed throughout the year. “The groups can have up to 40 members and the females usually help to care for all of the young, not just their own."


Cercopithecus mitis joins with the C. ascanius (red-tailed monkey) for extra protection.  Its interactions with red-tailed monkeys include interspecies grooming. Their social system is mainly female because the males
leave once they are mature. The males have little to no interaction with the
young. C. mitis is very territorial, so the young males must leave quickly to help themselves become more successful. They challenge the dominant male of another family. If they defeat the dominant male, they take over the leadership of that
family, and this offers a place to live, socialization, and food supplies for the young males." C. mitis is said to be nomadic.


Podarcis muralis (common wall lizard) is a species of lizard with a large distribution in Europe and well-established introduced populations in North America, where it is also called the European wall lizard. It can grow to about 20 cm (7.9 in) in total length.


The northern plains gray langur is diurnal, and is both terrestrial and arboreal.  Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.  Females groom members of both sexes but males do not groom others.
The northern plains gray langur can live in several different types of groups.  It can live in groups of multiple males and females, one male and multiple females or multiple males with no females, and males can also live alone without a group.  Single male groups are most common.  Group size can exceed 100 monkeys.  Upon reaching maturity, males typically emigrate from their natal group while females typically remain.  Young adult females are typically dominant over older females.  When a new male takes over a group it may engage in infanticide of young fathered by the previous male or males, but this is less common when the takeover occurs slowly over several months.
The northern plains gray langur eats primarily fruits and leaves.  It is able to survive on mature leaves, which is a key to its ability to survive throughout the dry season.  It also eats seeds, flowers, buds, bark and insects, including caterpillars.  It is also fed fruits and vegetables by humans, and some groups get a substantial portion of their diets from food provided by temples and from raiding crops.
Groups that have access to abundant food year-round, for example those that are provisioned by temples or are able to raid crops year-round, also breed throughout the year. Other groups, such as those living in forests, typically give birth between December and May.  The gestation period is about 200 days. Females other than the mother alloparent the infant for the first month of its life.  Weaning occurs at about 1 year and males reach maturity at about 6 to 7 year old.
The northern plains gray langur often associates with chital deer. Both species respond to each other's alarm calls.  The chital seem to benefit from the vigilance of male langurs watching for predators in the trees, while the langurs seem to benefit from the chital's better senses of smell and hearing.  It also has been observed engaging in grooming sessions with rhesus macaques.


The range of the northern plains gray langur covers a large portion of India south of the Himalayas south to the Tapti River and the Krishna River.
It is thought to have been introduced to western Bangladesh by Hindu pilgrims on the bank of the Jalangi River.


P. glutinosus is found from New York, west to Illinois, south to Mississippi, and east to Alabama, with isolated populations in southern New Hampshire and northwestern Connecticut.


Not much is known about the diet of the slimy salamanders, but it is believed that the species exhibit opportunistic feeding strategies where they consume prey that is easily accessible. One study surveyed the digestive systems of this species and found that ants, bees, wasps, beetles, and snails occurred most frequently.


The northern slimy salamander (Plethodon glutinosus)  is a species of terrestrial plethodontid salamander found throughout much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States.


The nilgai is endemic to the Indian subcontinent: major populations occur in India, Nepal and Pakistan. It was thought to be extinct in Bangladesh but recent reports suggest otherwise. Significant numbers occur in the Terai lowlands in the foothills of the Himalayas; the antelope is abundant across northern India.
It prefers areas with short bushes and scattered trees in scrub forests and grassy plains. They are common in agricultural lands, but hardly occur in dense woods. In southern Texas, it roams in the prairies, scrub forests and oak forests. It is a generalist animal—it can adapt to a variety of habitats. Though sedentary and less dependent on water, nilgai may desert their territories if all water sources in and around it dry up. Territories in Texas are 0.6 to 8.1 square kilometres (0.23 to 3.13 sq mi) large.
The Indian population was estimated at one million in 2001. The nilgai were first introduced to Texas in the 1920s and the 1930s in a 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) large ranch near the Norias Division of the King Ranch, one of the largest ranches in the world. The feral population saw a spurt toward the latter part of the 1940s, and gradually spread out to adjoining ranches.
Population densities show great geographical variation across India. Density can be as low as 0.23 to 0.34 individuals per km² in Indravati National Park. and 0.4 individuals per km² in the Pench Tiger Reserve, or as high as 6.6 to 11.36 individuals per km² in Ranthambhore National Park, and seven individuals per km² in Keoladeo National Park. Seasonal variations were noted in Bardiya National Park in a 1980 study; the density 3.2 individuals per km² during the dry season and 5 per km² in April, the start of the dry season. In southern Texas, densities were found to be nearly 3–5 individuals per km² in 1976.
Historic notes mention nilgai in southern India, but these may have been feral:
I believe that the Coimbatore and Salem collectorates are almost the only places in Southern India, in which nil-gai are to be found. It is difficult to account for the animals being thus so widely divided from their usual haunts unless as has been generally supposed, these Southern specimens are the progeny of a semi-domesticated herd, which, at some by-gone period, had escaped from the preserve of a native potentate.
— Andrew Cooke McMaster (Notes on Jerdon's Mammals of India, 1871)


The nilgai is a browser or mixed feeder, but primarily a grazer in Texas. It prefers grasses and herbs, but also feeds on woody plants in the dry tropical forests of India. Diets generally suffice in protein and fats. The protein content of the nilgai's should be at least seven percent. The nilgai can survive for long periods without water and does not drink regularly even in summer.
In Sariska Reserve, it prefers herbs and grasses; grasses become more important in the rainy season, while during winter and summer it feeds additionally on Butea monosperma flowers, foliage of Anogeissus pendula, Capparis sepiaria, Grewia flavescens and Zizyphus mauritiana), pods of Acacia nilotica, A. catechu and A. leucophloea, and fruits of Zizyphus mauritiana. Preferred grass species include Cenchrus species, Cynodon dactylon, Desmostachya bipinnata, Scirpus tuberosus and Vetiveria zizanoides. Woody plants eaten include Acacia nilotica, A. senegal, A. leucophloea, Clerodendrum phlomidis, Crotalaria burhia, Indigofera oblongifolia, Morus alba and Zizyphus nummularia; herbs favoured are Cocculus hirsutus, Euphorbia hirta and Sida rhombifolia. Seeds of Paspalum distichum occurred in the dung of nilgai most of the year; Acacia nilotica and Prosopis juliflora seeds were discovered in the dry season and those of Echinochloa crusgalli during the monsoon.


Observations of females in southern Texas revealed that ovaries are developed by two years of age and the first birth takes place typically a year later, though in a few cases females as young as one-and-a-half years may mate successfully. Females can breed again around a year after parturition. Males in the same location were found to have active testes by the age of three years, that matured considerably by the next year. Males become sexually active at four or five years. Mating may occur throughout the year, with peaks of three to four months. The time of the year when these peaks occur varies geographically. In Texas, a peak is apparent from December to March. In Bharatpur National Park, the breeding season is from October to February, peaking in November and December. Sariska reserve witnesses a similar peak in December and January.
In the mating season, rutting males move about in search of females in oestrus. Males become aggressive and fight among themselves for dominance. These fights are characterised by displays of the enlarged chest, the throat patch and the beard while holding the head upright; and threatening the opponent by running with the horns pointed toward him and circling him. The victorious bull would protect the vicinity of the targeted female from other males. The courtship typically lasts for 45 minutes. The male, stiff and composed, approaches the receptive female, who keeps her head low to the ground and may slowly walk forward. The male licks her genitalia, upon which the female holds her tail to a side and the male gives out a flehmen response. Finally, the male pushes his chest against her rump, and mounts her.
Gestation lasts eight to nine months, following which a single calf or twins (even triplets at times) are born. In a 2004 study in the Sariska reserve, twins accounted for as high as 80 percent of the total calf population. Births peak from June to October in the Bharatpur National Park, and from April to August in southern Texas. Calves are precocial; they are able to stand within 40 minutes of birth, and forage by the fourth week. Pregnant females isolate themselves before giving birth. As typical of several bovid species, nilgai calves are kept in hiding for the first few weeks of their lives. This period of concealment can last as long as a month in Texas. Calves, mainly males, bicker playfully by neck-fighting. Young males would leave their mothers at ten months to join bachelor groups. The lifespan of the nilgai is typically ten years in Texas.


The nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) (/ˈnilˌɡaɪ/, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus Boselaphus and was described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1766. The nilgai stands 1–1.5 m (3.3–4.9 ft) at the shoulder; males weigh 109–288 kg (240–635 lb), and the lighter females 100–213 kg (220–470 lb). A sturdy thin-legged antelope, the nilgai is characterised by a sloping back, a deep neck with a white patch on the throat, a short crest of hair along the neck terminating in a tuft, and white facial spots. A column of pendant coarse hair hangs from the dewlap ridge below the white patch. Sexual dimorphism is prominent – while females and juveniles are orange to tawny, adult males have a bluish-grey coat. Only males possess horns, 15–24 cm (5.9–9.4 in) long.
The nilgai is diurnal (active mainly during the day). The animals band together in three distinct kinds of groups: one or two females with young calves, three to six adult and yearling females with calves, and all-male groups with two to 18 members. Typically tame, the nilgai may appear timid and cautious if harassed or alarmed; it flees up to 300 m (980 ft), or even 700 m (2,300 ft), galloping away from the source of danger. Herbivores, nilgai prefer grasses and herbs, though they commonly eat woody plants in the dry tropical forests of India. Females become sexually mature by two years, while males do not become sexually active until four or five years old. The time of the year when mating takes place varies geographically, but a peak breeding season lasting three to four months can be observed at most places. Gestation lasts eight to nine months, following which a single calf (sometimes twins or even triplets) is born. As typical of several bovid species, nilgai calves stay hidden for the first few weeks of their lives. The lifespan of the nilgai is around ten years.
The nilgai prefers areas with short bushes and scattered trees in scrub forests and grassy plains. It is common in agricultural land, but rarely in dense forest. Major populations occur in the Indian and Nepal Terai. It was thought to be extinct in Bangladesh. The nilgai was introduced to Texas in the 1920s to 1930s. As of 2008, the feral population in Texas is nearly 37,000. The nilgai is categorised as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The nilgai has been associated with Indian culture since the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE). They were hunted in the Mughal era (16th to 19th centuries) and are depicted in numerous miniatures. Nilgai have been considered a pest in several north Indian states, as they ravage crop fields and cause considerable damage. In Bihar, authorities have classified the nilgai as vermin.


The squirrel's upper parts are mottled, with the fur containing a mixture of gray, light brown and dusky hairs. The shoulders, neck and sides are a lighter gray. The fur around the eyes is whitish. The underside is lighter, buff or grayish yellow. Head and body are about 30 cm (12 in) long and the tail an additional 15 centimetres (5.9 in). They can weigh from 280 to 738 g (9.9 to 26.0 oz). The tail is relatively bushy for a ground squirrel, and at a quick glance, the squirrel might be mistaken for a fox squirrel.
As is typical for ground squirrels, California ground squirrels live in burrows, which they excavate themselves.  Some burrows are occupied communally, but each squirrel has its own entrance.  Although they readily become tame in areas used by humans, and quickly learn to take food left or offered by picnickers, they spend most of their time within 25 m (80 ft) of their burrows, and rarely go further than 50 m (160 ft) from it.
In the colder parts of their range, California ground squirrels hibernate for several months, but in areas where winters have no snow, most squirrels are active year-round. In those parts where the summers are hot, they may also estivate for periods of a few days.
California ground squirrels are often regarded as pests in gardens and parks, since they eat ornamental plants and trees. They commonly feed on seeds, such as oats, but also eat insects such as crickets and grasshoppers, as well as various fruits.
The dental formula of O. beecheyi is  × 2 = 22.


California ground squirrels use their cheek pouches to store more food than can be consumed in one sitting to store it for a later date. They are considered to be mostly herbivorous, with seeds, grains, nuts, fruits, and sometimes roots constituting most of their diet.


California ground squirrels are frequently preyed on by rattlesnakes.  They are also preyed on by eagles, raccoons, foxes, badgers, and weasels.  Interdisciplinary research at the University of California, Davis, since the 1970s has shown that the squirrels use a variety of techniques to reduce rattlesnake predation.  Some populations have varying levels of resistance to rattlesnake venom as adults.  Female squirrels with pups also chew on the skins shed by rattlesnakes and then lick themselves and their pups (that are never resistant to venom before one month of age) to disguise their scent.  Sand-kicking and other forms of harassment provoke the snake to rattle its tail, which allows a squirrel to assess the size and activity level (dependent on blood temperature) of the snake.
Another strategy is for a squirrel to super-heat and swish around its tail.  When hunting, rattlesnakes primarily rely on their pit organ, which detects infrared radiation.  The hot tail-swishing appears to convey the message "I am not a threat, but I am too big and swift-moving for it to be worth trying to hunt me."  These two confrontational techniques also distract the snake from any nearby squirrel burrows containing pups.
The swishing of the tail from side to side is called tail-waving, which helps the squirrel to deter a snake attack. The snakes attacked the squirrels that exhibited the tail-waving at a shorter distance than those that did not and majority of those tail-waving squirrels successfully dodged these attacks. This successful dodging, along with the fact that the adult squirrels are larger than the young ones, helps to deter the predators, as the rattlesnakes are 1.6 times more likely to be deterred from attacking an area after an encounter with an adult squirrel. In 30 out of 45 interactions with snakes, the tail-waving behavior of the squirrels stopped the snake in its tracks and the snake attempted to wait for the squirrel to leave before it would consider attacking again, showing that the behavior does deter predatory attacks by the rattlesnakes. This is due to the adult squirrels being vigilant and looking more threatening and also that they are able to more successfully dodge attacks. They also can use their tail-waving to signal to other ground squirrels in the area that a rattlesnake or other predator has recently been spotted. Though the ground squirrels have been found to also exhibit this tail-waving behavior when no predator is present, they wave their tails faster and for a longer time when they spot a predator or in an area where a predator has recently been spotted.
Vigilant behavior in squirrels is also a defense mechanism to avoid predation.  In addition to the tail-waving, the squirrels have been found to be more vigilant and on alert if  a predator had recently been in the area than they were if no predator had been detected. If the ground squirrels are aware that they are in an area where the rattlesnakes have recently been, they devote more time to being alert and searching for the predators than to hunting and foraging than in an environment where they do not believe predators exist. These vigilant squirrels were found to have a faster reaction time to a stimulus from a predator and jump higher and further away than a squirrel that was not as vigilant. In a simulated environment study, 60% of squirrels that were in an environment with a recent snake encounter exhibited an evasive leap behavior, which propels them farther away from their attackers; 20% of squirrels exhibited this behavior in a primary encounter with a snake and roughly 5% of squirrels exhibited this behavior when no snake was present and no threat was detected. This shows that the squirrels are more alert, vigilant, and ready for an attacker after one has been recently seen.


The California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi), also known as the Beechey ground squirrel, is a common and easily observed ground squirrel of the western United States and the Baja California Peninsula; it is common in Oregon and California and its range has relatively recently extended into Washington and northwestern Nevada. Formerly placed in Spermophilus, as Spermophilus beecheyi, it was reclassified in Otospermophilus in 2009, as it became clear that Spermophilus as previously defined was not a natural (monophyletic) group. A full species account was published for this species in 2016.


California ground squirrels' mating season is early spring and tends to last only for a few weeks. The females are considered to be promiscuous, so the individuals of one litter can be from multiple mates. The California ground squirrel has one litter of five to eleven per year, with gestation around one month. The young open their eyes at about five weeks and reach sexual maturity around one year old.
The coloration of the young is slightly lighter than the adults, and molting occurs at about eight weeks of age – when the young leave the burrows. California ground squirrels can live up to six years.


Panellus stipticus is considered too small and bitter to be edible, but is considered nonpoisonous. Its taste has been described as acidic, acrid, or astringent. One 1992 study reported that the taste of the fruit bodies varies across the geographic range of the species. Those from eastern North America have a mildly acrid taste that takes time to develop, and cause uncomfortable drying in the mouth. In contrast, specimens from Japan, New Zealand, and Russia produce no sensation in the mouth, but cause significant constriction and a nauseating taste in the throat. The fruit bodies are reputed to have been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a styptic to staunch bleeding, and also as a "violent purgative".


Panellus stipticus is common in northern temperate regions of Europe, and has also been collected in Australia, New Zealand, Anatolia, Japan, and China. In North America, it is more common in the east than the west; the mushroom's northern range extends to Alaska, and it has been collected as far south as Costa Rica.
Panellus stipticus is a saprobic species, and causes a white rot. This is a form of wood decay in which the wood assumes a bleached appearance and where lignin as well as cellulose and hemicellulose is broken down by enzymes secreted by the fungus.  Fruit bodies are usually found in tightly overlapping clusters on the sides of hardwood trees, on logs, stumps, and fallen branches. Although most commonly found on dead wood, it can also grow opportunistically in the wounds of living trees. In North America, its preferred hosts are oak, birch, maple, hickory, pecan, and American hornbeam, while in Europe, it is commonly found growing on oak, birch, alder, beech, hazel, chestnut, and ash. It has also been found growing on Ericia in North Africa. Although the fungus favors hardwoods, it has been reported to grow on loblolly pine and eastern white pine. Fruiting occurs September through November in Europe, the Canary Islands, and North America, although it may also sometimes be found in the spring. The fruit bodies are long-lasting and may be found year-round. It is an "early-stage" succession fungus, not typically recorded from plantations over 20 years old.
The fruit bodies are frequently attacked by slugs, which may be important agents in the dispersal of its spores. White-tailed deer are also known to consume the fungus.


The fungus normally exists unseen, in the form of a mass of threadlike vegetative cells called a mycelium, inhabiting rotting wood; only when suitable environmental conditions of temperature, moisture, and nutrient availability are achieved does the fungus produce the reproductive structures known as fruit bodies, or mushrooms. The cap of the fruit body is kidney- or clamshell-shaped, convex to roughly flat, with dimensions of 1.2 to 3.2 cm (0.5 to 1.3 in) by 1.2 to 2.5 cm (0.5 to 1.0 in). The edges of the caps are scalloped with small rounded teeth, and curved slightly inward. The cap surface is dry, with a pattern of block-like areas similar to cracked dried mud; the surface is also covered with small fine hairs that give it a somewhat woolly consistency. It may have several concentric ridges or zones. Fresh fruit bodies range in color from yellowish-orange to buff to cinnamon; when dried they may be various shades of tan, brown or clay. The faded colors of dried fruit bodies tend to revive when moistened. On the underside of the cap, the gills are narrow and spaced closely together, often forked, buff-colored, and with numerous interconnecting cross-veins. Holding the cap in position is a stem that is 0.6 to 1.2 cm (0.2 to 0.5 in) long by 0.3 to 0.8 cm (0.1 to 0.3 in) thick, and has an off-center attachment to the cap, either at or near the cap side. The dull-white stem is covered with minute silk-like fibers, and is narrower at the base where it attaches to the substrate. Fruit bodies do not have any distinctive odor. The flesh is thin and tough, and dark yellow-brown to cream-colored.


Various microscopic characteristics may be used to help identify the fungus from other morphologically similar species. A spore print of P. stipticus, made by depositing a large number of spores in a small area, reveals their color to be white. Viewed with a microscope, the spores are smooth-walled, elliptical to nearly allantoid (sausage-shaped), with dimensions of 3–6 by 2–3 µm. Spores are amyloid, meaning that they will absorb iodine and become bluish-black when stained with Melzer's reagent, but this staining reaction has been described as "relatively weak".
The basidia (the spore-bearing cells) are 15–20 by 2.5–3.5 µm, club-shaped, and clamped at the base. The spores are attached to the end of the basidia by four projections called sterigmata that are 1–3.5 µm long. Cystidia are hyphal cells in the hymenium that do not produce basidiospores; they also make up the surfaces of the fruit body (the pelli or "cuticles"). They are usually structurally distinct from the basidia, and their features may be used as microscopic characters to help distinguish and differentiate similar fungi.  The cheilocystidia are found on the gill edge; in P. stipticus they are narrowly club-shaped, cylindrical, spindle-shaped to bifurcate at the apex. They are also thin-walled, hyaline (translucent), abundant and crowded, and measure 17–45 by 3.5–6 µm. The pleurocystidia, located on the gill face, are 17–40 by 3–4.5 µm, spindle- or club-shaped, sometimes bifurcate at the apex, thin-walled, and hyaline. They are scattered or in dense clusters, mostly embedded in hymenium, occasionally protruding up to half the width of the hymenium.
The flesh of the cap consists of a number of microscopically distinct layers of tissue. The cuticle of the cap (known as the pileipellis) is between 8–10 µm thick, and is made of a loose textura intricata, a type of tissue in which the hyphae are irregularly interwoven with distinct spaces between them. The cuticle hyphae are thick-walled to thin-walled, with scattered inconspicuous cystidia measuring 40–55 by 3.5–5.5 µm. These cystidia located in the cap (pileocystidia) are cylindrical, thin-walled, yellow in Melzer's reagent, hyaline in KOH, sometimes with amorphous dingy brown material coating the walls. Beneath the cuticle layer is a zone 54–65 µm thick, made of very loosely entwined, thin-walled hyphae, 2–3 µm in thickness, with clamps at the septa. Below this is a zone 208–221 µm in thickness, in which the densely compacted hyphae, 3–8 µm in diameter, have swollen, gelatinized walls, and often more or less a vertical orientation. This in turn is followed by a layer 520 µm in thickness, formed of loosely interwoven hyphae, 2–8 µm in width, some of which have thin walls with clamps at the septa, whilst others have somewhat thickened gelatinized walls. The flesh of the cap has a layer of upright hyphae bending into a lower layer of interwoven hyphae with diameters of 2.5–8 µm. The flesh of the gills is similar to that of the lower cap.


Species of Crepidotus having a similar shape can be distinguished by their brown spore print, compared with the white spore print of P. stipticus. Schizophyllum commune has a densely hairy white to grayish cap and longitudinally split gill-folds on the underside. The ruddy panus mushroom (Panus rudis) is larger, has a reddish-brown cap that fades to pinkish-tan, and shows lilac tinges when young, fresh, and moist. Some Paxillus species may have a similar appearance, but they have yellow-brown spore prints.


It occurs in South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and Tanzania, including Pemba Island.
Its distribution within South Africa has expanded south- and westwards towards the coastal areas since 1981.


Length (snout to vent length) is 39 mm for males, 43 mm for females. Throat is stippled with grey or brown while the belly is cream coloured. The back is grey-brown with dark streak from snout to shoulder or beyond. Its tail is remarkable for having the underside covered in adhesive lamellae enabling its use as a fifth limb.


The top surface of the cap shows typical concentric zones of different colors, and the margin is always the lightest. Underneath a layer of tomentum is a black layer, topping the whitish flesh. The flesh itself is 1–3 mm thick and has a leathery texture. Older specimens, such as the one pictured, can have zones with green algae growing on them, thus appearing green. It commonly grows in tiled layers on in groups or rows on logs and stumps of deciduous trees, and is common in North America. The mushroom is stalkless and the cap is rust-brown or darker brown, sometimes with black zones. The cap is flat, up to 8 × 5 x 0.5–1 cm in area. It is often triangular or round, with zones of fine hairs. The pore surface is whitish to light brown, with pores round and with age twisted and labyrinthine. 3–8 pores per millimeter.
T. versicolor is a white-rot fungi which degrades lignin from lignocellulosic materials, such as wood. It may be eaten by caterpillars of the fungus moth Nemaxera betulinella, maggots of the Platypezid fly Polyporivora picta, and the fungus gnat Mycetophila luctuosa. It is considered inedible to humans.


In 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to two manufacturers for advertising misbranded T. versicolor PSK supplements as anti-cancer or immune therapy drugs, stating such products "are not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above referenced uses and, therefore, these products are "new drugs" under section 201(p) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 321(p). New drugs may not be legally introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce without prior approval from the FDA."
Trametes versicolor may be used in traditional Chinese medicine or other herbalism practices.


The alpine newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris) is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and throat. Males are more conspicuously coloured than the drab females, especially during breeding season.
The alpine newt occurs at high altitude as well as in the lowlands. Living mainly in forested land habitats for most of the year, the adults migrate to puddles, ponds, lakes or similar water bodies for breeding. Males court females with a ritualised display and deposit a spermatophore. After fertilisation, females usually fold their eggs into leaves of water plants. The aquatic larvae grow up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in around three months before metamorphosing into terrestrial juvenile efts, which mature into adults at around three years. In the southern range, the newts sometimes do not metamorphose but keep their gills and stay aquatic as paedomorphic adults. Larvae and adults feed mainly on diverse invertebrates and themselves fall prey to dragonfly larvae, large beetles, fish, snakes, birds or mammals.
Populations of the alpine newt started to diverge around 20 million years ago. At least four subspecies are distinguished, and some argue there are several distinct, cryptic species. Although still relatively common and classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, alpine newt populations are decreasing and have locally gone extinct. The main threats are habitat destruction, pollution and the introduction of fish such as trout into breeding sites. Where it has been introduced, the alpine newt can potentially transmit diseases to native amphibians, and it is being eradicated in New Zealand.


Forests, including both deciduous and coniferous forests (pure spruce plantations are avoided), are the main land habitat. Less common are forest edges, brownfield land, or gardens. Populations can be found above tree line in the high mountains, where they prefer south-exposed slopes. The newts use logs, stones, leaf litter, burrows, construction waste or similar structures as hiding places.
Aquatic breeding sites close to adequate land habitat are critical. While small, cool water bodies in forested areas are preferred, alpine newts tolerate a wide range of permanent or non-permanent, natural or human-made water bodies. These can range from shallow puddles over small ponds to larger, fish-free lakes or reservoirs and quiet parts of streams. Damming by beavers creates suitable breeding sites. Overall, the alpine newt is tolerant regarding chemical parameters such as pH, water hardness and eutrophication. Other European newts such as the crested, smooth, palmate or Carpathian newt often use the same breeding sites, but are less common at higher elevation.


The alpine newt is medium-sized and stocky. It reaches 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) length in total, females measuring roughly 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) longer than males, and a body weight of 1.4–6.4 g. The tail is compressed sideways and is half as long or slightly shorter than the rest of the body. During their life in water, both sexes develop a tail fin, and males a low (up to 2.5 mm), smooth-edged crest on their back. The cloaca of males swells during breeding season. The skin is smooth during the breeding season and granular outside it, and is velvety during the animal's land phase.
The characteristic dark grey to bright blue of the back and sides is strongest during breeding season. This base colour may vary to greenish and is more drab and mottled in females. The belly and throat are orange and only occasionally have dark spots. Males have a white band with black spots and a light blue flash running along the flanks from the cheeks to the tail. During breeding season, their crest is white with regular dark spots. Juvenile efts, just after metamorphosis, resemble adult terrestrial females, but sometimes have a red or yellow line on the back. Very rarely, leucistic individuals have been observed.
While these traits apply to the widespread nominate subspecies, I. a. alpestris, the other subspecies differ slightly. I. a. apuana often has dark spots on the throat and sometimes on the belly. I. a. cyreni has a slightly rounder and larger skull than the nominate subspecies but is otherwise very similar. In I. a. veluchiensis, females have a more greenish colour, spots on the belly, sparse dark spots on the lower tail edge, and a narrower snout, but these differences between subspecies are not consistent.
Larvae are 7–11 mm long after hatching and grow to 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) just before metamorphosis. They initially have only two small filaments (balancers), between the eyes and gills on each side of the head, which later disappear as the forelegs and then the hindlegs develop. The larvae are light brown to yellow and initially have dark longitudinal stripes, which later dissolve into a dark pigmentation that is stronger towards the tail. The tail is pointed and sometimes ends in a short filament. Alpine newt larvae are more robust and have wider heads than those of the smooth newt and palmate newt.


The alpine newt is native to continental Europe. It is relatively common over a large, more or less continuous range from northwestern France to the Carpathians in Romania, and from southern Denmark in the north to the Alps and France just north of the Mediterranean in the south, but absent from the Pannonian basin. Isolated areas of distribution in Spain, Italy and Greece correspond to distinct subspecies (see section Taxonomy: Subspecies above). Alpine newts have been deliberately introduced to parts of continental Europe, including within the boundaries of cities such as Bremen and Berlin. Other introductions have occurred to Great Britain, mainly England but also Scotland, and Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand.
The alpine newt can occur at high elevation and has been found up to 2,370 m (7,780 ft) above sea level in the Alps. It also occurs in the lowlands down to sea level. Towards the south of its range, most populations are found above 1,000 m (3,300 ft).


The alpine newt was first described in 1768 by Austrian zoologist Laurenti, as Triton alpestris, from the Ötscher mountain in the Austrian Alps (alpestris meaning "alpine" in Latin). He used that name for a female and described the male (Triton salamandroides) and the larva (Proteus tritonius) as different species. Later, the alpine newt was placed in the genus Triturus along with most other European newts. When genetic evidence showed that this genus contained several unrelated lineages, the alpine newt was split off by García-París and colleagues as the monotypic genus Mesotriton in 2004, which had been erected as a subgenus by Bolkay in 1928.
However, the name Ichthyosaura had already been introduced in 1801 by Sonnini de Manoncourt and Latreille for "Proteus tritonius", the larva of the alpine newt. It therefore has priority over Mesotriton and is now the valid genus name. "Ichthyosaura", Greek for "fish lizard", refers to a nymph-like creature in classical mythology.


Several subspecies of the alpine newt have been bred in captivity, including a population from Prokoško Lake in Bosnia that is now probably extinct in the wild. Efts often return to the water after only one year. Captive individuals have reached an age of 15–20 years.


The aquatic phase starts at snowmelt, from February in the lowlands to June at higher altitudes, while egg laying follows a few months later and can continue until August. Some southern populations in Greece and Italy appear to stay aquatic most of the year and hibernate underwater. In the Apennine subspecies, I. a. apuana, two rounds of breeding and egg-laying in autumn and spring have been observed .
Breeding behaviour occurs mainly in the morning and at dawn. Males perform a courtship display. The male first places himself in front of the female remains static for a while, then fans his tail to stimulate the female and wave pheromones towards her. After leaning in and touching her snout, he creeps away, followed by the female. When she touches the base of his tail with her snout, he releases a sperm packet (spermatophore) and blocks the female's path so she picks it up with her cloaca. Several rounds of spermatophore deposition may follow. Males frequently interfere with displays of rivals. Experiments suggest that it is mainly male pheromones that trigger mating behaviour in females, while colour and other visual cues are less relevant. In a breeding season, a male can produce more than 48 spermatophores, and offspring from one female usually have several fathers.
Females wrap their eggs in leaves of water plants for protection, preferring leaves closer to the surface where temperatures are higher. Where no plants are available, they may also use leaf litter, dead wood or stones for egg deposition. They can lay 70–390 eggs in a season, which are light grey-brown and 1.5–1.7 mm in diameter (2.5–3 mm including the jelly capsule). Incubation time is longer under cold conditions, but larvae typically hatch after two to four weeks. The larvae are benthic, staying in general close to the bottom of the water body. Metamorphosis occurs after around three months, again depending on temperature, but some larvae overwinter and metamorphose only in the next year.


Introduced alpine newts may pose a threat to native amphibians if they carry disease. A particular concern is chytridiomycosis, which was found in at least one introduced population in the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, the risk of spreading chytridiomycosis to endemic frogs has led to the introduced subspecies I. a. apuana being declared an "unwanted organism", and eradication being recommended. It has proven challenging to detect and remove the newts, but over 2000 individuals have been eradicated until 2015.


The corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) is a North American species of rat snake that subdues its small prey by constriction. It is found throughout the southeastern and central United States.  Though superficially resembling the venomous copperhead and often killed as a result of this mistaken identity, corn snakes lack functional venom and are harmless. Corn snakes are beneficial to humans  by helping to control populations of wild rodent pests that damage crops and spread disease.
The corn snake is named for the species' regular presence near grain stores, where it preys on mice and rats that eat harvested corn (maize). The Oxford English Dictionary cites this usage as far back as 1675, whilst other sources maintain that the corn snake is so-named because the distinctive, nearly-checkered pattern of the snake's belly scales resembles the kernels of variegated corn.


Like all snakes, corn snakes are carnivorous and, in the wild, they eat every few days. While most corn snakes eat small rodents, such as the white-footed mouse, they may also eat other reptiles, or amphibians, or climb trees to find unguarded bird eggs.
Seasons play a large role in the thermal regulation patterns of corn snakes, which is the main mechanism of digestion for snakes. During the fall season corn snakes maintain a body temperatures that was 3.0 degrees Celsius higher than the surrounding environment after consuming a meal. While corn snakes in the winter were seen to not thermoregulate after digestion. Captive snakes do this by using heat mats as an underneath heat source replicates their natural conditions. Corns snakes demonstrate nocturnal patterns, and use the warm ground at night to thermoregulate, therefore heat mats replicate this source.
American "rat snakes", such as P. guttatus, had venomous ancestors, which lost their venom after they evolved constriction as a means of prey capture.


Adult corn snakes have a body length of 61–182 cm (2.00–5.97 ft). In the wild, they usually live around ten to fifteen years, but in captivity can live to an age of 23 years or more.  The record for the oldest corn snake in captivity was 32 years and 3 months. They can be distinguished from copperheads by their brighter colors, slender build, round pupils, and lack of heat-sensing pits.


Wild corn snakes prefer habitats such as overgrown fields, forest openings, trees, palmetto flatwoods, and abandoned or seldom-used buildings and farms, from sea level to as high as 6,000 feet. Typically, these snakes remain on the ground until the age of four months but can ascend trees, cliffs, and other elevated surfaces. They can be found in the Southeastern United States ranging from New Jersey to the Florida Keys.
In colder regions, snakes brumate during winter. However, in the more temperate climate along the coast, they shelter in rock crevices and logs during cold weather; they also can find shelter in small, closed spaces, such as under a house, and come out on warm days to soak up the heat of the sun. During cold weather, snakes are less active, so they hunt less.


It has been found that corn snakes (along with other colubrids) reach sexual maturity by means of size, as opposed to age.
Corn snakes are relatively easy to breed. Although not necessary, they are usually put through a cooling (also known as brumation) period that takes 60–90 days to get them ready for breeding. Corn snakes brumate around 10 to 16 °C (50 to 61 °F) in a place where they cannot be disturbed and with little sunlight.
Corn snakes usually breed shortly after the winter cooling.  The male courts the female primarily with tactile and chemical cues, then everts one of his hemipenes, inserts it into the female, and ejaculates his sperm.  If the female is ovulating, the eggs will be fertilized and she will begin sequestering nutrients into the eggs, then secreting a shell.
Egg-laying occurs slightly more than a month after mating, with 12–24 eggs deposited into a warm, moist, hidden location. Once laid, the adult snake abandons the eggs and does not return to them. The eggs are oblong with  leathery, flexible shells. About 10 weeks after laying, the young snakes use a specialized scale called an egg tooth to slice slits in the egg shell, from which they emerge at about 5 in long.
Reproduction in captivity has to be done correctly so the clutch's mortality rate decreases. This includes accurate sexing, establishing proper pre-breeding conditioning, and timely pairing of adults. Corn snakes are temperate zone colubrids, and share a reproductive pattern where females increase their feeding during summer and fall. This only applies to corn snakes that are sexually mature, which typically indicates the snake is around 75 cm (30 inches) in length or weight 250 g.


Agalychnis callidryas, or better known as the red-eyed tree frog, is an arboreal hylid native to Neotropical rainforests where it ranges from Mexico, through Central America, to Colombia. The scientific name of the red-eyed treefrog, A. callidryas, comes from the Greek words kalos (meaning "beautiful") and dryas (a "tree" or "wood nymph").


Red eyed tree frogs inhabit areas near rivers and ponds in rainforests and humid lowlands on the Atlantic slopes from southern Veracruz and northern Oaxaca in Mexico, to central Panama and northern Colombia. They also live on the Pacific slope in southwestern Nicaragua and southwestern Costa Rica to eastern Panama. The optimum temperature for red-eyed treefrogs is 24–29 °C (75–84 °F) in the daytime, and 19–25 °C (66–77 °F) at night. Agalychnis callidryas also require high humidity levels of at least 80%.


This species has large, bright red eyes with vertically narrowed pupils. The red eyed tree frog is very colorful, with a vibrant green body, yellow and blue vertical stripes along its side, a white underside, brightly colored red or orange feet, and red eyes. Additionally, they have sticky pads on their toes that allow them to cling onto leaves . The skin on the red eyed treefrog's belly is soft and fragile, whereas the back is thicker and rougher. On average, the males are about two inches long, and the females are slightly bigger at around 3 inches.


Although random mating in Agalychnis callidryas has been documented, studies have shown that an increased body size is an indicator of male quality while looking for a mate. During the mating season, the male frogs shake the branches where they are sitting to improve their chances of finding a mate by keeping rivals at bay. This is the first evidence that tree-dwelling vertebrates use vibration to communicate. When rainfall is at its highest, a male red-eyed treefrog calls "chack" to get the attention of the female. Females use the call, as well as color (specifically, the stripped sides) of the male frog, in order to find a possible mate. Both the call and color of the male frog show territorial display, and anti-predatory behavior. During amplexus, the female carries the male on her back for several hours during the oviposition process. Because of external egg fertilization, there is still risk of competition even after a female has selected a mate. There is not sperm priority in Agalychnis callidryas, and so a single clutch of eggs may have been fertilized by multiple males. The female chooses a leaf above a pond or large puddle on which to lay her clutch of roughly 40 eggs. Since oviposition generally occurs on both sides of a leaf, red-eyed treefrogs may fold the leaf to hide the eggs from predators. They also produce sticky jelly to glue the eggs together; this may protect the eggs from splitting and dehydration.
The eggs develop into tadpoles, which hatch after six to seven days and fall into the water below. Red eyed tree frog embryos use natural day and night light cycles as a signal for when to hatch, and tend to hatch just after nightfall. Red-eyed treefrog eggs may hatch early (exhibiting phenotypic plasticity) when a change in the environment signals a danger to their survival. Dragonflies, fish, and water beetles prey on the tadpoles. The tadpoles remain in the water from three weeks to several months, until they metamorphose into frogs. The time of metamorphosis depends on duration of larval stage, which varies depending on environment. After metamorphosis, the color of tadpoles' torsos changes from green to brown, and their eyes, which are initially yellow, turn into deep red without much side patterning. These changes mark maturity. The lifespan of red-eyed treefrogs is about five years.
Young frogs that survive the first few weeks after metamorphosis move into the undergrowth and security of plants near their natal pools, often into the hollows of tubular plants such as bromeliads. Young frogs prey on very small flies and other insects during the first months of their lives. The young mature after two years and begin mating at the age of three to four years. These treefrogs are known to live up to five years (data from captive-breeding programs), depending on the health and conditions of their habitat (when aided by abundant plant growth, plenty of fresh water, and an abundance of small and larger insects on which to prey).
They sometimes breed successfully in captivity if kept in high-humidity vivaria (e.g., by using misting equipment), tropical plants such as Bromelia and other epiphyte plants, together with well-aerated water pools. Their captive habitat should have a light cycle with 11–12 hours of daylight and an average day temperature of 26–28 °C (79–82 °F) and night-time averages of is 22–25 °C (72–77 °F). Simulating a rainy season once a year in November to December encourages reproduction.


Gazelles have adapted to live in dry, desert-like conditions. They spend most of their time at the top of mountains and hills. Living in an annual average temperature of 21-23 °C, gazelles prefer to bed on the tops of the hills/mountains to avoid the heat during the day. Around dawn and dusk, these mammals will be found traversing the hills to eat in light forests, fields, or desert plateaus.
It is less well adapted to hot, dry conditions than the Dorcas gazelle, which appears to have replaced the mountain gazelle through some of its range during the late Holocene in a period of climatic warming.


Grass and shrubs are the gazelles most common source of food due to its availability in its environment. Its range coincides closely with that of the acacia trees that grow in these areas, although this varies with food availability in its region. It is mainly a grazing species, though this varies with food availability. They can survive for long periods of time without a water source. Instead, they acquire freshwater from succulents and dew droplets from plants.


In the wild, mountain gazelles rarely survive past the age of eight but can live up to 15 years in captivity when taken care of. By 12 months, a female gazelle can begin breeding. For males, 18 months is when they will start breeding. Being polygamous, not spending their lives with one other individual, mountain gazelles' typical breeding season is during the early winter months. Females will give birth to one offspring per year mostly between the months of April and May. A few days prior to giving birth the mother will leave her herd and live in solitary. For up to two months, the mother and her offspring will stay by themselves while the mother watches out for predators. Common predators include foxes, jackals, and wolves that will try to attack the fawn. While young males will stay with their mother for only six months before departing to a herd of young males, young females will sometimes join their mother with a herd.


Mountain gazelles are most abundant in Israel, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights, but are also found in parts of Jordan and Turkey. While there are no accurate estimates of the number of individuals in the wild, the Israeli Parks and Nature authority estimated there to be only 3,100 endangered gazelles in their country.
Less than 3,000 mountain gazelles are left within their natural range.


The aggregating anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima), or clonal anemone,  is the most abundant species of sea anemone found on rocky, tide swept shores along the Pacific coast of North America. This cnidarian hosts endosymbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that contribute substantially to primary productivity in the intertidal zone. The aggregating anemone has become a model organism for the study of temperate cnidarian-algal symbioses.


The few known predators of the aggregating anemone include a species of nudibranch (Aeolidia papillosa), leather star, and mosshead sculpin.


The polyps of the aggregating anemone reach up to eight cm across the oral disk with approximately 100 tentacles in three or four rows around the margins of the oral disk. Most are olive to bright green (depending on the species of algal symbionts present) with tentacles tipped in pink. Individuals that live in microhabitats that are deficient in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), such as under docks or in caves, lack symbionts and are pale yellow to white in color.


The western slimy salamander, also known as the whitethroat slimy salamander or white-throated slimy salamander (Plethodon albagula) is a species of salamander. It is endemic to the United States of America and found in two disjunct populations, one from Missouri to Oklahoma, and Arkansas, and another in south-central Texas.


The western slimy salamander is typically black in color with white speckling. On some specimens, the white speckling turns into large, white blotches along the sides of their bodies. They have large, bulbous eyes and long tails.


The diet of the ring-necked snake consists primarily of smaller salamanders, earthworms, and slugs, but they also sometimes eat lizards, frogs, and some juvenile snakes of other species. The frequency at which prey species are chosen is dependent on their availability within the habitat. Michigan populations of the Eastern Ring-necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii) feed almost exclusively on red-backed salamanders. Ring-necked snakes use a combination of constriction and envenomation to secure their prey. In a study analyzing the dietary habits of this species, age, amount of food consumed, and temperature were conditions that highly affected digestion.The snakes do not have a true venom gland, but they do have an analogous structure called the Duvernoy's gland derived from the same tissue. Most subspecies are rear-fanged with the last maxillary teeth on both sides of the upper jaw being longer and channeled; the notable exception is D. p. edwardsii, which is fangless. The venom is produced in the Duvernoy's gland located directly behind the eye. It then drains out of an opening at the rear of the maxillary tooth. Ring-necked snakes first strike and then secure the prey using constriction. Next, they maneuver their mouths forward, ensuring the last maxillary tooth punctures the skin and allowing the venom to enter the prey's tissue. The secretion significantly affects the righting response of the prey. Ring-necked snakes are rarely aggressive to larger predators, suggesting their venom evolved as a feeding strategy rather than a defense strategy. Rather than trying to bite a predator, the snake winds up its tail into a corkscrew, exposing its brightly colored belly.
Ring-necked snakes are primarily nocturnal or highly crepuscular, though some diurnal activity has been observed. Individuals are sometimes found during the day, especially on cloudy days, sunning themselves to gain heat. Yet, most individuals lie directly under surface objects warmed in the sun and use conduction with that object to gain heat. Though ring-necked snakes are highly secretive, they do display some social structure, but the exact social hierarchies have never been evaluated. Many populations have been identified to have large colonies of more than 100 individuals, and some reports indicate some smaller colonies occupy the same microhabitats.


Diadophis punctatus, commonly known as the ring-necked snake or ringneck snake, is a harmless species of colubrid snake found throughout much of the United States, central Mexico, and south-eastern Canada. Ring-necked snakes are secretive, nocturnal snakes, so are rarely seen during the day time. They are best known for their unique defense posture of curling up their tails, exposing their bright red-orange posterior, ventral surface when threatened.
Ring-necked snakes are believed to be fairly abundant throughout most of their range, though no scientific evaluation supports this hypothesis. Scientific research is lacking for the ring-necked snake, and more in-depth investigations are greatly needed. It is the only species within the genus Diadophis, and currently 14 subspecies are identified, but many herpetologists question the morphologically based classifications.


Ring-necked snakes are fairly similar in morphology throughout much of their distribution.
Its dorsal coloration is solid olive, brown, bluish-gray to smoky black, broken only by a distinct yellow, red, or yellow-orange neck band. A few populations in New Mexico, Utah, and other distinct locations do not have the distinctive neck band. Additionally, individuals may have reduced or partially colored neck bands that are hard to distinguish; coloration may also be more of a cream color rather than bright orange or red. Head coloration tends to be slightly darker than the rest of the body, with tendencies to be blacker than grey or olive. Ventrally, the snakes exhibit a yellow-orange to red coloration broken by crescent-shaped black spots along the margins. Some individuals lack the distinct ventral coloration, but typically retain the black spotting. Rarely, do individuals lack both the ventral and neck band coloration; so the use of those two characteristics is the simplest way to distinguish the species.
Size also varies across the species' distribution. Typically, adults measure 25–38 cm (10–15 in) in length, except for D. p. regalis, which measures 38–46 cm (15–18 in). First-year juvenile snakes are typically about 20 cm (8 in) and grow about 2–5 cm (1–2 in) a year depending on the developmental stage or resource availability.
Ring-necked snakes have smooth scales with 15–17 scale rows at midbody. Males typically have small tubercles on their scales just anterior to the vent, which are usually absent in females.


Ring-necked snakes occur in a wide variety of habitats. Preference seems to be determined by areas with abundant cover and denning locations. Northern and western subspecies are found within open woodlands near rocky hillsides, or in wetter environments with abundant cover or woody debris. Southern subspecies exist primarily within riparian and wet environments, especially in more arid habitats. Stebbins (2003) identified the species as a snake of moist habitats, with moist soil conditions the preferred substrate. Ring-necked snakes are also not found above an elevation of 2,200 m (7,200 ft). In northern regions, dens are also important in identifying suitable ring-necked snake habitat. Dens are usually shared communally, and are identifiable by an existent subsurface crevasse or hole deep enough to prevent freezing temperatures. Since it is a woodland reptile, it can also commonly be found under wood or scraps. Because of hot weather, they tend to make holes and burrows, or they hide under rocks or any suitable material. They are normally found in flatland forests. Though they prefer to remain away from human-made structures, ring-neck snakes are not afraid to utilize urbanized areas as refuge from predators.


Ring-necked snakes usually mate in the spring. In some subspecies, though, mating occurs in the fall, and delayed implantation occurs. Females attract males by secreting pheromones from their skin. Once the male finds a female, he starts by moving his closed mouth along the female's body. Then, the male bites the female around her neck ring, maneuvering to align their bodies so sperm can be inserted into the female's vent. Females lay their eggs in loose, aerated soils under a rock or in a rotted log. Three to ten eggs are deposited in early summer and hatch in August or September. The egg is elongated with a white color contrasted by yellow ends. When hatched, juveniles are precocial and fend for themselves without parental care.


The southern viscacha is native to the mountainous parts of western Argentina, southern Peru, western and central Bolivia, and northern and central Chile. It lives among rocks and around crags where the vegetation is sparse. Its elevation range is about 700 to 5,100 m (2,300 to 16,700 ft) above sea level.


The southern viscacha does not hibernate and is mostly active soon after dawn and again in the evening. At these times, it emerges from its underground hiding place to feed on what plant material is available, which is mostly grasses and moss, and it also eats lichens. Part of the day is spent perched on a rock sunbathing, grooming, or resting. Southern viscachas are a colonial species and do not venture far from rocks so that they can plunge underground if danger threatens. They use various calls to communicate with each other. They are preyed on by the Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobitus) and they form a substantial part of its diet.
Breeding starts in the last quarter of the year when mating takes place. The gestation period is about 130 days and a single precocial pup (or sometimes two) is born which has its eyes open and is fully clad in fur at birth. It suckles for about eight weeks, but is able to supplement the milk with solid food within hours of its birth. The average lifespan is unknown, but one individual survived for 19 years in captivity.


The southern viscacha (Lagidium viscacia) is a species of viscacha, a rodent in the family Chinchillidae found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. It is a colonial animal living in small groups in rocky mountain areas. It has long ears and hind legs and resembles a rabbit in appearance apart from its long, bushy tail, but is not a lagomorph.


Warmouth are found throughout much of the south in the Mississippi River drainage, from the Gulf and Atlantic coasts and northward to the Chesapeake Bay, and westward throughout Texas to the Rio Grande, and northward into the Great Lakes basin area. The warmouth is a highly aggressive and hardy fish, and they can live in ponds, lakes, rivers, and backwater streams and can often survive in streams with low oxygen levels where other species of sunfish cannot. The species exists with breeding populations in southern portions of Canada, and likely has existed there for many years prior to being detected.


The primary diet of the warmouth consists of insects, crayfish, and other fish. They are sight feeders, and can survive in polluted, low-oxygenated waters where other sunfish cannot, like rock bass. The largest factor affecting warmouth density and biomass in Florida's lakes is the availability of aquatic macrophytes, which allows the fish to ambush prey and use as areas to spawn.  The primary diet of young warmouth is microcrustaceans and aquatic insect larvae, whereas larger specimens tend to mainly consume crayfish, freshwater shrimp, isopods, and other small fish. Their predators include larger fish, snakes, turtles, alligators, and birds. The primary habitats the warmouth occupies are areas with ample vegetation as cover with slower-moving water, often around stumps, brush piles, and other dense entanglements that allow the warmouth the ability to ambush prey, yet escape larger predators that may threaten them.


The adult warmouth is dark, with a mottled brown coloration. Its belly is generally golden, and the male has a bright-orange spot at the base of the dorsal fin. Three to five reddish-brown streaks radiate from the eyes, and the gill flaps are often red. It has three spines in the anal fin, 10 spines in the dorsal fin, and small teeth are present on the tongue. These fish range in size from 4 to 10 inches (10.2 to 25 cm), but can grow to over 12 inches (31 cm) in length, and weigh up to 2.25 pounds (1 kg). The warmouth is occasionally confused with the rock bass or green sunfish, both of which share its relatively large mouth and heavy body. However, the green sunfish generally has a greenish-blue variegated pattern on its gill flaps, a black spot near the base of the dorsal fin, and its fins are bordered in yellowish-white. The rock bass has 5-7 spines in its anal fin as opposed to the three in the warmouth. The warmouth tends to be a bit larger in size than either of the other two species.