Milk snakes are mostly nocturnal, especially during summer months. They are primarily terrestrial and attempt to blend in with ground litter. However, they are able to climb and swim. These snakes tend to be secretive and remain hidden. When threatened, a milk snake will usually first try to escape. If cornered or harassed, it may vibrate its tail and strike energetically, though of course they are non-venomous, have only tiny teeth and their tails lack a rattle. Unless frightened, milk snakes move slowly. They are often fairly docile.


Young milk snakes typically eat crickets and other insects, slugs, and earthworms; in the western U.S., juveniles also feed on small lizards. Adults' diet is primarily small mammals, but frequently includes lizards (especially skinks). They are also known to eat birds and their eggs, frogs, fish, and other snakes.
Milk snakes are much more opportunistic eaters than the fox snake or corn snake. Although the diet of adult milk snakes primarily consists of rodents, they also have been known to consume a variety of other animals: birds and their eggs, other reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates.
They are nocturnal hunters and are often found resting during the day in old barns and under wood. An old fable about milk snakes is that they suck cow udders to get milk. The story is entirely false, and is discredited by the fact that the milk snake is not physically capable of sucking milk from a cow's udder; however, milk snakes are frequently found in and around barns, making use of the cool and dark environment for a resting-place during the day, and the easily accessible infestations of rodents for a convenient food supply. This preference for barns, and consequently the company of cows, presumably gave rise to the fable.


Milk snakes can be found from the southeastern extreme of Canada through the eastern half of the United States.


There is a significant amount of variation among milk snakes in terms of size. Depending on subspecies, they can be as small as 14" (36cm) or as large as 72" (183cm) long. Adults in the wild apparently average from 38 to 225 g (1.3 to 7.9 oz) in North America. However, unusually large milk snakes can become rather bulkier than average-sized adults and potentially weigh up to 750 to 1,400 g (1.65 to 3.09 lb), though high weights as such are generally reported from captivity. Males typically are larger than females in maturity, although females can be bulkier than males similar in length as well. Generally more tropical populations, from Mexico and further south, reach larger adult sizes than milk snakes living in the temperate zones.
Milk snakes have smooth and shiny scales and their typical color pattern is alternating bands of red-black-yellow or white-black-red; however, red blotches instead of bands are seen in some populations. Some milk snakes have a striking resemblance to coral snakes, in Batesian mimicry, which likely scares away potential predators. Both milk snakes and coral snakes possess transverse bands of red, black, and yellow. Experts now recognize that common mnemonics that people use to distinguish between the deadly coral snake and the harmless milk snake are not 100% reliable. Some coral snakes do not have the typical banding colors or patterns. Examples of unreliable mnemonics commonly used:
"Red on yellow kill a fellow. Red on black venom lack"
"Red touches black, it's a friend of Jack. Red touches yellow, it's bad for a fellow."
Due to the many colors of the eastern milk snake (L. t. triangulum), it can resemble the coral snake, corn snake, fox snake, scarlet snake, and most importantly, the venomous snake genera Agkistrodon and Sistrurus. Milk, fox, and scarlet snakes are killed because of a resemblance to the venomous pygmy rattlers. Juvenile milk snakes, which are more reddish than adults, are often killed because they are mistaken for copperheads. Enough distinction exists among the five to make the eastern milk snake fairly easy to identify. The eastern milk snakes also have a light-colored V-shaped or Y-shaped patch on their necks. One subspecies, L. t. gaigeae, is melanistic (almost all black) as an adult.


Across the wide range of this species, habitat varies. Typically, milk snakes live in forested regions; however, they can also be found in swamps, prairie, farmland, rocky slopes, and sand dunes/beaches. In some situations, milk snakes also migrate seasonally, during the winter they move to higher and drier habitats for hibernation and moister habitats for the summer. Milk snakes enter hibernation from late October or November to mid-April.


Milk snakes are oviparous, laying an average of about 10 eggs per clutch, although that number may vary by region. The milk snake mates from early May to late June. In June and July, the female lays three to 24 eggs beneath logs, boards, rocks, and rotting vegetation. The eggs are oval in shape, and white in color. Eggs range from 2.5 cm to 4.2 cm (1 to 1.7 in) in length. The eggs incubate for about two months, and hatch around August or September.  The average hatchling in Virginia measures 20.9 cm (8.2 in) in total length and weighs 4.1 g (0.14 oz).
Milk snakes typically live around 12 years, or up to 21 years in captivity. They reach maturity within three or four years.


Aphonopelma eutylenum, commonly called California ebony tarantula, is a species of spider in the family Theraphosidae, found in the United States (California).


The red squirrel is found in both coniferous forest and temperate broadleaf woodlands. The squirrel makes a drey (nest) out of twigs in a branch-fork, forming a domed structure about 25 to 30 cm in diameter. This is lined with moss, leaves, grass and bark. Tree hollows and woodpecker holes are also used. The red squirrel is a solitary animal and is shy and reluctant to share food with others. However, outside the breeding season and particularly in winter, several red squirrels may share a drey to keep warm. Social organization is based on dominance hierarchies within and between sexes; although males are not necessarily dominant to females, the dominant animals tend to be larger and older than subordinate animals, and dominant males tend to have larger home ranges than subordinate males or females.
The red squirrel eats mostly the seeds of trees, neatly stripping conifer cones to get at the seeds within, fungi, nuts (especially hazelnuts but also beech and chestnuts), berries and young shoots.
More rarely, red squirrels may also eat bird eggs or nestlings. A Swedish study shows that out of 600 stomach contents of red squirrels examined, only 4 contained remnants of birds or eggs. Thus, red squirrels may occasionally exhibit opportunistic omnivory, similarly to other rodents.
Excess food is put into caches, either buried or in nooks or holes in trees, and eaten when food is scarce. Although the red squirrel remembers where it created caches at a better-than-chance level, its spatial memory is substantially less accurate and durable than that of grey squirrels; it therefore will often have to search for them when in need, and many caches are never found again.
Between 60% and 80% of its active period may be spent foraging and feeding. The active period for the red squirrel is in the morning and in the late afternoon and evening. It often rests in its nest in the middle of the day, avoiding the heat and the high visibility to birds of prey that are dangers during these hours. During the winter, this mid-day rest is often much briefer, or absent entirely, although harsh weather may cause the animal to stay in its nest for days at a time.
No territories are claimed between the red squirrels, and the feeding areas of individuals overlap considerably.


Arboreal predators include small mammals such as the pine marten, wildcats and the stoat, which preys on nestlings; birds, including owls and raptors such as the goshawk and buzzards, may also take the red squirrel. The red fox, cats and dogs can prey upon the red squirrel when it is on the ground. Humans influence the population size and mortality of the red squirrel by destroying or altering habitats, by causing road casualties, and by introducing non-native populations of the North American eastern grey squirrels.
The eastern grey squirrel and the red squirrel are not directly antagonistic, and violent conflict between these species is not a factor in the decline in red squirrel populations. However, the eastern grey squirrel appears to be able to decrease the red squirrel population due to several reasons:
The eastern grey squirrel carries a disease, the squirrel parapoxvirus, that does not appear to affect their own health but will often kill the red squirrel. It was revealed in 2008 that the numbers of red squirrels at Formby (England) had declined by 80% as a result of this disease, though the population is now recovering.
The eastern grey squirrel can better digest acorns, while the red squirrel cannot access the proteins and fats in acorns as easily.
When the red squirrel is put under pressure, it will not breed as often.
In the UK, due to the above circumstances, the population has today fallen to 160,000 red squirrels or fewer (120,000 of these are in Scotland). Outside the UK and Ireland, the impact of competition from the eastern grey squirrel has been observed in Piedmont, Italy, where two pairs escaped from captivity in 1948. A significant drop in red squirrel populations in the area has been observed since 1970, and it is feared that the eastern grey squirrel may expand into the rest of Europe.


The red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent.
In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers have decreased drastically in recent years. This decline is associated with the introduction by humans of the eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) from North America. However, the population in Scotland is stabilising due to conservation efforts, awareness and the increasing population of the pine marten, a European predator that selectively controls grey squirrels.


Mating can occur in late winter during February and March and in summer between June and July. Up to two litters a year per female are possible. Each litter averages three young, called kits. Gestation is about 38 to 39 days. The young are looked after by the mother alone and are born helpless, blind, and deaf. They weigh between 10 and 15  g. Their body is covered by hair at 21 days, their eyes and ears open after three to four weeks, and they develop all their teeth by 42 days. Juvenile red squirrels can eat solids around 40 days following birth and from that point can leave the nest on their own to find food; however, they still suckle from their mother until weaning occurs at 8 to 10 weeks.
During mating, males detect females that are in oestrus by an odour that they produce, and although there is no courtship, the male will chase the female for up to an hour prior to mating. Usually, several males will chase a single female until the dominant male, usually the largest in the group, mates with the female. Males and females will mate several times with many partners. Females must reach a minimum body mass before they enter oestrus, and heavy females on average produce more young. If food is scarce breeding may be delayed. Typically a female will produce her first litter in her second year.


Red squirrels that survive their first winter have a life expectancy of 3 years. Individuals may reach 7 years of age, and 10 in captivity. Survival is positively related to the availability of autumn-winter tree seeds; on average, 75–85% of juveniles die during their first winter, and mortality is approximately 50% for winters following the first.


This species is found around the coasts of Europe and in the northern west Atlantic coast of North America. It also can be found in estuarine waters along the Atlantic coasts. This species prefers rocky shores, where it eats mussels and acorn barnacles.


Predators of the dog whelk include various species of crabs and birds. Protection against predation from crabs which attempt to pull the soft body out through the shell aperture can be afforded by growing teeth around the edge of the aperture. Many predators cannot smash the strong shell of an adult dog whelk, but juveniles are vulnerable to attack from many predatory species. Eider ducks and various other birds simply swallow the entire body with its shell, while oystercatchers and various crustaceans are often capable of crushing or breaking the shells. In the winter they endure more predation from purple sandpipers and similar wading birds, but in the summer crabs represent a greater threat. In general, the dog whelk can be thought of as being vulnerable to birds when emersed, and to crabs when immersed.


The dog whelk lives on rocky shores, and in estuarine conditions. Climatically it lives between the 0 °C and 20 °C isotherms.


The dusky leaf monkey, spectacled langur, or spectacled leaf monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus) is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is found in Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, and can occasionally be found in Singapore. During the day, these small, folivorous primates divide in sub-groups and forage for vegetation and fruit throughout the tropical forests. According to the IUCN, the dusky leaf monkey's population is declining due to habitat loss, poaching, and anthropogenic land use, which prompted the IUCN to classify the species as endangered in 2015.


Numerous activity budgets have been conducted across Malaysia to study the behavioural patterns of the dusky leaf monkey. For instance, one activity budget conducted in 2016 with 12,480 primates in Teluk Bahang, Malaysia, found that, within the eight month period, dusky leaf monkeys spent 40% of their time positioning, 33% of their time feeding, and 20% of their day moving. The sampled primates also allocated their time allo-grooming (4%), playing (2%), and foraging (1%). Ten years prior, another activity budget with 18 dusky leaf monkeys was conducted at the Penang Botanical Garden, which is also located in Malaysia. Researchers at the University of Kebangsaan concluded that, within 18 days, the dusky leaf monkeys that were sampled spent 40% of their day eating, almost 24% of their day resting, and approximately 22.5% of their time moving. The dusky leaf monkeys also allocated time for autogrooming (6.52%) and allo-grooming (1.33%), among other behaviours. However, a more recent study conducted in Malaysia from November 2017 to February 2018 in Bukit Soga Perdana, a forested area that is heavily influenced by industrial activity, concluded that the dusky leaf monkeys sampled spent the majority of their days moving, although these results were skewed due to unfavourable weather conditions that occurred during observations.
Dusky leaf monkeys live in troops that separate into sub-groups while scavenging for food. They tend to consume leaves growing at higher elevations in the forest canopy. They often rest at these high elevations to feed on their foraged vegetation. Fruit availability is season-dependent, and although research suggests that the dusky leaf monkey consumes more vegetation that fruit, it prefers to eat fruit when it is available.
Research suggests that hostile behaviour within troops does not occur often. A study conducted in 1996 by researchers at the University of St. Andrews revealed that, after a group of dusky leaf monkeys engage in aggressive behaviour, conflict resolution occurs more frequently and much faster afterwards than within other primate species. In fact, reconciliation among dusky leaf monkeys can occur as quickly as 60 seconds after fighting, and can be instigated by either the aggressor or the receiver through gestures such as embracing.


As of 2015, the dusky leaf monkey is listed as an endangered species in the IUCN Red List. Notably, anthropogenic land-use within Southeast Asian forests have resulted in the endangerment of the dusky leaf monkey's natural habitat, resulting in noticeable population declines. However, the dusky leaf monkey also faces other threats brought on through anthropogenic activities and the introduction of predators within their habitat. Notably, domesticated dog packs have been reported to hunt and kill the dusky leaf monkey. The construction of roads within tropical forests has led to a large increase in road mortality among dusky leaf monkeys, and is seen to be one of the more prominent threats to the dusky leafy monkey's survival, along with habitat loss, habitat degradation, and poaching. While the dusky leaf monkey is often killed for their meat, there are other incentives to poach them as well, as they are considered agricultural pests across Southeast Asia. In the 1960s, this prompted Malaysian business owners to shoot them as they were feeding on leaves within rubber plantations. Infant dusky leaf monkeys are also hunted and sold as pets internationally. However, when owners attempt to domesticate these primates, they are often not properly cared for and die as a result.
Collective action is being taken to help conserve the dusky leaf monkey. In 1977, the dusky leaf-monkey had been introduced and listed under appendix II in the CITES legislation. Species under appendix II are considered to be near threatened or endangered. The trade of appendix II species is heavily regulated, and often illegal.


Coprinopsis lagopus grows solitarily or in groups in soil as well as on wood chips, compost heaps, vegetable refuse, or horse dung, from autumn to mid-winter. It has a widespread distribution throughout the world.


T. plumipes reaches high densities in Sydney, Australia. T. plumipes has previously been shown to have positive response to urban landscapes. This urban-exploiting species benefits from multiple factors in cities. A study shows that T. plumipes were found to persist longer at sites with more concrete surfaces and less vegetation cover. Increases in concrete surfaces and decreases in vegetation cover can drive the urban heat island effect, which is a result of urban areas being warmer than rural areas due to human activity. In these warmer conditions, T. plumipes’ orb weaver season is extended. Normally, T. plumipes juveniles overwinter in egg sacs, hatch in the spring, and mature in the summer. However, in warmer winters, females can produce eggs faster, and the egg sacs can hatch within the same season, instead of remaining dormant in the winter. In this way, T. plumipes can complete two life cycles in the same season. This results in higher fitness and increased success for T. plumipes in urban areas. Another factor of the T. plumipes success in urban regions is the abundance of prey. There are more large prey in urban microhabitats due to urban warming, artificial night lightings, and the loss of predators. Food resources play a big role in the increased survival of T. plumipes in urban areas.


Trichonephila plumipes is a species of spider found in Australia, Indonesia and some Pacific Islands, which exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism through its sexual cannibalism behavior. It is sometimes called the tiger spider due to its markings which look similar to a tiger. This species was formerly called Nephila plumipes. As with other spiders from the genus Nephila, these spiders have a distinct golden web.
The Trichonephila plumipes benefits from highly urbanized places due to more available food, warmer temperatures, and fewer predators. This species is commonly found in urban and natural landscapes.
T. plumipes is most commonly found in Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Ireland and New Caledonia.


T. plumipes is a large spider. Females can achieve a body length of 34mm, while males are smaller and rarely exceed 5mm in body length. Males can be less than one-tenth the size of females. Some males may weigh less than 1% of the body weight of mature females. The extreme sexual size dimorphism of T. plumipes is the result of selection due to the females predisposition to engage in pre-copulation sexual cannibalism. The smaller-sized males may better evade pre-copulation sexual cannibalism because of the female T. plumipes inability to detect these smaller males and thus this smaller size is selected for.


The cap of the mushroom is 8–12 cm wide; oval at first, becoming convex, typically with a central bump; sticky; brilliant red or orange, fading to yellow on the margin; typically without warts or patches; the margin lined for about 40–50% of the cap's radius. The red pigment fades from margin toward the center with age. Gills are moderately crowded to crowded, orange-yellow to yellow-orange to yellow. They are free from the stem or slightly attached to it; yellow to orange-yellow; crowded; not bruising. The short gills are subtruncate to truncate. Its stipe or stem (90–140 × 9–16 mm) is yellow and is decorated with orange fibrils and patches that are the remnants of a felted extension of the limbus internus of the otherwise white volva. The spores measure (7.0-) 7.8 - 9.8 (-12.1) × (5.2-) 5.8 - 7.5 (-8.7) μm and are broadly ellipsoid to ellipsoid (rarely subglobose or elongate) and inamyloid.  Clamps are common at bases of basidia. The flesh looks whitish to pale yellow, and does not stain on exposure.
The mushroom is considered edible, although it can be misidentified with toxic species such as Amanita muscaria and A. phalloides.
A. jacksonii looks similar to Amanita caesarea, Caesar's mushroom that is found in Europe and North Africa.


The black-tailed jackrabbit can occupy a wide range of habitats as long as diversity in plant species exists. It requires mixed grasses, forbs, and shrubs for food, and shrubs or small trees for cover. It prefers moderately open areas without dense understory growth and is seldom found in closed-canopy habitats. For example, in California, black-tailed jackrabbits are plentiful in open chamise (Ademostoma fasciculatum) and Ceanothus spp. chaparral interspersed with grasses, but does not occupy closed-canopy chaparral. Similarly, the black-tailed jackrabbit occupies clearcuts and early seral coniferous forest, but not closed-canopy coniferous forest.
Black-tailed jackrabbits do not migrate or hibernate during winter; the same habitat is used year-round.  Diurnal movement of 2 to 10 miles (3–16 km) occurs from shrub cover in day to open foraging areas at night. Home range area varies with habitat and habitat quality. Home ranges of 0.4 to 1.2 mi² (1–3 km²) have been reported in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and black greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus) communities of northern Utah.
Black-tailed jackrabbits require shrubs or small conifers for hiding, nesting, and thermal cover, and grassy areas for night feeding. A shrub-grassland mosaic or widely spaced shrubs interspersed with herbs provides hiding cover while providing feeding opportunities. Small shrubs do not provide adequate cover. In the Snake River Birds of Prey Study Area in southwestern Idaho, black-tailed jackrabbits were more frequent on sites dominated by big sagebrush or black greasewood than on sites dominated by the smaller shrubs winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata) or shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia). Black-tailed jackrabbits do not habitually use a burrow, although they have occasionally been observed using abandoned burrows for escape and thermal cover.


The black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to 10,000 ft (3,000 m). Reaching a length around 2 ft (61 cm), and a weight from 3 to 6 lb (1.4 to 2.7 kg), the black-tailed jackrabbit is one of the largest North American hares. Black-tailed jackrabbits occupy mixed shrub-grassland terrains. Their breeding depends on the location; it typically peaks in spring, but may continue all year round in warm climates. Young are born fully furred with eyes open; they are well camouflaged and are mobile within minutes of birth, thus females do not protect or even stay with the young except during nursing. The average litter size is around four, but may be as low as two and as high as seven in warm regions.
The black-tailed jackrabbit does not migrate or hibernate during winter and uses the same habitat of 0.4 to 1.2 mi² (1–3 km²) year-round. Its diet is composed of various shrubs, small trees, grasses, and forbs. Shrubs generally comprise the bulk of fall and winter diets, while grasses and forbs are used in spring and early summer, but the pattern and plant species vary with climate. The black-tailed jackrabbit is an important prey species for raptors and carnivorous mammals, such as eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, and wild cats. The hares host many ectoparasites including fleas, ticks, lice, and mites; for this reason, hunters often avoid collecting them.


Male black-tailed jackrabbits reach sexual maturity around 7 months of age. Females usually breed in the spring of their second year, although females born in spring or early summer may breed in their first year. Ovulation is induced by copulation. The breeding season is variable depending upon latitude and environmental factors. In the northern part of their range in Idaho, black-tailed jackrabbits breed from February through May. In Utah, they breed from January through July, with over 75% of females pregnant by April. The Kansas breeding season extends from January to August. Breeding in warm climates continues nearly year-round. Two peak breeding seasons corresponding to rainfall patterns and growth of young vegetation occur in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. In Arizona, for example, breeding peaks during winter (January–March) rains and again during June monsoons.
The gestation period ranges from 41 to 47 days. More litters are born in warm climates: the number of litters born each year ranges from two per year in Idaho to seven in Arizona. Litter sizes are largest in the northern portions of black-tailed jackrabbit's range and decrease toward the south. Average litter size has been reported at 4.9 in Idaho, 3.8 in Utah, and 2.2 in Arizona.
Female black-tailed jackrabbits do not prepare an elaborate nest. They give birth in shallow excavations called forms that are no more than a few centimeters deep. Females may line forms with hair prior to giving birth, but some drop litters in existing depressions on the ground with no further preparation. Young are born fully furred with eyes open, and are mobile within minutes of birth. Females do not protect or even stay with the young except during nursing. Ages of weaning and dispersal are unclear since the young are well camouflaged and rarely observed in the field. Captive black-tailed jackrabbits are fully weaned by 8 weeks. The young stay together for at least a week after leaving the form.


Leotia lubrica, commonly referred to as a jelly baby, is a species of fungus in the family Leotiaceae. The species produces small fruit bodies up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in height, featuring a "head" and a stalk. Ochre with tints of olive-green, the heads are irregularly shaped, while the stalk, of a similar colour, attaches them to the ground. The appearance can be somewhat variable and is similar to a number of other species, including Cudonia confusa, C. circinans, L. atrovirens and L. viscosa. L. lubrica was first validly described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, but it was later transferred to Leotia by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon. Its relationship with other members of the genus, of which it is the type species, is complicated.
Growing in woodland among moss, plant detritus or other habitats, the L. lubrica fruit bodies are typically found in large numbers, though they can grow in tight clumps or even individually. The species may feed as a saprotroph or possibly obtains nutrition from living trees through ectomycorrhizae. The youngest fruit bodies are small and conical, but the fertile head quickly grows from the stalk. It is often described as inedible, despite its common name, but has occasionally been reported as a good edible. L. lubrica has been recorded in Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia.


Leotia lubrica favours damp deciduous woodland, but can also be found under conifers. Particular favoured habitats include path sides and underneath bracken, while favoured substrates include soil, moss and plant waste. While it has been conventionally regarded as a saprotroph, molecular, isotopic and other lines of evidence have suggested that Leotia lubrica forms ectomycorrhizae. Fruit bodies are typically encountered from late summer to late autumn in Europe, and from late spring to autumn in North America, where it is the most common Leotia species. It has also been recorded in eastern Asia, in China and Tibet, as well as in New Zealand and Australia.
The fruit bodies are typically found growing in large numbers, sometimes in clumps, though solitary specimens are occasionally encountered. Several bodies can be connected at their bases, or younger bodies can grow out of the bases of older ones. The youngest fruit bodies are conical in shape. When the body reaches around 2 mm in length, the tip of the cone begins to expand, forming the head. This is the stage at which the hymenium becomes differentiated from the rest of the body, and the bodies quickly reach their mature form, maturing only through growth after that point. Fruit bodies can be infected by the mould Hypomyces leotiarum (asexual reproduction form of Hypomyces leotiicola).


Leotia lubrica produces fruit bodies which range from 1 to 6 centimetres (0.4 to 2.4 in) in height. Each body has a single fertile "head" measuring 1–3 cm (0.4–1 in) across, which is an olive-greenish ochre and gelatinous. To the touch, the surface of the head can be smooth, clammy or slimey. While in shape it is convex, the head is made up of irregular lobes and undulations, and the edge is rolled inward. The underside is paler in colour than the upper surface, and smooth. The head is attached to a central stalk, which ranges from 2–8 cm (0.79–3.15 in) and 3–10 mm wide, though thinner toward the substrate. The stalk is typically cylindrical, but can be flattened, and occasionally has furrows. The colour is similar to that of the head, though more yellow, and the surface is covered in very small granules of a greenish colour. The flesh is gelatinous in the head, while the stalk is mostly hollow, but it can be filled with gel.


L. lubrica fruit bodies are similar to those of Cudonia confusa, commonly known as the cinnamon jellybaby. The species can be differentiated by the fact that L. lubrica fruit bodies are more sturdy, and those of C. confusa are much paler in colour. Another Cudonia species, C. circinans (which is highly similar to C. lutea), is similar to L. lubrica, though it can be differentiated by its colour (which is more brown), spores (which are smaller and thinner) and texture (which is less slimy and gelatinous than L. lubrica). L. lubrica fruit bodies can also be mistaken for those of the much rarer L. atrovirens, which can be differentiated by its darker colouration. L. viscosa can again be differentiated by colouration; the species has a green head. However, as L. lubrica fruit bodies can sometimes have a greenish hue, differentiation between the two species is not always easy.


Stoat territoriality has a generally mustelid spacing pattern, with male territories encompassing smaller female territories, which they defend from other males. The size of the territory and the ranging behaviour of its occupants varies seasonally, depending on the abundance of food and mates. During the breeding season, the ranges of females remain unchanged, while males either become roamers, strayers or transients. Dominant older males have territories 50 times larger than those of younger, socially inferior males. Both sexes mark their territories with urine, faeces and two types of scent marks; anal drags are meant to convey territorial occupancy, and body rubbing is associated with agonistic encounters.
The stoat does not dig its own burrows, instead using the burrows and nest chambers of the rodents it kills. The skins and underfur of rodent prey are used to line the nest chamber. The nest chamber is sometimes located in seemingly unsuitable places, such as among logs piled against the walls of houses. The stoat also inhabits old and rotting stumps, under tree roots, in heaps of brushwood, haystacks, in bog hummocks, in the cracks of vacant mud buildings, in rock piles, rock clefts, and even in magpie nests. Males and females typically live apart, but close to each other. Each stoat has several dens dispersed within its range. A single den has several galleries, mainly within 30 cm (12 in) of the surface.


The stoat or short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine, or simply ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is distinct from the long-tailed weasel (Neogale frenata), also known as the "bridled weasel", "masked ermine", or "big stoat"; the two species are visually similar, especially the black tail tip.
The name ermine (/ˈɜːrmɪn/) is used for species in the genus Mustela, especially the stoat, in its pure white winter coat, or the fur thereof.
Introduced in the late 19th century into New Zealand to control rabbits, the stoat has had a devastating effect on native bird populations. It was nominated as one of the world's top 100 "worst invaders".
Ermine fur was used in the 15th century by Catholic monarchs, who sometimes used it as the mozzetta cape. It has long been used on the ceremonial robes of members of the UK House of Lords. It was also used in capes on images such as the Infant Jesus of Prague.


In the Northern Hemisphere, mating occurs in the April–July period. In spring, the male's testes are enlarged, a process accompanied by an increase of testosterone concentration in the plasma. Spermatogenesis occurs in December, and the males are fertile from May to August, after which the testes regress. Female stoats are usually only in heat for a brief period, which is triggered by changes in day length. Copulation can last as long as 1 hour. Stoats are not monogamous, with litters often being of mixed paternity. Stoats undergo embryonic diapause, meaning that the embryo does not immediately implant in the uterus after fertilization, but rather lies dormant for a period of nine to ten months. The gestation period is therefore variable but typically around 300 days, and after mating in the summer, the offspring will not be born until the following spring – adult female stoats spend almost all their lives either pregnant or in heat. Females can reabsorb embryos and in the event of a severe winter they may reabsorb their entire litter. Males play no part in rearing the young, which are born blind, deaf, toothless and covered in fine white or pinkish down. The milk teeth erupt after three weeks, and solid food is eaten after four weeks. The eyes open after five to six weeks, with the black tail-tip appearing a week later. Lactation ends after 12 weeks. Prior to the age of five to seven weeks, kits have poor thermoregulation, so they huddle for warmth when the mother is absent. Males become sexually mature at 10–11 months, while females are sexually mature at the age of 2–3 weeks whilst still blind, deaf and hairless, and are usually mated with adult males before being weaned.


Holcosus undulatus, also known commonly as the barred whiptail, the metallic ameiva, and the rainbow ameiva, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is endemic to Mexico. There are three recognized subspecies.


H. undulatus lives in litter in open habitats.


This sea hare species lives in the northeast Pacific Ocean off California, United States and Baja California, Mexico, including the Gulf of California.


The scarcity of natural predators for sea hares has long suggested to scientists that some kind of toxin must be produced to discourage predation. Unlike most members of its family, A. vaccaria is incapable of producing ink. The absence of this defense mechanism while maintaining a very low level of predation further suggests that it is protected by a secreted toxin effective enough that the production of ink for defense purposes was no longer evolutionarily beneficial. Sea hares form their toxins from compounds they receive from their foods. This is significant because the type of algae the sea hare eats  determines the toxins it produces. A. vaccaria primarily feeds on brown algae, so its toxins are derived from this source and are distinct from sea hares such as A. californica, which feeds on red algae. Food sources also determine the color of the sea hare, which explains why A. vaccaria appears black or dark brown while A. californica appears red. To discourage predation by fish, brown algae produce the toxin acetoxycrenulide. During digestion, A. vaccaria extracts this compound and allows it to accumulate in its tissue. Because acetoxycrenulide is highly toxic to fish, its presence in this slug is sufficient to discourage predation.


The black sea hare can grow to be very large; the longest recorded specimen measured 99 cm (39 in) when crawling (thus fully extended), and weighed nearly 14 kg (31 lb).
Unlike Aplysia californica, the body of this species is relatively firm, and the parapodia are joined behind the siphon.
Unlike many other members of the same family and genus, this species is incapable of producing ink.


The species prefers areas in sluggish backwaters, lakes, and ponds with gravel, sand, or bedrock bottoms.  They also can be found in very muddy waters and are able to tolerate poor water conditions.  Green sunfish tend to spend their time hiding around rocks, submerged logs, plants, and other things that provide cover.


The green sunfish is native to a wide area of North America, from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Appalachian Mountains in the east and from the Hudson Bay basin in Canada to the Gulf Coast in the United States and northern Mexico.  They are specifically indigenous to a number of lakes and rivers such as the Great Lakes and some of the basins of the Mississippi River.
Green sunfish have been introduced to many bodies of water all across the United States.  The green sunfish is considered an invasive species by the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and New Jersey.  Their invasive potential is due in part to their penchant for chasing other sunfish away from mutually preferred habitat of submerged vegetation, a form of interference competition, their relatively large mouth, high fecundity and ability to tolerate sediment pollution.  In the state of New Jersey, as of 2021, anglers must destroy green sunfish when caught and should report their catch to a state fisheries biologist.  In the state of Florida, a permit is required in order to possess green sunfish as it is listed as a prohibited non-native species there.  L. cyanellus has been transplanted to countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe, where it has become established in some.


Its diet can include aquatic insects and larvae, insects that fall into the water, crayfish, snails, other molluscs, turtle food, frogs, some small fish, fish eggs, bryozoans, zooplankton, other small invertebrates, and sometimes plant material. They are omnivores.


The green sunfish is blue-green in color on its back and sides with yellow-flecked bony-ridged (ctenoid) scales, as well as yellow coloration on the ventral sides. The gill covers and sides of head have broken bright blue stripes, causing some to mistakenly confuse them with bluegill. They also have a dark spot located near the back end of the dorsal fin, the bases of the anal fins. and on the ear plate.  It has a relatively big mouth and long snout that extends to beneath the middle of the eye.  Its pectoral fins are short with rounded edges containing 13-14 pectoral fin rays, a dorsal fin with about 10 dorsal spines and a homocercal tail.  The typical length ranges from about 3-7 in and usually weighs less than a pound.  The green sunfish reaches a maximum recorded length of about 30 cm (12 in), with a maximum recorded weight of 960 g (2.2 lb).  Identification of sunfish species from one another can sometimes be difficult as these species frequently hybridize.


The California mussel (Mytilus californianus) is a large edible mussel, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mytilidae.
This species is native to the west coast of North America, occurring from northern Mexico to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.  California mussels are found clustered together, often in very large aggregations, on rocks in the upper intertidal zone on the open coast, where they are exposed to the strong action of the surf.


California mussels were an important food source for the Native Americans who lived on the Pacific Coast prior to European contact. On California's Northern Channel Islands, archaeological evidence shows that they were harvested continuously for almost 12,000 years. Erlandson et al. (2008) documented a decline in the average size of harvested California mussels on San Miguel Island during the past 10,000 years, a pattern they attributed to growing human populations and increased predation pressure from human fishing. Hogan (2008) notes more specific archaeological recovery from the Chumash in the period 800 to 1300 AD.
California mussels continue to be harvested as sources of both food and bait up and down the Pacific Coast of North America. The flesh of the California mussel tends to be orange in color.  They can be baked, boiled, or fried like other mussels, clams, and oysters.
While these mussels are usually edible, care needs to be taken, because during times of red tide in any given locality, California mussels may contain harmful levels of the toxins which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning.


The California mussel prefers the high salinity, low sediment conditions found on open rocky coasts.  However, they do not colonize bare rock easily, instead preferring the shelter of pre-existing mussels and their biological filaments.  Mussels attach themselves to the hard surfaces using their thread-like byssus.
Given the right circumstances, California mussels can grow up to 200 mm (8 inches) in length and may live for more than 20 years.  However, mortality in intertidal open coastal environments is often high, resulting from battering from driftwood and other debris, wave pounding, predation, desiccation, and disease.  Predators of California mussels include the Pisaster starfish. They feed on plankton.


The shell of this species is thick and is often 129 to 130 millimetres (5 to 5 in) in length, sometimes larger still. The shell is blue on the outside with a heavy brown periostracum which is usually worn off except near the growing edge of the shell. The beaks of the shell are often eroded. The shell has coarse radial ribbing and irregular growth lines on the outer surface. The inner surface of the shell is blue and faintly pearly.
Like other mytilids, the animal is attached to the substrate with a very strong and elastic byssus.
The shell is primarily made of carbonates. In the 1950s that was mostly aragonite with some calcite, but by 2017/2018 the proportions had reversed. This was surprising given that previously some increase in aragonite was observed in warmer waters, and the ocean temperature has risen since then, making researchers expect an increase in aragonite. However it was the opposite - showing that the deciding factor in M. californianus shell carbonate composition is ocean acidification - because calcite withstands acidity better.


The majority of the Hawaiian monk seal population can be found around the Northwest Hawaiian Islands but a small and growing population lives around the main Hawaiian Islands. These seals spend two-thirds of their time at sea. Monk seals spend much of their time foraging in deeper water outside of shallow lagoon reefs at sub-photic depths of 300 metres (160 fathoms) or more. Hawaiian monk seals breed and haul-out on sand, corals, and volcanic rock; sandy beaches are more commonly used for pupping. Due to the immense distance separating the Hawaiian Islands from other land masses capable of supporting the Hawaiian monk seal, its habitat is limited to the Hawaiian Islands.


Hawaiian monk seals mainly prey on reef dwelling bony fish, but they also prey on cephalopods, and crustaceans.  Both juveniles and sub-adults prey more on smaller octopus species, such as Octopus leteus and O. hawaiiensis, nocturnal octopus species, and eels than the adult Hawaiian monk seals, while adult seals feed mostly on larger octopus species such as O. cyanea. Hawaiian monk seals have a broad and diverse diet due to foraging plasticity which allows them to be opportunistic predators that feed on a wide variety of available prey.
Hawaiian monk seals can hold their breath for up to 20 minutes and dive more than 550 m (1,800 ft); however, they usually dive an average of 6 minutes to depths of less than 60 m (200 ft) to forage at the seafloor.


Hawaiian monk seals mate in the water during their breeding season, which occurs between June and August. Females reach maturity at age four and give birth to one pup a year. The fetus takes nine months to develop, with birth occurring between March and June. Pups start around  16 kg (35 lb) and are about 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long. They can have 1 baby pup a year.


Its grey coat, white belly, and slender physique distinguish them from their cousin, the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). The monk seal's physique is ideal for hunting its prey: fish, lobster, octopus and squid in deep water coral beds. When it is not hunting and eating, it generally basks on the sandy beaches and volcanic rock of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.
The Hawaiian monk seal is part of the family Phocidae, being named so for its characteristic lack of external ears and inability to rotate its hind flippers under the body.  The Hawaiian monk seal has a relatively small, flat head with large black eyes, eight pairs of teeth, and short snouts with the nostril on top of the snout and vibrissae on each side. The nostrils are small vertical slits which close when the seal dives underwater. Additionally, their slender, torpedo-shaped body and hind flippers allow them to be very agile swimmers.
Adult males are 140 to 180 kilograms (300 to 400 pounds) in weight and 2.1 metres (7 feet) in length while adult females tend to be, on average, slightly larger, at 180 to 270 kg (400 to 600 lb) and 2.4 m (8 ft) in length. When monk seal pups are born, they average 14 to 18 kg (30 to 40 lb) and 1 m (40 in) in length.  As they nurse for approximately six weeks, they grow considerably, eventually weighing between 70 and 90 kg (150 and 200 lb) by the time they are weaned, while the mother loses up to 140 kg (300 lb).
Monk seals, like elephant seals, shed their hair and the outer layer of their skin in an annual catastrophic molt. During the most active period of the molt, about 10 days for the Hawaiian monk seal, the seal remains on the beach. The hair, generally dark gray on the dorsal side and lighter silver ventrally, gradually changes color through the year with exposure to atmospheric conditions. Sunlight and seawater cause the dark gray to become brown and the light silver to become yellow-brown, while long periods of time spent in the water can also promote algae growth, giving many seals a green tinge. The juvenile coat of the monk seal, manifest in a molt by the time a pup is weaned is silver-gray; pups are born with black pelage. Many Hawaiian monk seals sport scars from shark attacks or entanglements with fishing gear. Maximum life expectancy is 25 to 30 years.


In the wild P. concinna feeds on aquatic plants, grasses, and algae. Younger ones tend to seek a more protein enriched diet such as aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, and fish. Older turtles may occasionally seek prey as well, but mostly partake of a herbivorous diet.
The river cooter can sometimes be found basking in the sun, but is very wary and will quickly retreat into the water if approached. Otherwise, it is difficult to find in the water, which may be due to its ability to breathe while fully submerged. As a result, little is known about its biology and behavior.
The river cooter lives in a wide variety of freshwater and even brackish locations. Rivers, lakes, ponds and marshes with heavy vegetation provide ideal habitat. Large webbed feet make the river cooter an excellent swimmer, capable of negotiating moderately strong river currents of major river systems. It will collect in large numbers on peninsular floodplains associated with a river oxbow.


P. concinna is found from Virginia south to central Georgia, west to eastern Texas, Oklahoma, and north to southern Indiana.


P. concinna is usually found in rivers with moderate current, as well as lakes and tidal marshes.


The mating habits of the river cooter are very similar to those of the red-eared slider. As with the other basking turtles, the males tend to be smaller than females. The male uses his long claws to flutter at the face of the much larger female. Often, the female ignores him. After detecting what may be a pheromone signal while sniffing at a female's tail, a male river cooter will court a female by swimming above her, vibrating his long nails and stroking her face. Females have also been observed doing this to initiate courtship. If the female is receptive, she will sink to the bottom of the river and allow the male to mount for mating. If she does mate, after several weeks the female crawls upon land to seek a nesting site. Females often cross highways looking for suitable nesting spots. Females will lay between 12 and 20 eggs at a time, close to water. The eggs hatch within 45 to 56 days and the hatchlings will usually stay with the nest through their first winter.
Mating takes place in early spring. Nesting usually occurs from May to June. The female chooses a site with sandy or loamy soil, within 100 ft (30 m) of the river's edge. She looks for a rather open area, with no major obstacles for the future hatchings to negotiate on their way to the river. The nest is dug with the hind feet. She lays 10–25 or more eggs in one or more clutches. Eggs are ellipsoidal, approximately 1.5 inches (4 cm) long. Incubation time is determined by temperature, but averages 90–100 days. Hatchlings generally emerge in August or September. There have been reported instances of late clutches over-wintering and hatching in the spring. A hatchling will have a round carapace, about 1.5 inches (4 cm) diameter, that is green with bright yellow markings.


The river cooter is faced with loss of habitat, predation by animals, slaughter on the highways, and use as a food source by some people. Hatchlings are particularly vulnerable. During their overland scramble to the river, many hatchlings will be taken by avian and mammal predators. Alligators and muskrats await them in the water. Some will be taken and sold to pet stores. Populations are down in some areas, and there have been increasing reports of injured turtles, but this species as a whole is hardy, and continues to thrive. P. concinna can live 40 years or more.


Mature red drum spawn in near shorelines from mid-August to mid-October. The red drum's eggs incubate for 24 hours. A female lays about 1.5 million (with a range of 200,000 up to more than three million) eggs per batch. Scharf (2000) reported that in the first year, young red drum in Texas estuaries grew about 0.6 mm per day, though the rates varied with location and year and were higher in more southerly estuaries. After the first year, they may be 271 – 383 mm long. About half of red drum are able to reproduce by age 4 years, when they are 660-700 mm long and 3.4 – 4 kg in weight. Red drum can live to be 60 years old.
Adults mature by 3 – 5 years of age; approximate length at maturity: males – 28 inches, females – 33 inches.
Spawn during late summer and fall occurs near estuary inlets and passes along barrier island beaches. Males produce drumming sounds using muscular contractions to vibrate the swimbladder, to attract females.
Larval red drum use vertical migrations to ride high salinity tidal currents into tidal creeks and shallow salt marsh nursery habitats.
As red drum grow longer, they increase in weight exponentially.  The relationship between length (L) and weight (W) for nearly all species of fish can be expressed by an equation of the form:
W=aL^{b}\!\,
Invariably, b is close to 3.0 for all species, and a varies between species. Jenkins (2004) reported slightly different weight-length relationships for red drum caught in the spring and the fall off the western Gulf Coast of Louisiana:
Spring: {\displaystyle W=0.000005297L^{3.110}\!\,}
Fall: {\displaystyle W=0.000015241L^{2.94}\!\,}
where weight is in grams and length is total length measured in millimeters.  For example, these relationships predict that a 600-mm red drum (just under 2 ft long) would weigh about 2300 g (just over 5 lb).  These relationships can be used more specifically to determine how healthy a sample of red drum is by comparing their actual weights to weights predicted by these relationships for the same length.


Red drum are a dark red color on the back, which fades into white on the belly. The red drum has a characteristic eyespot near the tail and is somewhat streamlined. Three-year-old red drum typically weigh 6-8 lb.  The largest red drum on record weighed just over 94 lb and was caught in 1984 on Hatteras Island. Male red drum make a knocking or drumming sound during spawning by vibrating their swim bladders.
The most distinguishing mark on the red drum is one large black spot on the upper part of the tail base. Having multiple spots is not uncommon for this fish, but having no spots is extremely rare.  As the fish with multiple spots grow older, they seem to lose their excess spots. Scientists believe that the black spot near their tail helps fool predators into attacking the red drum's tail instead of its head, allowing the red drum to escape. The red drum uses its senses of sight and touch, and its downturned mouth, to locate forage on the bottom through vacuuming or biting. On the top and middle of the water column, it uses changes in the light that might look like food. In the summer and fall, adult red drum feed on crabs, shrimp, and mullet; in the spring and winter, adults primarily feed on menhaden, mullet, pinfish, sea robin, lizardfish, spot,  Atlantic croaker, and mudminnows.


The Florida softshells are carnivores with their main diet consisting of small snails and fish (Rafinesque, Constantine S. 1832). They also eat amphibians, insects, and mollusks and some waterfowl. These turtles will hunt, chase, and scavenge for prey.


The Florida softshell turtle is found primarily in the state of Florida, but it also ranges to southern sections of South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. It is the only species of softshell turtle whose range spans the entire Florida peninsula. They are native to the southeastern United States. Out of the Trionychidae family, the Florida softshell occupies the smallest range


The Florida softshell turtle is a large turtle with a flattened, pancake-like body, a long neck, an elongated head with a long snorkel-like nose, and large webbed feet, each with three claws. While most turtles have hard shells composed of scutes, the Florida softshell has a cartilaginous carapace covered in leathery skin. Ranging from olive green to dark brown, it has the darkest coloration of all the softshell species that inhabit Florida (other species include Apalone mutica calvata and Apalone spinifera aspera). It is also characterized by a white or cream-colored underside. This color pattern is known as countershading and is a form of camouflage to conceal turtles from potential predators. It is also the largest species of softshell turtle found in Florida and all of North America, ranging from 15 to 76 cm (5.9 to 29.9 in) in length. The Florida softshell also exhibits significant sexual size dimorphism. Adult females are often 3-5x larger than males. Males have a carapace length and body weight averaging about 35 cm (14 in) and 2.68 kg (5.9 lb) respectively. Nesting adult females were found to average 6.65 kg (14.7 lb) in weight and measure 40.1 cm (15.8 in) in carapace length, with the record weight documented at 43.6 kg (96 lb). However, males tend to have longer tails than their female counterparts (3 cm longer than a female of the same size). Hatchlings have a lighter carapace with yellow and orange markings and a carapacial rim. Stripes in the same color are also found on the face and neck. Their plastron is generally dark in color. As the turtle ages, these colors fade and are lost, resulting in the dark-brown coloration characteristic of adults.


The Florida softshell turtle is a widespread species and occupies almost every freshwater habitat, even tolerating some brackish environments; however, it is not often found in water with strong currents, preferring habitats with slow-moving or still water. These different habitats include swamps, lakes, marshes, wet prairies, small rivers, creeks, and even ponds formed in man-made ditches or sinkholes.


While males consistently reach sexual maturity at small sizes, that size is larger and more variable in females. Some may reach maturity at a plastron length of 24 cm, and others may not mature until they reach a length closer to 30 cm. The onset of sexual maturity will occur anywhere from 5 – 8 years of age. The female nesting season can range anywhere from early April to early August, and incubation lasts an average of 60 – 90 days. In a study examining female reproduction, almost 10% of the females examined in a single breeding season showed signs of inactive ovaries, implying that, unlike males, females may not possess the ability to reproduce every year. Florida softshell females have the ability to produce an average of 4 – 5 egg clutches in a single breeding season, potentially producing a new clutch every three weeks. Florida softshell turtles have one of the highest annual egg production rates of any reptile. The study previously mentioned showed an average of over 20 eggs per clutch, with the largest clutch containing 38 eggs.


The maxima clam (Tridacna maxima), also known as the small giant clam, is a species of bivalve mollusc found throughout the Indo-Pacific region. They are much sought after in the aquarium trade, as their often striking coloration mimics that of the true giant clam; however, the maximas maintain a manageable size, with the shells of large specimens typically not exceeding 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length.


Bivalves have two valves on the mantle. These siphon water through the body to extract oxygen from the water using the gills and to feed on algae. The maxima is less than one-third the size of the true giant clam (Tridacna gigas).


The small giant clam has the widest range of all giant clam species. It is found in the oceans surrounding east Africa, India, China, Australia, Southeast Asia, the Red Sea and the islands of the Pacific.
Found living on the surface of reefs or sand, or partly embedded in coral, the small giant clam occupies well-lit areas, due to its symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae, which require sunlight for energy production.


This quite common species live in low bushes, wet meadows, near streams, roadsides and gardens, especially in sunny and windy areas. It can be found in mountain areas at altitudes of up to 3600 meters.


Adults are visible from May to September. Early in the summer the oak spiders are sexually mature. Before mating, the male produces a sperm supply, that is finally transferred during mating to the female epigynum. The mating occurs during the summer, while the egg laying is done in early autumn. Eggs are usually deposited on the bark of a tree.
These orb-weaving spiders usually build a spiral vertical web close to the ground between herbaceous plants or on bushes at about 0.5–1.5 meters above ground level. They remain motionless for a long time with head down, waiting for prey. They inject venom in their victims with chelicerae. This venom paralyzes the preys and causes the external digestion with the incorporated gastric juices.


Aculepeira ceropegia presents a marked sexual dimorphism. These spiders can reach a length of 6–8 millimetres (0.24–0.31 in) in males, of 15–17 millimetres (0.59–0.67 in) in females. They are easy to identify due to their unique abdominal marking in the form of an oak leaf. The head is covered by a grayish-brown hairs, chelicerae are light brown and legs are dark ringed. The abdomen is elongated and oval-shaped.


The brown water snake (Nerodia taxispilota) is a large species of nonvenomous natricine snake endemic to the southeastern United States. This snake is often one of the most abundant species of snakes found in rivers and streams of the southeastern United States, yet many aspects of its natural history is poorly known. Due to abundance and distribution throughout its biological range, this species could be used to investigate anthropogenic impacts on aquatic ecosystems by studying their movements.
Lycodonomorphus rufulus is sometimes also called the brown water snake, but L. rufulus is found in South Africa.


The brown water snake is very heavy-bodied, and its neck is distinctly narrower than its head. Dorsally, it is brown or rusty brown with a row of about 25 black or dark brown, square blotches down its back. Smaller similar blotches alternate on the sides. Ventrally, it is yellow, heavily marked with black or dark brown. Dorsal scales are in 27-33 rows (more than any other North American water snake), and it has two to four anterior temporals (usually one in others). Adults measure 30–60 in. (76–152 cm) in total length; record 69 in. (175 cm).


N. taxispilota is found in swamps and streams and is often mistaken for a moccasin.


N. taxispilota is ovoviviparous. Mating takes place in the spring on land or on tree branches. On average, adult females are larger than adult males. The young are born alive, usually in August, in broods of 14–58, more commonly 30–40.  The newborns are 7-10¾ in (18–27 cm) long, with males longer than females, opposite of adults.


Generally, adults are  found in small groups around coral heads or large rocks. Juveniles may be found associated with large sea anemones or sheltering between the spines of diadema sea urchins or branching corals. This species may be found to depths of 55 m.


The threespot dascyllus (Dascyllus trimaculatus), also known as the domino damsel or simply domino, is a species of damselfish from the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa, to the Pitcairn Islands, southern Japan, and Australia.  Its grey to black body has two lateral white spots and one between the eyes like domino hence the name; the threespot dascyllus grows up to 13 cm in length. Coloration is somewhat variable; the spot on the forehead may be absent and the lateral spots very much reduced. It feeds on algae, copepods and other planktonic crustaceans.


During the juvenile period, they live with the sea anemone. They grow fast and can grow up to 14 cm in length in a large fish tank. People who like big fish may raise a pair of small Threespot to observe their growth.


In the 19th century, the jaguar was still sighted at the North Platte River in Colorado and coastal Louisiana.
In 1919, sightings of jaguars were reported in the Monterey, California region.
In 1999, its historic range at the turn of the 20th century was estimated at 19,000,000 km² (7,300,000 sq mi), stretching from the southern United States through Central America to southern Argentina. By the turn of the 21st century, its global range had decreased to about 8,750,000 km² (3,380,000 sq mi), with most declines in the southern United States, northern Mexico, northern Brazil, and southern Argentina.
Its present range extends from Mexico through Central America to South America comprising Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, particularly on the Osa Peninsula, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. It is considered to be locally extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay.
Jaguars have been occasionally sighted in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Between 2012 and 2015, a male vagrant jaguar was recorded in 23 locations in the Santa Rita Mountains.
The jaguar prefers dense forest and typically inhabits dry deciduous forests, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, rainforests and cloud forests in Central and South America; open, seasonally flooded wetlands, dry grassland and historically also oak forests in the United States. It has been recorded at elevations up to 3,800 m (12,500 ft) but avoids montane forests. It favors riverine habitat and swamps with dense vegetation cover. In the Mayan forests of Mexico and Guatemala, 11 GPS-collared jaguars preferred undisturbed dense habitat away from roads; females avoided even areas with low levels of human activity, whereas males appeared less disturbed by human population density. A young male jaguar was also recorded in the semi-arid Sierra de San Carlos at a waterhole.


The jaguar is an obligate carnivore and depends solely on flesh for its nutrient requirements. An analysis of 53 studies documenting the diet of the jaguar revealed that its prey ranges in weight from 1 to 130 kg (2.2 to 286.6 lb); it prefers prey weighing 45–85 kg (99–187 lb), with capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) and giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) being significantly preferred. When available, it also preys on marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla), collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) and black agouti (Dasyprocta fuliginosa). In floodplains, jaguars opportunistically take reptiles such as turtles and caimans. Consumption of reptiles appears to be more frequent in jaguars than in other big cats. One remote population in the Brazilian Pantanal is recorded to primarily feed on aquatic reptiles and fish.
The jaguar also preys on livestock in cattle ranching areas where wild prey is scarce.
The daily food requirement of a captive jaguar weighing 34 kg (75 lb) was estimated at 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) of meat.
The jaguar's bite force allows it to pierce the carapaces of the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) and the yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus). It employs an unusual killing method: it bites mammalian prey directly through the skull between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain. It kills capybara by piercing its canine teeth through the temporal bones of its skull, breaking its zygomatic arch and mandible and penetrating its brain, often through the ears.
It has been hypothesized to be an adaptation to "cracking open" turtle shells; armored reptiles may have formed an abundant prey base for the jaguar following the late Pleistocene extinctions. However, this is disputed, as even in areas where jaguars prey on reptiles, they are taken relatively infrequently in comparison to their abundance, and mammals still dominate the cat's diet.
Between October 2001 and April 2004, 10 jaguars were monitored in the southern Pantanal. In the dry season from April to September, they killed prey at intervals ranging from one to seven days; and ranging from one to 16 days in the wet season from October to March.
The jaguar uses a stalk-and-ambush strategy when hunting rather than chasing prey. The cat will slowly walk down forest paths, listening for and stalking prey before rushing or ambushing. The jaguar attacks from cover and usually from a target's blind spot with a quick pounce; the species' ambushing abilities are considered nearly peerless in the animal kingdom by both indigenous people and field researchers and are probably a product of its role as an apex predator in several different environments. The ambush may include leaping into water after prey, as a jaguar is quite capable of carrying a large kill while swimming; its strength is such that carcasses as large as a heifer can be hauled up a tree to avoid flood levels. After killing prey, the jaguar will drag the carcass to a thicket or other secluded spot. It begins eating at the neck and chest. The heart and lungs are consumed, followed by the shoulders.


In captivity, the female jaguar is recorded to reach sexual maturity at the age of about 2.5 years. Estrus lasts 7–15 days with an estrus cycle of 41.8 to 52.6 days. During estrus, she exhibits increased restlessness with rolling and prolonged vocalizations.
She is an induced ovulator but can also ovulate spontaneously.Gestation lasts 91 to 111 days.
The male is sexually mature at the age of three to four years.
His mean ejaculate volume is 8.6±1.3 ml.Generation length of the jaguar is 9.8 years.
In the Pantanal, breeding pairs were observed to stay together for up to five days. Females had one to two cubs.
The young are born with closed eyes but open them after two weeks. Cubs are weaned at the age of three months but remain in the birth den for six months before leaving to accompany their mother on hunts.
Jaguars remain with their mothers for up to two years. They appear to rarely live beyond 11 years, but captive individuals may live 22 years.
In 2001, a male jaguar killed and partially consumed two cubs in Emas National Park. DNA paternity testing of blood samples revealed that the male was the father of the cubs. Two more cases of infanticide were documented in the northern Pantanal in 2013. Infanticide may be combated by the female hiding her cubs and distracting the male with courtship behavior.


The jaguar is a compact and well-muscled animal. It is the largest cat native to the Americas and the third largest in the world, exceeded in size only by the tiger and the lion. It stands 68 to 75 cm (26.8 to 29.5 in) tall at the shoulders.
Its size and weight vary considerably: weights are normally in the range of 56–96 kg (123–212 lb). Exceptionally big males have been recorded to weigh as much as 158 kg (348 lb).
The smallest females weigh about 36 kg (79 lb). It is sexually dimorphic, with females typically being 10–20% smaller than males. The length from the nose to the base of the tail varies from 1.12 to 1.85 m (3 ft 8 in to 6 ft 1 in). The tail is 45 to 75 cm (18 to 30 in) long and the shortest of any big cat.
Its muscular legs are shorter than the legs of other Panthera species with similar body weight.
Further variations in size have been observed across regions and habitats, with size tending to increase from north to south. Jaguars in the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve on the Pacific coast of central Mexico weighed around 50 kg (110 lb), which is about the size of a female cougar (Puma concolor).
Jaguars in Venezuela and Brazil are much larger, with average weights of about 95 kg (209 lb) in males and of about 56–78 kg (123–172 lb) in females.
The jaguar's coat ranges from pale yellow to tan or reddish-yellow, with a whitish underside and covered in black spots. The spots and their shapes vary: on the sides, they become rosettes which may include one or several dots. The spots on the head and neck are generally solid, as are those on the tail where they may merge to form bands near the end and create a black tip. They are elongated on the middle of the back, often connecting to create a median stripe, and blotchy on the belly. These patterns serve as camouflage in areas with dense vegetation and patchy shadows.
Jaguars living in forests are often darker and considerably smaller than those living in open areas, possibly due to the smaller numbers of large, herbivorous prey in forest areas.
The jaguar closely resembles the leopard but is generally more robust, with stockier limbs and a more square head. The rosettes on a jaguar's coat are larger, darker, fewer in number and have thicker lines, with a small spot in the middle.
It has powerful jaws with the third-highest bite force of all felids, after the tiger and the lion.
It has an average bite force at the canine tip of 887.0 Newton and a bite force quotient at the canine tip of 118.6.
A 100 kg (220 lb) jaguar can bite with a force of 4.939 kN (1,110 lbf) with the canine teeth and 6.922 kN (1,556 lbf) at the carnassial notch.


The fruit bodies (basidiocarps) are pale, with a smooth greyish-brown top surface, while the creamy white  underside has hundreds of pores that contain the spores.  The fruit body has a rubbery texture, becoming corky with age. Wood decayed by the fungus, and cultures of its mycelium, often smell distinctly of green apples. The spores are cylindrical to ellipsoidal in shape, and measure 3–6 by 1.5–2 μm.
Fomitopsis betulina has a bipolar mating system where monokaryons or germinating spores can only mate and form a fertile dikaryon with an individual that possesses a different mating-type factor. There are at least 33 different mating-type factors within the British population of this fungus. These factors are all variants or alleles of a single gene, as opposed to the tetrapolar mating system of some other basidiomycete species, which involves two genes.
It is considered inedible.


Fomitopsis betulina has been widely used in traditional medicines, and has been extensively researched for its phytochemistry and pharmacological activity. Phytochemicals include phenolic acids, indole compounds, sterols, and triterpenes.
Agaric acid found in the fruit body of the fungus, is poisonous to the parasitic whipworm Trichuris trichura. The fungus was carried by "Ötzi the Iceman" – the 5,300 year old mummy found in Tyrol, with speculation that the fungus may have been used as a laxative to expel whipworm.


Fomitopsis betulina (previously Piptoporus betulinus), commonly known as the birch polypore, birch bracket, or razor strop, is a common bracket fungus and, as the name suggests, grows almost exclusively on birch trees. The brackets burst out from the bark of the tree, and these fruit bodies can last for more than a year.


Enoplosus armatus, commonly referred to as the old wife (plural: old wives), is a species of perciform fish endemic to the temperate coastal waters of Australia. It is the only modern species in the family Enoplosidae.
It has a deep and compressed body and concave forehead. These features are characteristic of typical butterflyfishes. However, the old wife is easily distinguished by its silver-and-black, vertical, zebra-striped coloration, and by its two prominent dorsal fins. The second dorsal fin is very long and sickle-shaped. The fish grows up to 50 cm long.
Its dorsal fins have bony, knife-like spines. These have no obvious venom groove nor gland. Nonetheless, the spines are widely considered to inflict a painful venom.
The name "old wife" refers to the sound it makes when caught, caused by it grinding its teeth. Other vernacular names have included "bastard dory", "zebra-fish" (also used for Girella zebra), and "double scalare". It has a similar range and appearance to the Moonlighter (Tilodon sexfasciatus).


The sambar is distributed in much of South Asia as far north as the south-facing slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal, Bhutan and India, in mainland Southeast Asia including Burma, Thailand, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia (Sumatra and Borneo), Taiwan, and South China, including Hainan. In the Himalayan foothills, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and eastern Taiwan, it ranges up to 3,500 m (11,500 ft). It inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical seasonal forests, subtropical mixed forests with stands of conifers and montane grasslands, broadleaved deciduous and broadleaved evergreen trees, to tropical rainforests, and seldom moves far from water sources.
The sambar prefers the dense cover of deciduous shrubs and grasses, although the exact nature of this varies enormously with the environment because of its wide Asian range. Home range sizes are probably equally variable, but have been recorded as 1,500 ha (3,700 acres) for males and 300 ha (740 acres) for females in India.


Sambar are nocturnal or crepuscular. The males live alone for much of the year, and the females live in small herds of up to 16 individuals. Indeed, in some areas, the average herd consists of only three or four individuals, typically consisting of an adult female, her most recent young, and perhaps a subordinate, immature female. This is an unusual pattern for deer, which more commonly live in larger groups. They often congregate near water, and are good swimmers. Like most deer, sambar are generally quiet, although all adults can scream or make short, high-pitched sounds when alarmed. However, they more commonly communicate by scent marking and foot stamping.
Sambar feed on a wide variety of vegetation, including grasses, foliage, browse, fruit, and water plants, depending on the local habitat. They also consume a great variety of shrubs and trees.
Sambar have been seen congregating in large herds in protected areas such as national parks and reserves in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. In Taiwan, sambar along with sika deer, have been raised on farms for their antlers, which they drop annually in April to May and are highly prized for use as knife handles and as grips for handguns.
Stags wallow and dig their antlers in urine-soaked soil, and then rub against tree trunks. Sambar are capable of remarkable bipedalism for a deer species, and stags stand and mark tree branches above them with their antlers. A stag also marks himself by spraying urine on his own face with a highly mobile penis. Despite their lack of antlers, female sambar readily defend their young from most predators, which is relatively unusual among deer. When confronted by pack-hunting dholes or feral domestic dogs, a sambar lowers its head with an erect mane and lashes at the dogs. Sambar prefer to attack predators in shallow water. Several sambar may form a defensive formation, touching rumps and vocalising loudly at the dogs. When sensing danger, a sambar stamps its feet and makes a ringing call known as "pooking" or "belling".
They are the favourite prey of tigers and Asiatic lions. In India, the sambar can comprise up to nearly 60% of the prey selected by the Bengal tiger. Anecdotally, the tiger is said to even mimic the call of the sambar to deceive it while hunting. They also can be taken by crocodiles, mostly the sympatric mugger crocodiles and saltwater crocodiles. Leopards and dholes largely prey on only young or sickly deer, though they can attack healthy adults as well.


Though they mate and reproduce year-round, sambar calving peaks seasonally. Oestrus lasts around 18 days. The male establishes a territory from which he attracts nearby females, but he does not establish a harem. The male stomps the ground, creating a bare patch, and often wallows in the mud, perhaps to accentuate the colour of his hair, which is typically darker than that of females. While they have been heard to make a loud, coarse bellow, rutting stags are generally not vocal. Large, dominant stags defend nonexclusive territories surrounded by several smaller males, with which they have bonded and formed alliances through sparring. When sparring with rival males, sambar lock antlers and push, like other deer, but uniquely, they also sometimes stand on their hind legs and clash downward into each other in a manner similar to species of goat-antelope. Females also fight on their hind legs and use their fore legs to hit each other in the head.
Courtship is based more on tending bonds rather than males vocally advertising themselves. Females move widely among breeding territories seeking males to court. When mounting, males do not clasp females. The front legs of the male hang loosely, and intromission takes the form of a "copulatory jump".
Gestation probably lasts around 8 months, although some studies suggest it may be slightly longer. Normally, only one calf is born at a time, although twins have been reported in up to 2% of births. Initially weighing 5 to 8 kg (11 to 18 lb), the calves are usually not spotted, although some subspecies have light spots which disappear not long after birth. The young begin to take solid food at 5 to 14 days, and begin to ruminate after one month. Sambar have lived up to 28 years in captivity, although  they rarely survive more than 12 years in the wild.


The eastern mole is native to Canada (Ontario), Mexico, and the United States, and has the widest range of any North American mole. In the United States, the species is found from southern South Dakota and southern Wisconsin to eastern Massachusetts and south to the tip of Florida and Louisiana and west to Nebraska, Kansas, and central Texas. It is absent from the Appalachian Mountains, most of Canada, and northern New England.
The species is found in the southern tip of Ontario, and northern Tamaulipas, Mexico. Its distribution, however, is patchy. Colonies in southwestern Texas and Coahuila and Tamaulipas, Mexico, are isolated and small.
The species prefers well-drained, loose, sandy or loamy soil, and avoids heavy clay, stony or gravelly soils, and very dry or very wet soils. It frequents pastures, open fields, meadows, and thin woods. In some marginal areas, human activities such as the building of roads and golf courses often provide beneficial habitat due to higher quality soils and adequate moisture.


The eastern mole or common mole (Scalopus aquaticus) is a medium-sized, overall grey North American mole and the only member of the genus Scalopus. Its large, hairless, spade-shaped forefeet are adapted for digging. The species is native to Canada (Ontario), Mexico, and the eastern United States, and has the widest range of any North American mole.
The species prefers the loamy soils found in thin woods, fields, pastures, and meadows, and builds both deep and shallow burrows characterized by discarded excess soil collected in molehills. Its nest is composed of leaves and grasses, and its two to five young are on their own at about four weeks. Its diet consists principally of earthworms and other soil life, but the eastern mole will also eat vegetable matter.
Dogs, cats, foxes, and coyotes prey upon the eastern mole, and the species hosts a variety of parasites. Unlike gophers, moles do not eat vegetation and pose no threat to human concerns; the occasional damage to lawns is offset by the aeration provided the soil and consumption of insects. The construction of golf courses has provided the mole with ideal habitat. The species is abundant, occurs in protected areas, faces no major threats and is of little concern to conservationists.


Gestation is usually 45 days and a single litter of two to five young is produced between mid-April and June. In warm climates, the young may be born in March. They are born blind and naked, and are relatively large compared to the size of the mother. At 10 days, they exhibit a fine, velvety light-gray fur which is retained for several weeks. Rapid growth permits the young to leave the nest and fend for themselves at about four weeks.


In a study from 1976, home range areas of seven eastern moles were calculated after each had been located periodically during periods ranging from 11 months to 3 years. The mean home range area was 0.74 hectares (1.8 acres); males averaged 1.09 hectares (2.7 acres), and females 0.28 hectares (0.69 acres). Because the male range is so large, males generally predominate in samples. The species' fossorial habit tends to limit its dispersal and gene flow, and soil character often limits populations. Eastern moles are good swimmers and not limited by rivers, but heavy clay soils associated with some waterways may limit dispersal.
Eastern moles probably have a long lifespan, due to a paucity of predators and a low reproductive rate. The young are grayer than the adults and, with age, the skull flattens and the teeth display wear. Females live longer than males. Longevity has been estimated at 6 years with mark-recapture methods in South Carolina. In Kansas, longevity was estimated at greater than 3.5 years. The eastern mole is common in most of the United States, but populations in southern Texas and Mexico are considered extremely rare and possibly extinct.


The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P. aethiopicus, but today that scientific name is restricted to the desert warthog of northern Kenya, Somalia, and eastern Ethiopia.


The common warthog is the only pig species that has adapted to grazing and savanna habitats. Its diet is omnivorous, composed of grasses, roots, berries and other fruits, bark, fungi, insects, eggs and carrion. The diet is seasonably variable, depending on availability of different food items. During the wet seasons, warthogs graze on short perennial grasses. During the dry seasons, they subsist on bulbs, rhizomes, and nutritious roots.
Warthogs are powerful diggers, using both their snouts and feet. When feeding, they often bend their front feet backwards and move around on the wrists. Calloused pads that protect the wrists during such movement form early in the development of the fetus. Although they can dig their own burrows, they often occupy abandoned burrows of aardvarks and other animals. The common warthog commonly reverses into burrows, with its head facing the opening and ready to burst out if necessary. Common warthogs will wallow in mud to cope with high temperatures and huddle together to cope with low temperatures.
Although capable of fighting (males fight each other during mating season), the common warthog's primary defense is to flee by means of fast sprinting. When threatened, Warthogs can run speeds of up to 48 km/h (30 mph), will run with their tails sticking up and will enter their dens rear first with tusks facing out. The common warthog's main predators are humans, lions, leopards, cheetahs, crocodiles, wild dogs and hyenas. Birds of prey such as Verreaux's eagle owls and martial eagles sometimes prey on piglets. However, a female common warthog will defend her piglets aggressively. On occasion, common warthogs have been observed charging and even wounding large predators. Common warthogs have also been observed allowing banded mongooses and vervet monkeys to groom them to remove ticks.


Common warthogs are not territorial, but instead occupy a home range. Common warthogs live in groups called sounders.  Females live in sounders with their young and with other females. Females tend to stay in their natal groups, while males leave, but stay within the home range. Subadult males associate in bachelor groups, but males live alone when they become adults. Adult males only join sounders with estrous females. Warthogs have two facial glands: the tusk gland and the sebaceous gland. Common warthogs of both sexes begin to mark around six to seven months old. Males tend to mark more than females. They mark sleeping and feeding areas and waterholes. Common warthogs use tusk marking for courtship, for antagonistic behaviors, and to establish status.

Common warthogs are seasonal breeders. Rutting begins in the late rainy or early dry season and birthing begins near the start of the following rainy season. The mating system is described as "overlap promiscuity": the males have ranges overlapping several female ranges, and the daily behavior of the female is unpredictable. Boars employ two mating strategies during the rut. With the "staying tactic", a boar will stay and defend certain females or a resource valuable to them. In the "roaming tactic", boars seek out estrous sows and compete for them. Boars will wait for sows to emerge from their burrows. A dominant boar will displace any other boar that also tries to court his female. When a sow leaves her den, the boar will try to demonstrate his dominance and then follow her before copulation. For the "staying tactic", monogamy, female-defense polygyny, or resource-defense polygyny is promoted, while the "roaming tactic" promotes scramble-competition polygyny.
The typical gestation period is five to six months. When they are about to give birth, sows temporarily leave their families to farrow in a separate hole. The litter is two to eight piglets, with two to four typical. The sow will stay in the burrow for several weeks, nursing her piglets. Common warthog sows have been observed to nurse foster piglets if they lose their own litter. This behavior, known as allosucking, makes them cooperative breeders. Allosucking does not seem to be a case of mistaken identity or milk theft, and may be a sign of kin altruism. Piglets begin grazing at about two to three weeks and are weaned by six months. Piglets quickly attain mobility and stay close to their mothers for defense.


Exidia recisa (common name willow brain or amber jelly roll) is a jelly fungus in the family Auriculariaceae. It is a common, wood-rotting species throughout the northern hemisphere, typically growing on dead attached twigs and branches of willow and
other broadleaf trees.


Exidia recisa forms orange-brown or amber, gelatinous fruit bodies that are firm and shallowly conical at first, becoming lax and pendulous with age, and around 2.5 cm (1 in) across. The fruit bodies typically grow gregariously, but do not normally coalesce. The upper, spore-bearing surface is smooth and shiny, whilst the undersurface is smooth and matt. Fruit bodies are attached to the wood at a point, but do not have a stem. The spore print is white.


Fruit bodies of Exidia repanda are similarly coloured and microscopically indistinguishable. The fruit bodies are button-shaped, however, never becoming conical and pendulous, and the species typically occurs on birch, never on willow. Fruit bodies of Exidia umbrinella are also similar, but the species only occurs on conifers and is uncommon. The widespread Exidia glandulosa has much darker, blackish brown fruit bodies with sparse warts or small, peg-like projections on their surface.


This species is native to the subtropical regions of Asia, thus it has a preference for warmer, more humid climates. Meanwhile, a synanthropic species, the Pholcus phalangioides has largely had its modern geographic distribution determined by the evolution and spread of humans around the world. Today, these spiders can be found on every continent in the world but are especially concentrated in South America and Europe.
P. phalangioides are not suited for survival in cold environments which is why they prefer the warmth of the indoors, specifically inside human dwellings. These spiders have a particular affinity for dimly lit, dark areas that are quiet and calm. They are commonly found in the corners of buildings and people's homes as well as in attics. Populations of Pholcus phalangioides living outdoors can be found in caves and in between rock crevices.


In general, the webs of P. phalangioides are loose and horizontal with many irregularities. These webs are often intertwined with webs of other skull spiders of the same population. They live peacefully unless resources are low at which point the spiders turn to cannibalism.


This species is preyed upon by jumping spiders of the Salticidae family. Some of these spiders simply leap into the webs of their prey and attack them. Others, employ a certain strategy known as mimicry in order to trick P. phalangioides and capture them.
A jumping spider species whose aggressive mimicry behavior towards P. phalangioides has been well studied is the Portia fimbriata jumping spider species of the genus Portia. During mimicry, the jumping spider produces certain specialized vibrations near the edge of the webs of P. phalangioides. These vibrations cause the webs of P. phalangioides to oscillate in such a way that they mimic the oscillations that would be produced when a form of prey gets stuck in the web. The jumping spider will then continue on with these vibrations for very long durations of time, up to three days in some instances. P. phalangioides often assume that this is an indication that they have caught some sort of prey and will move toward the host of the vibrations. At this point, the jumping spider is in an optimal position to leap onto and attack P. phalangioides, thus subduing them in many instances. In addition to employing mimicry, these jumping spiders are also particularly good at preventing P. phalangioides from inducing their whirling defense mechanism, which tends to be an effective way for P. phalangioides spiders to defend themselves from predators.


Much like the Salticidae family of spiders, P. phalangioides also use mimicry as a predatory tactic to subdue their prey; however, unlike jumping spiders, P. phalangioides do not rely on vision for predation. This mimicry consists of creating specialized vibrations to trick the prey into thinking that it has caught an insect or another spider. The prey then slowly approaches its supposed catch at which point the P. phalangioides spider raises up on its long legs. The spider patiently waits until the exact moment at which the prey touches one of its legs. Then, the P. phalangioides spider quickly immobilizes its prey by using its legs to wrap up it up in layers of silk. Its long legs give it plenty of distance from the prey to avoid being bitten in retaliation. After immobilizing its prey, P. phalangioides can administer their venomous bite to the prey and consume it.
Even forms of prey that do not fully make it onto the web of P. phalangioides are not safe. Often, prey will trip over the edges of the web, thus providing P. phalangioides with an optimal time to attack. P. phalangioides is capable of clinging onto their web with two of their legs while the rest of their body leans out of the web and shoots silk in the direction of the prey to subdue it.


Pholcus phalangioides are sexually dimorphic, where females are slightly larger than the males of the species. The body length of this species varies between males and females.  Males tend to be around 6 to 10 mm in length with the average male being around 6 mm. The average female ranges from 7 to 8 mm in length. As indicated by their common name, "daddy long-legs", these spiders boast eight very long and thin legs which are covered in thin, grey bristles. On average, their legs are roughly 5 to 6 times as long as the spider's body. The average length of an adult female's legs is roughly 50 mm.
The bodies of P. phalangioides, as with all spiders, can be divided into two parts: the prosoma and the opisthosoma. The prosoma is commonly known as the cephalothorax, and the opisthosoma is commonly known as the abdomen. The opisthosoma is considered the posterior part of the body which contains most of the spider's internal organs. The round, peanut-like shape of the spider's cephalothorax has earned the species the nickname "skull spider". The translucent bodies of P. phalangioides tend to be a grey-pale brown color with a dark spot on the back of the prosoma and some dark, blurred spots on the dorsal side of the opisthosoma.
Although some other members of the family Pholcidae have six eyes, Pholcus phalangioides is an eight-eyed spider. The eyes are arranged such that there is a pair of smaller, dark eyes at the front of the prosoma followed by three parallel rows of pairs of larger eyes.
Similar to other species of spider, a hard exoskeleton coats the bodies of P. phalangioides. Depending on the age of the spider, this exoskeleton must be shed at differing intervals; younger spiders tend to molt much more often. During molting, the spider will produce certain enzymes that release the rest of its body from the underlying tissue of its exoskeleton. The spider is then able to escape the exoskeleton. The remnant outer skin or exoskeleton is known as the exuviae.
It takes about one year for these spiders to mature after they are born, and their life span is up to two years post-maturity.


P. phalangioides are carnivorous predators that feed on insects, other spiders, and other small invertebrates. Unlike many other spiders, who simply feed on prey that have gotten stuck in their webs, these spiders frequently venture out from their own webs to hunt other spiders resting in their respective webs and feed on them or their eggs. In times of low prey availability, both the males and females of the species will turn to cannibalism to meet their nutritional needs.


Stropharia rugosoannulata, commonly known as the wine cap stropharia, "garden giant", burgundy mushroom or king stropharia (Japanese: saketsubatake), is an agaric of the family Strophariaceae found in Europe and North America, and introduced to Australia and New Zealand. The mushroom was reported in April 2018 in Colombia, in the city of Bogota.
Unlike many other members of the genus Stropharia, it is regarded as a choice edible and is commercially cultivated.
The king stropharia can grow to 20 cm high with a reddish-brown convex to flattening cap up to 30 cm across, the size leading to another colloquial name godzilla mushroom. The gills are initially pale, then grey, and finally dark purple-brown in colour. The firm flesh is white, as is the tall stem which bears a wrinkled ring. This is the origin of the specific epithet which means "wrinkled-ringed".
It is found on wood chips across North America in summer and autumn. Described as very tasty by some authors, king stropharia is easily cultivated on a medium similar to that on which it grows naturally. Antonio Carluccio recommends sautéeing them in butter or grilling them.
In Paul Stamets' book Mycelium Running, a study done by Christiane Pischl showed that the king stropharia makes an excellent garden companion to corn.  The fungus also has a European history of being grown with corn.
A 2006 study, published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, found the king stropharia to have the ability to attack the nematode Panagrellus redivivus; the fungus produces unique spiny cells called acanthocytes which are able to immobilise and digest the nematodes. See nematophagous fungus.