The wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus or Rana sylvatica) is a frog species that has a broad distribution over North America, extending from the boreal forest of the north to the southern Appalachians, with several notable disjunct populations including lowland eastern North Carolina. The wood frog has garnered attention from biologists because of its freeze tolerance, relatively great degree of terrestrialism (for a ranid), interesting habitat associations (peat bogs, vernal pools, uplands), and relatively long-range movements.
The ecology and conservation of the wood frog has attracted research attention in recent years because they are often considered "obligate" breeders in ephemeral wetlands (sometimes called "vernal pools"), which are themselves more imperiled than the species that breed in them. The wood frog has been proposed to be the official state amphibian of New York.


Wood frogs range from 51 to 70 mm (2.0 to 2.8 in) in length. Females are larger than males. Adult wood frogs are usually brown, tan, or rust-colored, and usually have a dark eye mask. Individual frogs are capable of varying their color; Conant (1958) depicts one individual when light brown and dark brown at different times. The underparts of wood frogs are pale with a yellow or green cast; in northern populations, belly may be faintly mottled. Body colour may change seasonally; exposure to sunlight causes darkening.


Paraphidippus aurantius occurs from the United States to Panama, and on the Greater Antilles.


The sessile, fan-shaped fruiting bodies are typically 3–20 centimetres (1.2–7.9 in) in diameter and up to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) thick. They are found singly or in tiered groups, usually on rotting oak. The upper surface of the cap may be various shades of brown, and is sometimes zonate. The pore surface, white to tan in color, is initially porous, but as the fruit body matures, some of the pore walls break down, forming slits with blunt partitions. This results in the characteristic maze-like (daedaloid or labyrinthinine/labyrinthiform) appearance. The tube walls are 10–30 mm long, with thick walls. The basidiospores are 5–7 × 2–4 μm, smooth, and elliptical in shape. In deposit the spores are white.
This mushroom is inedible due to its cork-like texture.
A variant has been described that has large, angular pores similar to those in the genus Trametes, named D. quercina forma trametea.


Fruit bodies of D. quercina have been used as a natural comb, employed for brushing down horses with tender skin. Gilbertson notes that in England, smoldering fruit bodies were used for anesthetizing bees.
This species has been investigated for application in bioremediation. The lignin-degrading enzyme laccase, isolated and purified from D. quercina, has shown use in biodegrading a variety of toxic dyes and pigments.
The compound quercinol (a chromene derivative), isolated from the oak mazegill, has anti-inflammatory activity, and inhibits the enzymes cyclooxygenase 2, xanthine oxidase, and horseradish peroxidase.


Although D. quercina prefers to grow on Quercus species, it has also been found on the tree species Fagus grandifolia, Fraxinus americana, Juglans nigra, and Ulmus americana.
It has been reported from nearly all European countries, following the pattern of oak distribution. It has also been reported in Northern Africa (Tunisia), Asia from Caucasus to India, and also Australia.


Like most species in the crocodilian family, saltwater crocodiles are not fastidious in their choice of food, and readily vary their prey selection according to availability. Nor are they voracious, as they are able to survive on relatively little food for a prolonged period. Because of their size and distribution, saltwater crocodiles hunt the broadest range of prey species of any modern crocodilian. The diet of hatchling, juvenile, and subadult saltwater crocodiles has been subject to extensively greater scientific study than that of fully-grown crocodiles, in large part due to the aggression, territoriality, and size of adults that make them difficult for biologists to handle without significant risk to safety, for both humans and the crocodiles themselves. The main method used for capturing adult saltwater crocodiles is a huge pole with large hooks, meant for shark capture, that restrict the crocodile's jaws, but these can cause damage to their snouts; and even this is unproven to allow successful capture for crocodiles in excess of 4 m (13 ft 1 in). While for example 20th century biological studies rigorously cataloged the stomach contents of "sacrificed" adult Nile crocodiles in Africa, few such studies were done on behalf of saltwater crocodiles despite the plethora that were slaughtered due to the leather trade during that time period. Therefore, the diet of adults is more likely to be based on reliable eye-witness accounts. Hatchlings are restricted to feeding on smaller animals, such as small fish, frogs, insects and small aquatic invertebrates. In addition to these prey, juveniles also take a variety of freshwater and saltwater fish, various amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, such as large gastropods and cephalopods, birds, small to medium-sized mammals, and other reptiles, such as snakes and lizards. When crocodiles obtain a length of more than 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in), the significance of small invertebrate prey fades in favour of small vertebrates, including fish and smaller mammals and birds. The larger the animal grows, the greater the variety of its diet, although relatively small prey are taken throughout its lifetime.
Among crustacean prey, large mud crabs of the genus Scylla are frequently consumed, especially in mangrove habitats. Ground-living birds, such as the emu and different kinds of water birds, especially the magpie goose, are the most commonly preyed upon birds, due to the increased chance of encounter. Even swift-flying birds and bats may be snatched if close to the surface of water, as well as wading birds while these are patrolling the shore looking for food, even down to the size of a common sandpiper. Mammalian prey of juveniles and subadults are usually as large as the smaller species of ungulates, such as the greater mouse-deer (Tragulus napu) and hog deer (Hyelaphus porcinus). Prey species recorded include primate species such as crab-eating macaques, proboscis monkeys, and gibbons. It preys on agile wallabies, golden jackals, viverrids, turtles, flying foxes, hares, rodents, badgers, otters, chevrotains and pangolins. A rare incidence of an adult, 2.6 m saltwater crocodile preying on an Indian porcupine was reported from Sri Lanka. Unlike fish, crabs and aquatic creatures, mammals and birds are usually found only sporadically in or next to water; so crocodiles seem to search for places where such prey may be concentrated, e.g. the water under a tree holding a flying fox colony, or spots where herds of water buffaloes feed, in order to capture small animals disturbed by the buffalo or (if a large adult crocodile is hunting) weaker members of the buffalo herd.
Studies have shown that, unlike freshwater crocodiles (which can easily die from eating poisonous toads), saltwater crocodiles are partially resistant to cane toad toxins and can consume them, but in only small quantities and not enough to provide effective natural control for this virulent introduced pest. Large crocodiles, even the oldest males, do not ignore small species, especially those without developed escape abilities, when the opportunity arises. On the other hand, sub-adult saltwater crocodiles weighing only 8.7 to 15.8 kg (19+1⁄4 to 34+3⁄4 lb) (and measuring 1.36 to 1.79 m (4 ft 6 in to 5 ft 10 in)) have been recorded killing and eating goats weighing 50 to 92% of their own body mass in Orissa, India, and so are capable of attacking large prey from an early age. It was found that the diet of specimens in juvenile to subadult range, since they feed on any animals up to their own size practically no matter how small, was more diverse than that of adults, which often ignored all prey below a certain size limit.
Large animals taken by adult saltwater crocodiles include sambar deer, wild boar, Malayan tapirs, kangaroos, feral pigs, humans, orangutans, dingos, tigers, and large bovines, such as banteng, water buffalo, and gaur. However, larger animals are taken only sporadically because only large males typically attack very large prey, and large ungulates and other sizeable wild mammals are only sparsely distributed in this species's range, outside of a few key areas such as the Sundarbans. Off-setting this, goats, water buffalo and wild boar/pigs have been introduced to many of the areas occupied by saltwater crocodiles and returned to feral states to varying degrees, and thus can amply support large crocodiles. In Australia, the saltwater crocodile's taste for feral pigs and buffalo was a key factor in their recovery for hunting pressures over the last fifty years according to studies published in 2022 by Dr. Marianna Campbell et al.,. Isotopes taken from the bones of crocodiles collected over five decades ago when crocodiles populations were low and comparisons to specimens from modern populations suggest that initially, Australian saltwater crocodiles subsisted on a more estuarine diet, and both hunting pressures by humans and a reduction in aquatic prey in places like the Top End resulted in a dietary switch to more terrestrial prey that allowed them to grow and recover more rapidly from population declines. Any type of domestic livestock, such as chicken, sheep, pigs, horses and cattle, and domesticated animals/pets may be eaten if given the opportunity. As a seagoing species, the saltwater crocodile also preys on a variety of saltwater bony fish and other marine animals, including sea snakes, sea turtles, sea birds, dugongs, rays (including large sawfish), and small sharks. Most witnessed acts of predation on marine animals have occurred in coastal waters or within sight of land, with female sea turtles and their babies caught during mating season when the turtles are closer to shore, and bull sharks being the only largish shark with a strong propensity to patrol brackish and fresh waters. However, there is evidence that saltwater crocodiles do hunt while out in the open seas, based upon the remains of pelagic fishes that dwell only miles away from land being found in their stomachs.
The hunting methods utilised by saltwater crocodiles are indistinct from any other crocodilian, with the hunting crocodile submerging and quietly swimming over to the prey before pouncing upwards, striking suddenly. Unlike some other crocodilians, such as American alligators and even Nile crocodiles, they are not known to have hunted on dry land. Young saltwater crocodiles are capable of breaching their entire body into the air in a single upward motion while hunting prey that may be perched on low hanging branches. While hunting rhesus macaques, they have been seen to knock the monkeys off a bank by knocking them with their tail, forcing the macaque into water for easy consumption. However, whether tail use in hunting is intentional or just an accidental benefit is not definitely clear. As with other crocodilians, their sharp, peg-like teeth are well-suited to seize and tightly grip prey, but not to shear flesh. Small prey are simply swallowed whole, while larger animals are dragged into deep water and drowned or crushed. Large prey is then torn into manageable pieces by "death rolling" (the spinning of the crocodile to twist off hunks of meat) or by sudden jerks of the head. Occasionally, food items will be stored for later consumption once a crocodile eats its fill, although this can lead to scavenging by interlopers such as monitor lizards.


The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 1996. It was hunted for its skin throughout its range up to the 1970s, and is threatened by illegal killing and habitat loss. It is regarded as dangerous to humans.
The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile and crocodilian known. Males grow to a length of up to 6 m (20 ft), rarely exceeding 6.3 m (21 ft) or a weight of 1,000–1,300 kg (2,200–2,900 lb). Females are much smaller and rarely surpass 3 m (10 ft).
It is also known as the estuarine crocodile, Indo-Pacific crocodile, marine crocodile, sea crocodile or informally as saltie.
The saltwater crocodile is a large and opportunistic hypercarnivorous apex predator. It ambushes most of its prey and then drowns or swallows it whole. It is capable of prevailing over almost any animal that enters its territory, including other apex predators such as sharks, varieties of freshwater and saltwater fish including pelagic species, invertebrates such as crustaceans, various amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, including humans.


The saltwater crocodile inhabits coastal brackish mangrove swamps and river deltas from India's east coast, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to Myanmar, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, East Timor, Palau, Solomon Islands, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Australia's north coast. It is considered possibly extirpated from Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand, and definitively so from the Seychelles. The southernmost population in India lives in Odisha's Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary; in northern Odisha, it has not been recorded since the 1930s. It occurs along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands coasts and in the Sundarbans. In Sri Lanka, it occurs foremost in western and southern parts of the country.
In Myanmar, it inhabits the Ayeyarwady Delta.
In southern Thailand, it was recorded in Phang Nga Province.
It is extirpated from Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam.
In China, it may have once inhabited coastal areas from Fujian province in the north to the border of Vietnam. References to crocodile attacks on humans and livestock during the Han and Song dynasties indicate that until the 18th century, it may have occurred in lower Pearl River and Macau, Han River, Min River, portions of coastal Guangxi province and Hainan Island. However, more recent studies indicate that these reports may have in fact referred to the now-extinct gavialid Hanyusuchus.
In Sabah, it was recorded in the Klias, Segama, and Kinabatangan Rivers. In Sarawak, it was recorded by a camera trap in Kuching Wetlands National Park. In the Lesser Sunda Islands, it is present along the coasts of Sumba, Lembata Island, Flores, Menipo, Rote Island, and Timor. Its status along Alor Island is unknown, where one individual was captured in the 2010s. In the Maluku Islands, it is present around the Kai Islands, the Aru Islands, and many other islands in the region, including the Torres Strait Islands. In Papua New Guinea, it is common within the coastal reaches of every river system such as the Fly River and in the Bismarck Archipelago.
In the Philippines, it occurs in a few coastal sites like eastern Luzon, Palawan, the Liguasan Marsh, and Agusan River on Mindanao.
In northern Australia, Western Australia, and Queensland, the saltwater crocodile is thriving, particularly in the multiple river systems near Darwin such as the Adelaide, Mary, and Daly Rivers, along with their adjacent billabongs and estuaries. The saltwater crocodile population in Australia is estimated at 100,000 to 200,000 adults. Its range extends from Broome, Western Australia through the entire Northern Territory coast all the way south to Rockhampton, Queensland. The Alligator Rivers in the Arnhem Land region are misnamed due to the resemblance of the saltwater crocodile to alligators as compared to freshwater crocodiles, which also inhabit the Northern Territory.
Because of its tendency to swim long distances at sea, individual saltwater crocodiles appeared occasionally in areas far away from their general range, up to Fiji.
Saltwater crocodiles generally spend the tropical wet season in freshwater swamps and rivers, moving downstream to estuaries in the dry season. Crocodiles compete fiercely with each other for territory, with dominant males in particular occupying the most eligible stretches of freshwater creeks and streams. Junior crocodiles are thus forced into marginal river systems and sometimes into the ocean. This explains the large distribution of the species, as well as its being found in the odd places on occasion such as the Sea of Japan. Like all crocodiles, they can survive for prolonged periods in only warm temperatures, and crocodiles seasonally vacate parts of Australia if cold spells hit.


Males reach sexual maturity around 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) at around 16 years of age, while females reach sexual maturity at 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) and 12–14 years of age.
Saltwater crocodiles mate in the wet season, when water levels are at their highest. In Australia, the male and female engage in courtship in September and October, and the female lays eggs between November and March. It is possible the rising temperatures of the wet season provoke reproductive behaviour in this species. While crocodilians generally nest every year, there have been several recorded cases of female saltwater crocodiles nesting only every other year and also records of a female attempting to produce two broods in a single wet season. The female selects the nesting site, and both parents will defend the nesting territory, which is typically a stretch of shore along tidal rivers or freshwater areas, especially swamps. Nests are often in a surprisingly exposed location, often in mud with little to no vegetation around, and thus limited protection from the sun and wind. The nest is a mound of mud and vegetation, usually measuring 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) long and 53 cm (1 ft 9 in) high, with an entrance averaging 160 cm (5 ft 3 in) in diameter. Some nests in unlikely habitats have occurred, such as rocky rubble or in a damp low-grass field. The female crocodile usually scratches a layer of leaves and other debris around the nest entrance and this covering is reported to produce an "astonishing" amount of warmth for the eggs (coincidentally these nesting habits are similar to those of the birds known as megapodes that nest in upland areas of the same Australasian regions where saltwater crocodiles are found).
The female typically lays from 40 to 60 eggs, but some clutches have included up to 90. The eggs measure on average 8 by 5 cm (3 by 2 in) and weigh 113 g (4 oz) on average in Australia and 121 g (4+1⁄4 oz) in India. These are relatively small, as the average female saltwater crocodile weighs around five times as much as a freshwater crocodile, but lays eggs that are only about 20% larger in measurement and 40% heavier than those of the smaller species. The average weight of a new hatchling in Australia is reportedly 69.4 g (2+7⁄16 oz). Although the female guards the nest for 80 to 98 days (in extreme high and low cases from 75 to 106 days), the loss of eggs is often high due to flooding and occasionally to predation. As in all crocodilians, the sex of the hatchlings is determined by temperature. At 28–30 degrees all hatchlings will be female, at 30–32 degrees 86% of hatchlings are male, and at 33 or more degrees predominantly female (84%). In Australia, goannas (Varanus giganteus) commonly eat freshwater crocodile eggs (feeding on up to 95% of the clutch if discovered), but are relatively unlikely to eat saltwater crocodile eggs due to the vigilance of the imposing mother, with about 25% of the eggs being lost to goannas (less than half as many Nile crocodile eggs are estimated to be eaten by monitors in Africa). A majority of the loss of eggs of saltwater crocodiles occurs due to flooding of the nest hole.
As in most crocodilian species, the female saltwater crocodile exhibits a remarkable level of maternal care for a reptile. She excavates the nest in response to "yelping" calls from the hatchlings, and even gently rolls eggs in her mouth to assist hatching. The female will then carry the hatchlings to water in her mouth (as Nile crocodile and American alligator females have been observed doing when their eggs hatch) and remains with the young for several months. Despite her diligence, losses of baby crocodiles are heavy due to various predators and unrelated crocodiles of their own species. Only approximately 1% of the hatchlings will survive to adulthood. By crocodilian standards, saltwater crocodile hatchlings are exceptionally aggressive to one another and will often fight almost immediately after being transported to water by their mother. The young naturally start to disperse after around 8 months, and start to exhibit territorial behaviour at around 2.5 years old. They are the most territorial of extant crocodilians and, due to their aggressiveness to conspecifics, from the dispersed immature stage on, they are never seen in concentrations or loose groups as are most other crocodilians. However, even females will not reach proper sexual maturity for another 10 years. Saltwater crocodiles that survive to adulthood can attain a very long lifespan, with an estimated life expectancy upwards of 70 years, and some individuals possibly exceed 100 years, although no such extreme ages have been verified for any crocodilian.
While adults have no natural predators, baby saltwater crocodiles may fall prey to monitor lizards (occasionally, but not commonly, the numerous goanna in Australia, and the Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) further north), predatory fish (especially the barramundi (Lates calcarifer)), wild boars, rats, various aquatic and raptorial birds (e.g. black-necked storks (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) and white-bellied sea eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster)), pythons, larger crocodiles, and many other predators. Pigs and cattle also occasionally inadvertently trample eggs and nests on occasion and degrade habitat quality where found in numbers. Juveniles may also fall prey to tigers and leopards (Panthera pardus) in certain parts of their range, although encounters between these predators are rare, and cats are likely to avoid areas with saltwater crocodiles.


The majority of the diet of T. lineatum consists of earthworms.


The lined snake is found throughout the central United States from Illinois to Texas.


The lined snake is olive green to brown with a distinctive tan or yellow stripe running down the middle of the back from head to tail. It has similar stripes, one down each side on scale rows 2 and 3. On the belly, it has a double row of clean-cut black half-moon spots running down the middle. It has a narrow head and small eyes.
Adult size is typically less than 35 cm (14 inches) in total length (including tail). However, maximum recorded total length is 53 cm (21 in).
The keeled dorsal scales are arranged in 19 rows at midbody. There are only 5 or 6 upper labials.


The preferred habitat of T. lineatum is grassland areas with soft, moist soils.


The lined snake is ovoviviparous, the young being born in August.  The average brood is seven or eight. The newborn juveniles are 10–12 cm (4-4¾ in.) long at birth.


Gymnopus dryophilus contains toxins which may cause severe gastrointestinal issues. However, it has been listed as edible by some sources, though not worthwhile. It is recommended not to eat the stem, which is tough.
It has been found to contain anti-inflammatory beta-glucans.


This fungus is very common in northern hemisphere temperate woodlands (so much so that it is sometimes considered a "weed" mushroom). It fruits from April to December and is often seen when there are few other fungi in evidence. Although the Greek epithet dryophilus means "lover of oak trees", it is also found with other broad-leaved trees and with conifers.


The cap is 2–6 centimetres (3⁄4–2+3⁄8 in) in diameter, convex, and reddish-brown to ochre (fading to tan with dryness); they become more irregular in shape with age. The gills, which are only thinly attached to the stem (detaching with age), are whitish and crowded. The spore powder is white; the buff spores do not react in Melzer's reagent. The bald stem ranges from 2–8 cm (3⁄4–3+1⁄8 in) long by 3–6 mm 3–6 mm (1⁄8–1⁄4 in) in diameter, sometimes thicker at the base. The taste is palatable.
Microscopically the spores are 6×3 µm in size and slightly tear-shaped, there are lobed club-shaped cystidia (15–50 µm × 2–6 µm), and the hyphae on the cap cuticle can also have lobes.
It is contended that G. dryophilus in fact consists of a complex of different species and that several new species (including G. brunneolus, G. earleae and G. subsulphureus) should be split off from it.  However these species are not generally recognized at present.
One similar species is Rhodocollybia butyracea, which has a pinkish spore deposit, and some of the spores turn reddish-brown in Melzer's reagent.
The species may carry the parasite Syzygospora mycetophila, which causes pale growths on the mushroom surface.


Lactifluus volemus, formerly known as Lactarius volemus, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, in temperate regions of Europe, North America and Asia as well as some subtropical and tropical regions of Central America and Asia. A mycorrhizal fungus, its fruit bodies grow on the ground at the base of various species of trees from summer to autumn, either individually or in groups. It is valued as an edible mushroom, and is sold in markets in Asia. Several other Lactifluus mushrooms resemble L. volemus, such as the closely related edible species L. corrugis, but these can be distinguished by differences in distribution, visible morphology, and microscopic characteristics. L. volemus produces a white spore print and has roughly spherical spores about 7–8 micrometres in diameter.
The colour of the L. volemus mushroom varies from apricot to tawny, and the cap may be up to 11 cm (4+1⁄2 in) wide. The pale golden yellow gills on the underside of the cap are closely spaced and sometimes forked. One of the mushroom's most distinctive features is the large amount of latex ("milk") that it exudes when the gills are damaged, leading to the common names weeping milk cap and voluminous-latex milky. It also has a distinctive fishy smell, which does not affect the taste. The fruit bodies have been chemically analysed and found to contain several sterols related to ergosterol, some of which are unique to this species. The mushroom also contains a natural rubber that has been chemically characterized. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Lactifluus volemus represents several species or subspecies, rather than a single taxon.


Fruit bodies contains a unique sterol molecule called volemolide, a derivative of the common fungal sterol ergosterol that may have application in fungal chemotaxonomy. A 2001 study identified a further nine sterols, three of which were previously unknown to science. According to the authors, these types of highly oxygenated compounds—similar to sterols found in marine soft coral and sponges—are rare in fungi. The mushroom also contains volemitol (D-glycero-D-mannoheptitol), a seven-carbon sugar alcohol first isolated from the species by the French scientist Émile Bourquelot in 1889. Volemitol occurs as a free sugar in many plant and brown algal species.
Due to their natural polyisoprene content (1.1–7.7% by dry weight of fruit bodies), L. volemus fruit bodies can also be used to produce rubber. The chemical structure of rubber from the mushroom consists of a high molecular mass homologue of polyprenol, arranged as a dimethylallyl group, two trans isoprene units, a long sequence of cis isoprenes (between 260 and 300 units), terminated by a hydroxyl or fatty acid ester. Biosynthetically, the creation of the polyisoprene begins with the compound trans,trans-farnesyl pyrophosphate, and is thought to terminate by esterification of polyisoprenyl pyrophosphate. The enzyme isopentenyl-diphosphate delta isomerase has been identified as required for the initiation of rubber synthesis in L. volemus and several other milk cap species.


Despite the unappealing fishy scent that develops after the mushroom is picked, Lactifluus volemus is edible and recommended for culinary usage, though, typical of milk caps, it has a slightly granular texture that some may find unappetizing. The odor disappears during cooking. The latex only has a mild taste. The species is considered good for novice mushroom hunters to eat, and is best prepared by slow cooking to prevent it from becoming too hard; specimens that have been rehydrated after having been dried will require longer cooking times to eliminate the grainy texture. The mushroom has also been suggested for use in casseroles and thick sauces. Pan frying is not a recommended cooking technique, due to the large amounts of latex it exudes. L. volemus is one of several species of milk caps that are sold in rural markets in Yunnan Province, China, and it is among the most popular wild edible mushroom species collected for consumption and sale in Nepal. In their 2009 book on milk caps of North America, Bessette and colleagues consider the mushroom "the best-known and most popular edible milk mushroom" in the eastern United States. A Turkish study of the nutritional composition of the fruit bodies concluded that L. volemus is a good source of protein and carbohydrates.
Two elderly people developed a transient pancreatitis after consuming L. volemus in central Anatolia in Turkey. Both had eaten the mushroom, which they knew as Tirmit, many times before. The condition resolved spontaneously.


Like all milk caps, L. volemus forms ectomycorrhizae, mutually beneficial symbiotic associations with various tree species. In this association, the fungal hyphae grow around the root of the plant and between its cortical cells, but do not actually penetrate them. The hyphae extend outward into the soil, increasing the surface area for absorption to help the plant absorb nutrients from the soil. It is found growing at the base of both coniferous and broad-leaved trees, although it is more common in deciduous woods. It may also sometimes be found in peat moss beds. The fruit bodies, which appear between summer and autumn, are common. They can be found growing solitarily or in groups, and are more abundant in weather that is warm and humid.
Fruit bodies can be inhabited by species of limoniid flies, such as Discobola marginata or Limonia yakushimensis, as well as several species of fungi-dwelling mites. The flies are hosts for the mites in a symbiotic association known as phoresis, whereby the mites are mechanically carried by its host. Mites are small and unable to migrate the relatively long distances between mushrooms without assistance; the insect hosts, in comparison, are large and can transfer the mites between their preferred feeding habitats.
Lactifluus volemus is found in warm temperate regions and as well as some subtropical and tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The fungus is widely distributed throughout Europe, although it is in decline in some countries, and has become rare enough in the Netherlands (and Flanders) to be considered locally extinct. In the Americas, the northern limit of its distribution reaches southern Canada east of the Great Plains, and the species extends south to the East Coast of the United States and Mexico, and beyond into Central America (Guatemala). It is also known from Asia, including China (Qinling Mountains, Guizhou Province, and Yunnan Province), Japan, India, Korea, Nepal, and Vietnam. Collections have also been made from the Middle East, including Iran and Turkey.


The fruit body of Lactifluus volemus has a fleshy and firm cap with a velvety or smooth surface and a shape that changes with maturity: it starts off convex, with edges curved inwards, then later grows flat with a depression in the middle. With a typical diameter of 5 to 11 cm (2–4+1⁄2 in), its colour ranges from apricot to tawny. The cap colouration, however, is somewhat variable, as has been noted in Asian, European, and North American specimens. The stem, whose height varies between 4 and 12 cm (1+1⁄2 and 5 in), and which is typically between 1 and 1.5 cm (0.4 and 0.6 in) thick, has a slightly lighter colouration than the cap. It is firm, with a velvety or smooth surface that sometimes has depressions running longitudinally up and down its length. The gills are adnate to slightly decurrent, brittle, narrow, quite closely spaced and sometimes forked. Normally a pale golden yellow colour, the gills turn brown when bruised. Interspersed between the gills are lamellulae, short gills that do not extend to the stem. The flesh is whitish and firm. The mushroom smells somewhat fishy; one source suggests the odour is "like a dead shad, which anglers will tell you is probably the most malodorous freshwater fish". The odour is concentrated when the fruit bodies are dried. One of the mushroom's most distinctive features is the abundant latex, so plentiful that a small nick on the gills will cause it to "weep" the milky substance. The latex tends to impart brown stains on whatever it contacts.


Lactifluus volemus is closely related to L. corrugis, and generally similar in appearance. L. corrugis usually has more surface wrinkles, darker gills, weaker or absent scent, and less orange colouration; however, intermediate colour forms can be found. The two can be distinguished more definitively by microscopic characteristics: L. corrugis has larger spores—typically 10.4–12.8 by 9.6–11.8 µm—with a coarser surface reticulum, and larger pleurocystidia. The species Lactifluus austrovolemus is closely related, but has more crowded gills, while L. lamprocystidiatus can only be reliably distinguished from L. volemus by microscopic characteristics: the reticulations on its spores are taller and more acute, and the meshes formed by the intersections of the reticulations are smaller. Both L. austrovolemus and L. lamprocystidiatus are known only from Papua New Guinea. Lactifluus hygrophoroides also resembles L. volemus, but differs in having widely spaced gills, and spores that lack surface reticulations.
Some species of the genus Lactarius are also similar: The tropical African Lactarius chromospermus has a superficial resemblance to L. volemus, but the former species, in addition to its African distribution, can be identified by its cinnamon-brown spore print—unique in the Russulaceae. Lactarius subvelutinus is also similar to L. volemus, but lacks the fishy odour, has a dull yellow-orange to bright golden orange cap, narrow gills, and a white latex that does not change colour.


This fungus is characterized by a fruiting body (technically an apothecia) with a pinkish-purple color and more or less gelatinous consistency. The apothecia, typically 0.5 to 1.5 centimetres (1⁄4 to 5⁄8 in) in diameter, start with a roughly spherical shape, then eventually flatten out to become shallowly cup-shaped with a wavy edge and smooth upper surface. The lower surface may be covered with small particles (granular), and the apothecia are either attached directly to the growing surface (sessile), or have a rudimentary stem. The apothecia are accompanied by a conidial form, where non-sexual spores are generated. The conidial form consists of sporodochia, a cushion-like asexual fruiting body mass consisting of short conidiophores (specialized stalks that bear conidia). The sporodochia are similar in color and consistency to the apothecia but very variable in shape, typically club-, spoon-, or tongue-shaped, and bearing minute, cylindrical, straight or curved conidia. As the fungus matures and the apothecia enlarge and press against each other, the apothecia coalesce to form a gelatinous, irregular mass.  The flesh, similar to the appearance of the fungus, is pinkish-purple and gelatinous. The odor and taste of A. sarcoides are not distinctive. Ascocoryne sarcoides is not considered edible.


Ascocoryne sarcoides is a species of fungus in the family Helotiaceae. The species name is derived from the Greek sarkodes (fleshy). Formerly known as Coryne sarcoides, its taxonomical history has been complicated by the fact that it may adopt both sexual and asexual forms. Colloquially known as jelly drops or the purple jellydisc, this common fungus appears as a gelatinous mass of pinkish or purple-colored discs. Distributed widely in North America, Europe and Asia, A. sarcoides is a saprobic fungus and grows in clusters on the trunks and branches of a variety of dead woods. Field studies suggest that colonization by A. sarcoides of the heartwood of black spruce confers some resistance to further infection by rot-causing fungi. A. sarcoides contains the antibiotic compound ascocorynin, shown in the laboratory to inhibit the growth of several Gram-positive bacteria.


This species has a broad distribution in forested areas of North America and Europe. A saprobic fungus, it derives nutrients from decaying organic matter, and as such is usually found growing on the stumps and logs of fallen deciduous trees. However, it is also found on a variety of living trees as well. For example, in Europe it has been found on the stems of living spruce (Picea abies) in Finland, France, Great Britain, Norway, and Germany.
Other collections sites include Australia, Chile, China, Cuba, Iceland, Korea, and Taiwan. In Hawaii, it grows on trunks of fallen Cibotium and Aleurites trees. A. sarcoides occurs most frequently in late summer and autumn.


Ascocoryne cylichnium, another small and gelatinous violet-colored species, has apothecia that are more often cup-shaped, and has larger spores—20–24 by 5.5–6 µm. Because of its resemblance to the jelly fungi, A. sarcoides has been mistaken for the basidiomycete species Auricularia auricula and Tremella foliacea. T. foliacea is larger, brown, and leafy in appearance. A. auricula is also larger, typically brown, is disc- or ear-shaped, with a ribbed undersurface. Microscopically, Tremella foliacea and Auricularia auricula are easily distinguished from A. sarcoides by the presence of basidia (rather than asci).
Other similar species include Bulgaria inquinans and Exidia glandulosa.


The agile frog can be found in France, the Channel Islands, parts of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, on the Balkans, Greece, and by the Black Sea. The species once lived in the United Kingdom, during middle Saxon times, with archaeological remains recovered in East Anglia. Celtic Reptile & Amphibian have discussed reintroducing the species. It has undergone a reintroduction on Jersey, by Durrel Wildlife Conservation Trust, as it was very close to extirpation on the island.


This species is fat and has long limbs and a pointy snout. Adult males are rarely larger than 6.5 cm, while females can grow up to 8 cm. Its dorsal surface is light brown, reddish-brown, or light greyish-brown with very little contrast. Triangle-shaped spots reach from the temple to the eardrum, which are dark brown. The underside of the agile frog is white without any spots. During mating season, the males often become dark brown.
The hind legs are unusually long, which allow this species to jump further than other similar frogs - they have been known to jump up to two metres in distance. The pupils are horizontal. The colour of the upper third of the iris (above the pupil) is lighter and gold in coloration. The tympanum is about the size of the diameter of the eye. The gland stripes on the frog's back are not very developed and partially interrupted.


The call is a fairly quiet "rog ... rog ... rog", and can last for up to 12 seconds, and almost sounds like a clucking chicken. They often also call under water, so the calls can only be heard from a very short distance by observers. Spawning only lasts a few days, and during this period, the males sometimes gather in large calling groups on the water surface to attract females. In Central Europe, spawning usually occurs in the first 20 days of March, but can also be delayed, depending on the weather. The spawn clumps consist of 450 to 1800 eggs, and are usually attached to tree branches, roots, or plant stems at depths of 5–40 cm (2–16 in). Therefore, they rarely sink to the bottom. Unlike the moor frog (Rana arvalis) and common frog (Rana temporaria), the agile frog does not lay its spawn all in one clump. The diameter of a single egg, not counting the gelatinous shell, is 1.5–2.1 mm (0.06–0.08 in).


The collared peccary is widespread throughout much of the tropical and subtropical Americas, ranging from the Southwestern United States to northern Argentina. They were reintroduced to Uruguay in 2017, after 100 years of extirpation there. The only Caribbean island where it is native, however, is Trinidad. Until fairly recently, it was also present on the nearby island of Tobago, but is now exceedingly rare (if not extirpated) due to overhunting by humans. An adaptable species, it inhabits deserts, xeric shrublands, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, shrublands, flooded grasslands and savannas, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and several other habitats; it is also present in habitats shared by humans, merely requiring sufficient cover. Peccaries can be found in cities and agricultural land throughout their range, where they consume garden plants. Notable populations are known to exist in the suburbs of Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.
Due to the lack of fossil material or even specimens from archeological sites, it was assumed that javelinas only recently crossed into the US by way of Mexico. However, a fossil jaw of this species was discovered in Florida ("Collared peccary (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Tayassuidae, Pecari) from the late Pleistocene of Florida", Richard C. Hulbert, Gary S. Morgan & Andreas Kerner), proving that at some point in the late Pleistocene the species had already inhabited part of the Southern US.


Collared peccaries are often classified as herbivores. They normally feed on cactus, mesquite beans, fruits, berries, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, palm nuts, grasses, other green vegetation, fungi, and insects. However, they will also eat eggs, snakes, fish, frogs, lizards, dead birds, and rodents if the opportunity presents itself. Despite all this supplementary diet, the main dietary components of this species are agaves and prickly pears. In areas inhabited by humans, they also consume cultivated crops and ornamental plants, such as tulip bulbs.


The main predators of the collared peccary are cougars (Puma concolor), Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi), coyotes (Canis latrans), jaguars (Panthera onca), and bobcats (Lynx rufus).


The collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus Dicotyles. They are commonly referred to as javelina, saíno, or báquiro, although these terms are also used to describe other species in the family. The species is also known as the musk hog. In Trinidad, it is colloquially known as quenk.


Possibly originating from the plains of northern China and Mongolia, the brown rat spread to other parts of the world sometime in the Middle Ages. The question of when brown rats became commensal with humans remains unsettled, but as a species, they have spread and established themselves along routes of human migration and now live almost everywhere humans are.
The brown rat may have been present in Europe as early as 1553, a conclusion drawn from an illustration and description by Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner in his book Historiae animalium, published 1551–1558. Though Gesner's description could apply to the black rat, his mention of a large percentage of albino specimens—not uncommon among wild populations of brown rats—adds credibility to this conclusion. Reliable reports dating to the 18th century document the presence of the brown rat in Ireland in 1722, England in 1730, France in 1735, Germany in 1750, and Spain in 1800, becoming widespread during the Industrial Revolution. It did not reach North America until around 1750–1755.
As it spread from Asia, the brown rat generally displaced the black rat in areas where humans lived. In addition to being larger and more aggressive, the change from wooden structures and thatched roofs to bricked and tiled buildings favored the burrowing brown rats over the arboreal black rats. In addition, brown rats eat a wider variety of foods, and are more resistant to weather extremes.

In the absence of humans, brown rats prefer damp environments, such as river banks. However, the great majority are now linked to man-made environments, such as sewage systems.
It is often said that there are as many rats in cities as people, but this varies from area to area depending on climate, living conditions, etc. Brown rats in cities tend not to wander extensively, often staying within 20 m (66 ft) of their nest if a suitable concentrated food supply is available, but they will range more widely where food availability is lower. It is difficult to determine the extent of their home range because they do not utilize a whole area but rather use regular runways to get from one location to another. There is great debate over the size of the population of rats in New York City, with estimates from almost 100 million rats to as few as 250,000. Experts suggest that New York is a particularly attractive place for rats because of its aging infrastructure and high poverty rates. In addition to sewers, rats are very comfortable living in alleyways and residential buildings, as there is usually a large and continuous food source in those areas.
In the United Kingdom, some figures show that the rat population has been rising, with estimations that 81 million rats reside in the U.K. Those figures would mean that there are 1.3 rats per person in the country. High rat populations in the U.K. are often attributed to the mild climate, which allow them higher survival rates during the winter. With the increase in global temperature and glacier retreat, it is estimated that brown rat populations will see an increase.
In tropical and desert regions, brown rat occurrence tends to be limited to human-modified habitats. Contiguous rat-free areas in the world include the continent of Antarctica, the Arctic, some isolated islands, the Canadian province of Alberta, and certain conservation areas in New Zealand. Most of Australia apart from the eastern and south-eastern coastal areas does not have reports of substantial rat occurrences.
Antarctica is uninhabitable by rats. The Arctic has extremely cold winters that rats cannot survive outdoors, and the human population density is extremely low, making it difficult for rats to travel from one habitation to another, although they have arrived in many coastal areas by ship. When the occasional rat infestation is found and eliminated, the rats are unable to re-infest it from an adjacent one. Isolated islands are also able to eliminate rat populations because of low human population density and the geographic distance from other rat populations.


The brown rat is a true omnivore and will consume almost anything, but cereals form a substantial part of its diet. Martin Schein, founder of the Animal Behavior Society in 1964, studied the diet of brown rats and came to the conclusion that the most-liked foods of brown rats include scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese, raw carrots, and cooked corn kernels. According to Schein, the least-liked foods were raw beets, peaches, and raw celery.
Foraging behavior is often population-specific, and varies by environment and food source. Brown rats living near a hatchery in West Virginia catch fingerling fish.
Some colonies along the banks of the Po River in Italy will dive for mollusks, a practice demonstrating social learning among members of this species. Rats on the island of Norderoog in the North Sea stalk and kill sparrows and ducks.


The brown rat was first observed on the Faroe Islands in 1768. It is thought that the first individuals arrived on the southernmost island, Suðuroy, via the wreck of a Norwegian ship that had stranded on the Scottish Isle of Lewis on its way from Trondheim to Dublin. The drifting wreck, carrying brown rats, drifted northwards until it reached the village of Hvalba. Dispersion afterwards appears to have been fast, including all of Suðuroy within a year. In 1769, they were observed in Tórshavn on the southern part of Streymoy, and a decade later, in the villages in the northern part of this island.
From here, they crossed the strait and occupied Eysturoy during the years 1776 to 1779. In 1779, they reached Vagar. Whether the rats dispersed from the already established population in Suðuroy, or they were brought to the Faroe Islands with other ships is unknown. The Northern islands were invaded by the brown rat more than 100 years later, after Norwegians built and operated a whaling station in the village of Hvannasund on Borðoy from 1898 to 1920. From there, the brown rat spread to the neighbouring islands of Viðoy and Kunoy. A recent genomic analysis reveals three independent introductions of the invasive brown rat to the Faroe Islands.
Today the brown rat is found on seven of the 18 Faroese islands, and is common in and around human habitations as well as in the wild. Although the brown rat is now common on all of the largest Faroese islands, only sparse information on the population is available in the literature. An investigation for infection with the spirochaete Leptospira interrogans did not find any infected animals, suggesting that Leptospira prevalence rates on the Faroe Islands may be among the lowest recorded worldwide.


The brown rat can breed throughout the year if conditions are suitable, with a female producing up to five litters a year. The gestation period is only 21 days, and litters can number up to 14, although seven is common. They reach sexual maturity in about five weeks. Under ideal conditions (for the rat), this means that the population of females could increase by a factor of three and a half (half a litter of 7) in 8 weeks (5 weeks for sexual maturity and 3 weeks of gestation), corresponding to a population growing by a factor of 10 in just 15 weeks. As a result, the population can grow from 2 to 15,000 in a year. The maximum life span is three years, although most barely manage one. A yearly mortality rate of 95% is estimated, with predators and interspecies conflict as major causes.
When lactating, female rats display a 24-hour rhythm of maternal behavior, and will usually spend more time attending to smaller litters than large ones.
Brown rats live in large, hierarchical groups, either in burrows or subsurface places, such as sewers and cellars. When food is in short supply, the rats lower in social order are the first to die. If a large fraction of a rat population is exterminated, the remaining rats will increase their reproductive rate, and quickly restore the old population level.
Females are capable of becoming pregnant immediately after giving birth, and can nurse one litter while pregnant with another. Females are able to produce and raise two healthy litters of normal size and weight without significantly changing their own food intake. However, when food is restricted, females can extend pregnancy by over two weeks, and give birth to litters of normal number and weight.


Brown rats are capable of producing ultrasonic vocalizations. As pups, young rats use different types of ultrasonic cries to elicit and direct maternal search behavior, as well as to regulate their mother's movements in the nest. Although pups produce ultrasounds around any other rats at the age of 7 days, by 14 days old they significantly reduce ultrasound production around male rats as a defensive response. Adult rats will emit ultrasonic vocalizations in response to predators or perceived danger; the frequency and duration of such cries depends on the sex and reproductive status of the rat. The female rat also emit ultrasonic vocalizations during mating.


They are semi-aquatic and live in wetland habitats such as ponds, lake shores, and they can also inhabit slow-moving streams. This can include the littoral zones of lakes and ponds as well as the more slow moving pools and edge zones of streams. They can be found among emergent vegetation, rocks and other structures near the water, such as boat docks.


As active hunters that stalk or ambush aquatic prey, D. triton spiders do not use their webs for prey capture. Nevertheless, silk plays an important role in adaptation to aquatic environments. Silk is used to construct trailing safety lines (known as draglines) used in movement across bodies of water, for example. As spiders reach sexual maturity, males and females use web construction in different ways. Females use their draglines to transport pheromones to attract potential mates while males use silk to build sperm webs and nuptial gifts. Females also use silk to envelop eggs in spherical egg sacs and create nursery webs to house newly hatched spiderlings.


While it remains unclear what preys most on the species, birds, bats, and fish are all thought to prey on D. triton. The distinct camouflage coloration suggests that these spiders are preyed on by visual predators. Furthermore, pompilid and sphenoid wasps, which use sight when hunting, are thought to parasitize Dolomedes species.
In a study focusing on the anti-predator behavior of females of the species, it was found that female boldness is positively correlated with female aggression for certain behaviors, principally aggression towards prey (crickets were used for the study) and pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism of courting males.


These spiders are native to the Western Hemisphere and can be found throughout the contiguous United States and southern Canada, more common east of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. They have also been reported in areas ranging from Ontario to Maine to southern Florida and Texas, west to the southern panhandle of Alaska and south to the Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas, Mexico. However, they are not commonly collected from southwestern states.


This spider can be identified by its large size and distinctive markings. It has eight eyes with good vision, and its body is grey to brown. They have a white to a pale cream colored stripe running down each side of the cephalothorax. The abdomen has many light colored spots and also has light colored lines running down the sides of the abdomen. When this species is seen from below, there are six dark spots present on the bottom of the cephalothorax, hence its common name. Like many spiders, this species shows sexual dimorphism. The female is larger than the male. The female is about 60 millimeters (2.4 in) long including the legs; her body length is 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) and the male's body is 9–13 mm (0.35–0.51 in) long. The juvenile spiders look similar to adults but are smaller. The juvenile goes through a series of molts within their lifetime to grow and reach adult size.
While somewhat visually similar to D. striatus, this species is distinguished by its unique pattern of three pairs of dark sternal spots and several light spots on the abdominal dorsum. Males have a more apically rounded tibial apophysis that extends past the tibia apex. In females, the seminal valve of the copulatory apparatus can be found in the anterior half of the dorsal epigynous area with loose fertilization tubes. This species is known to be remarkably variable over their geographic range, both in terms of appearance and behavior.


D. triton are capable of capturing fish up to five times their body size, and they use venom to immobilize and kill prey. This species is diurnal and thus hunts during the day. They can wait patiently for hours until stimulated by prey. Potential prey include both aquatic insects and terrestrial insects that have fallen into the water, tadpoles, frogs, and small fish. As such, they are one of the few spider species known to feed on vertebrate species. One study conducted in central Alberta, Canada found that both juveniles and adults feed primarily on arthropods residing on fresh water surfaces and that diet varied considerably based on size, geographic distribution, and seasonal changes. Prey are typically caught while alive, and D. triton spiders are not repelled by sclerotization and metasternal secretions of potential prey. Juveniles tend to consume smaller prey than mature spiders do, especially females, who demonstrated a considerable lack of small prey capture, a trend attributed to the intense energy needs of yolk production.
Prey detection is thought to arise through two different strategies - the use of tactile stimuli on the water surface and via eyesight. For the former strategy, the anterior two pairs of legs rest on the water surface and respond to the stimuli of ripples along the water surface. They are often seen with their legs sprawled out by the water while they are waiting for prey. They hunt by the water’s surface in which they can walk on water and dive under up to 18 cm (7.1 in) to capture prey. Their good vision contributes to their success when diving to capture prey. They capture underwater prey as well as prey that fall on the water's surface or travels on water, such as water striders. Visual stimuli, while used, are less important.


The yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicum) is a species of boxfish. It can be found in reefs throughout the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean as well as the southeastern Atlantic Ocean.
O. cubicum reaches a maximum length of 45 centimetres (18 in). As the name suggests, it is box-shaped. Boxfish are also known for their armored and rigid body which in most cases would inhibit locomotion. This disadvantage is offset by the boxfish's carapace shape which is much more advantageous for its adapted style of swimming, known as ostraciiform locomotion. When juvenile, it is bright yellow in color. As it ages, the brightness fades and very old specimens have blue-grey to black coloration with faded yellow.
The yellow boxfish's diet consists mainly of marine algae, but it may also feed on worms, sponges, crustaceans, molluscs, and small fish.
When stressed or injured it releases the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) from its skin, which may prove lethal to fish in surrounding waters. The bright yellow color and black spots are a form of warning coloration (aposematism) to any potential predators.
Yellow boxfish are solitary animals. Breeding occurs during the spring, in small groups that consist of 1 male and 2–4 females.
In 2006, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its Bionic concept car, which was inspired by the shape of the yellow boxfish. It was assumed that due to the extreme agility with which boxfish maneuver, that their shape was aerodynamic and self-stabilizing. However, analysis by scientists suggests that boxfish agility is instead due to the combination of an aerodynamically unstable body and the manner in which the fish use their fins for movement.


The vervet monkey ranges throughout much of Southern and East Africa, being found from Ethiopia, Somalia and extreme southern South Sudan, to South Africa. It is not found west of the East African Rift or the Luangwa River, where it is replaced by the closely related malbrouck (C. cynosuros). The vervet monkey inhabits savanna, riverine woodland, coastal forest, and mountains up to 4000 m (13,100 ft). They are adaptable and able to persist in secondary and/or highly fragmented vegetation, including cultivated areas, and sometimes are found living in both rural and urban environments. Annual home range size has been observed to be as high as 176 ha, with an average population density of 54.68 animals/km².
Introduced vervet monkeys are naturalised in Cape Verde, St Kitts and Nevis, and Barbados. Dania Beach, Florida, is home to about 40 introduced vervets.


The vervet monkey eats a primarily herbivorous diet, living mostly on wild fruits, flowers, leaves, seeds, and seed pods. In agricultural areas, vervets become problem animals, as they raid bean, pea, young tobacco, vegetable, fruit, and grain crops. Animal foods of their diet include grasshoppers and termites. Raids of cattle egrets and weaver bird nests have been observed where the vervets eat the eggs and chicks.
A list of some natural food plants and part of the plant eaten, in South Africa:
Acacia erioloba – seeds and pods
Aloe spp – nectar (flowers)
Celtis africana – fruit
Colophospermum mopane – seeds
Deinbollia oblongifolia – fruit
Euphorbia ingens – fruit
Euphorbia tirucalli – fruit
Ficus abutilifolia – figs
Ficus sur – figs
Ficus sycomorus – figs
Grewia caffra – fruit
Harpephyllum caffrum – fruit
Hyphaene coriacea – fruit
Phoenix reclinata – fruit
Protorhus longifolia – fruit
Rhus chirindensis – fruit
Sclerocarya birrea – fruit
Strelitzia nicolai – soft parts of the flowers
Ximenia caffra – fruit
Ziziphus mucronata – fruit


Vervet monkeys have four confirmed predators: leopards, eagles, pythons, and baboons. The sighting of each predator elicits an acoustically distinct alarm call. As infants, vervets learn to make the variety of calls from observation alone, without explicit tutelage. In experimentation with unreliable signalers, individuals became habituated to incorrect calls from a specific individual. Though the response was lessened for a specific predator, if an unreliable individual gives an alarm call for a different predator, group members respond as if the alarm caller is, in fact, reliable. This suggests vervet monkeys are able to recognize and to respond to not only the individual calling, but also to the semantics of what the individual is communicating. Vervet monkeys are thought to have up to 30 different alarm calls. In the wild, they have been seen giving a different call when seeing a human being approaching, leading researchers to believe that vervet monkeys may have a way of distinguishing between different land and flight predators.
Mothers can recognise their offspring by a scream alone. A juvenile scream elicits a reaction from all mothers, yet the juvenile's own mother has a shorter latency in looking in the direction of the scream, as well as an increased duration in her look. Further, mothers have been observed to help their offspring in conflict, yet rarely aid other juveniles. Other mothers evidently can determine to which mother the offspring belongs. Individuals have been observed to look towards the mother whose offspring is creating the scream.


Female vervets do not have external signs indicating estrus, thus elaborate social behaviors involving reproduction do not occur. Typically, a female gives birth once a year, between September and February, after a gestation period around 165 days. Usually, only one infant is born at a time, though twins can occur rarely. A normal infant weighs 300–400 grams (11–14 oz).


This species occurs in countries and islands including:
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Poland
Slovakia
Ukraine
Spain
Great Britain
Ireland
Hungary


The 5–7.5 x 2.4–2.9 mm shell has  4–5 moderately convex whorls. The aperture inside is  slightly thickened. There are no apertural teeth and there is no umbilicus. Shell colour is horny yellowish to reddish brown. The animal is greyish or blackish, with dark tentacles .
This species can be hard to differentiate from the similar species Cochlicopa lubricella.


T. onustus typically reside on shrubs and within lowland vegetation, preferring warmer areas. They inhabit a wide variety of flowers and herbs, usually staying at the flowering peaks. T. onustus is unique among crab spider species in that it prefers to situate itself in flower centers, which have unique spectral properties, over petals. T. onustus are distributed across Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (from Europe to South Siberia), Israel, Central Asia, Iran, China, Korea, and Japan, preferring warm areas.


T. onustus are primarily preyed upon by insectivorous birds. While their crypsis is imperfect, meaning that they do not perfectly match flower color, making them slightly detectable, T. onustus generally suffer little from bird predation. This is because it does not pay birds to specialize on crab spiders due to their uneven distributions and crypsis. T. onustus tend to prefer flowers with colors they can match (usually white or yellow), even when they could attain greater hunting success on other flowers. This is due to the increased predation risk of residing on flowers that would make them more conspicuous. While there are relatively few observations of specific predator species of T. onustus, mud-daubers and spider wasps do prey on the spider species.


T. onustus are summer-stenochronus spiders (summer reproductive season) and sit-and-wait predators. They stay in flower corollas and wait for insect prey including bees (Apoidea), butterflies (Lepidoptera), hoverflies (Syrphidae), diptera, hymenoptera, and other spiders. T. onustus are cursorial spiders and do not use silk for prey capture. Instead, they use their long raptorial forelegs to ambush nearby insects. They frequently prey on insects far larger than themselves, ranging from 1.25 to 16.00mm in length.  Males feed less and tend to prey on smaller insects.
While some Australian crab spider species are able to use the reflection of UV light to generate a deceptive signal that attracts prey to host flower species, European species, including T. onustus, lack this ability. Honeybees attracted to the UV reflectance of Australian species, for example, are repelled by the presence of T. onustus.
When T. onustus acts as an ambush predator, it influences the ways in which pollinators, such as honeybees and hoverflies, manage the trade-off between predation rate and resource intake. Honey bees, for example, will avoid resource (nectar) poor habitats as well as those with higher concentrations of crab spiders, preferring to frequent safer areas. However, honeybees are more susceptible to predation by crab spiders and competition is more intense in these areas. Hoverflies, on the other hand, prefer less competitive but riskier resource areas. While bumblebees, Bombus terrestris, avoid T. onustus, they do not learn from previous encounters with spider predators in order to enhance avoidance of heterospecific individuals.


T. onustus is a medium-sized spider that exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females between lengths of 7–11 mm and smaller males ranging between lengths of 2–4 mm. Females are heavy-bodied and mostly stationary, whereas males are slender and more motile.  Females have a pink, yellow, or white prosoma and males are brown to green-yellow in color. Both sexes have a triangular opisthosoma. This species can be distinguished from its close relative Thomisus zyuzini by its long ventral tibial apophysis and retrolateral tibial apophysis, the arrangement of the basal tibia tubercle on the male palp, and the circular intromittent orifice, which is oriented anteriad in the epigynum.


While overall size is smaller, in terms of prey to predator length ratio, juvenile spiders capture larger prey than late instar and adult females. Pollen feeding is particularly important for spiderlings, as it allows them to survive beyond what yolk reserves would otherwise allow. Due to the lack of amino acids, especially tyrosine, in pollen grains, spiderlings that feed exclusively on pollen are unable to molt versus spiderlings that feed on insect prey.


Agkistrodon piscivorus venom is more toxic than that of A. contortrix, and is rich with powerful cytotoxic venom that destroys tissue. Although deaths are rare, the bite can leave scars, and on occasion, require amputation. Absent an anaphylactic reaction in a bitten individual, however, the venom does not cause systemic reactions in victims and does not contain neurotoxic components present in numerous rattlesnake species. Bites can be effectively treated with CroFab antivenom; this serum is derived using venom components from four species of American pit vipers (the eastern and western diamondback rattlesnakes, the Mojave rattlesnake, and the cottonmouth).
Bites from the cottonmouth are relatively frequent in the lower Mississippi River Valley and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, although fatalities are rare. Allen and Swindell (1948) compiled a record of A. piscivorus bites in Florida from newspaper accounts and data from the Bureau of Vital Statistics: 1934, eight bites and three fatalities (no further fatalities were recorded after this year); 1935, 10; 1936, 16; 1937, 7; 1938, 6; 1939, 5; 1940, 3; 1941, 6; 1942, 3; 1943, 1; 1944, 3; 1998, 1. Wright and Wright (1957) report having encountered these snakes on countless occasions, often almost stepping on them, but never being bitten. In addition, they heard of no reports of any bites among 400 cypress cutters in the Okefenokee Swamp during the entire summer of 1921. These accounts suggest that the species is not particularly aggressive.
Brown (1973) gave an average venom yield (dried) of 125 mg, with a range of 80–237 mg, along with LD₅₀ values of 4.0, 2.2, 2.7, 3.5, 2.0 mg/kg IV, 4.8, 5.1, 4.0, 5.5, 3.8, 6.8 mg/kg IP and 25.8 mg/kg SC for toxicity. Wolff and Githens (1939) described a 152 cm (60 in) specimen that yielded 3.5 ml of venom during the first extraction and 4.0 ml five weeks later (1.094 grams of dried venom). The human lethal dose is unknown, but has been estimated at 100–150 mg.
Symptoms commonly include ecchymosis and swelling. The pain is generally more severe than bites from the copperhead, but less so than those from rattlesnakes (Crotalus spp.). The formation of vesicles and bullae is less common than with rattlesnake bites, although necrosis can occur. Myokymia is sometimes reported. However, the venom has strong proteolytic activity that can lead to severe tissue destruction.


Raymond Ditmars (1912) described A. piscivorus as carnivorous. Its diet includes mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, snakes, small turtles, and small alligators. Cannibalism has also been reported. Normally, though, the bulk of its diet consists of fish and frogs. On occasion, juvenile specimens feed on invertebrates. Catfish are often eaten, although the sharp spines sometimes cause injuries. Toads of the genus Bufo are apparently avoided.
Many authors have described the prey items taken under natural circumstances. Although fish and frogs are their most common prey, they eat almost any small vertebrate. Fish are captured by cornering them in shallow water, usually against the bank or under logs. They take advantage when bodies of water begin to dry up in the summer or early fall and gorge themselves on the resulting high concentrations of fish and tadpoles. They are surprisingly unsuccessful at seizing either live or dead fish under water.
They are opportunistic feeders and sometimes eat carrion, making them one of the few snakes to do so. Campbell and Lamar (2004) described having seen them feeding on fish heads and viscera that had been thrown into the water from a dock. Heinrich and Studenroth (1996) reported an occasion in which an individual was seen feeding on the butchered remains of a feral hog (Sus scrofa) that had been thrown into Cypress Creek. Northern Cottonmouths have an unusual feeding adaptation that allows them to adhere to prey through rotation of their head during swallowing because it aids the jaws in clearing the prey and contributes to the advance of the jaws along the prey.
Conant (1929) gave a detailed account of the feeding behavior of a captive specimen from South Carolina. When prey was introduced, the snake quickly became attentive and made an attack. Frogs and small birds were seized and held until movement stopped. Larger prey was approached in a more cautious manner; a rapid strike was executed after which the snake would withdraw. In 2.5 years, the snake had accepted three species of frogs, including a large bullfrog, a spotted salamander, water snakes, garter snakes, sparrows, young rats, and three species of mice. Brimley (1944) described a captive specimen that ate copperheads (A. contortrix), as well as members of its own species, keeping its fangs embedded in its victims until they had been immobilized. Another study done in 2018 found that northern cottonmouths on a diet of only fish when compared to a diet of mice had to eat 20% more to achieve the same growth.
Young individuals have yellowish or greenish tail tips and engage in caudal luring. The tail tip is wriggled to lure prey, such as frogs and lizards, within striking distance. Wharton (1960) observed captive specimens exhibiting this behavior between 07:20 and 19:40 hours, which suggests it is a daytime activity.


A. piscivorus is found in the eastern US from the Great Dismal Swamp in southeast Virginia, south through the Florida peninsula and west to Arkansas, eastern and southern Oklahoma, and western and southern Georgia (excluding Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona). A few records exist of the species being found along the Rio Grande in Texas, but these are thought to represent disjunct populations, now possibly eradicated. The type locality given is "Carolina", although Schmidt (1953) proposed this be restricted to the area around Charleston, South Carolina.
Campbell and Lamar (2004) mentioned this species as being found in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri,  North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Maps provided by Campbell and Lamar (2004) and Wright and Wright (1957) also indicate its presence in Western and Middle Tennessee and extreme southeastern Kansas, and limit it to the western part of Kentucky.
In Georgia, it is found in the southern half of the state up to a few kilometers north of the Fall Line with few exceptions. Its range also includes the Ohio River Valley as far north as southern Indiana, and it inhabits many barrier islands off the coasts of the states where it is found.


Agkistrodon piscivorus is the largest species of the genus Agkistrodon. Adults commonly exceed 80 cm (31 in) in total length (including tail); females are typically smaller than males. Total length, per one study of adults, was 65 to 90 cm (26 to 35 in). Average body mass has been found to be 292.5 to 579.6 g (10.32 to 20.44 oz) in males and 201.1 to 254.1 g (7.09 to 8.96 oz) in females. Occasionally, individuals may exceed 180 cm (71 in) in total length, especially in the eastern part of the range.
Although larger ones have purportedly been seen in the wild, according to Gloyd and Conant (1990), the largest recorded specimen of A. p. piscivorus was 188 cm (74 in) in total length, based on a specimen caught in the Dismal Swamp region and given to the Philadelphia Zoological Garden. This snake had apparently been injured during capture, died several days later, and was measured when straight and relaxed. Large specimens can be extremely bulky, with the mass of a specimen of about 180 cm (71 in) in total length known to weigh 4.6 kg (10 lb).
The broad head is distinct from the neck, and the snout is blunt in profile with the rim of the top of the head extending forwards slightly further than the mouth. Substantial cranial plates are present, although the parietal plates are often fragmented, especially towards the rear. A loreal scale is absent. Six to 9 supralabials and eight to 12 infralabials are seen. At midbody, there are 23–27 rows of dorsal scales. All dorsal scale rows have keels, although those on the lowermost scale rows are weak. In males/females, the ventral scales number 130-145/128-144 and the subcaudals 38-54/36-50. Many of the latter may be divided.
Though the majority of specimens are almost or even totally black, (with the exception of the head and facial markings), the color pattern may consist of a brown, gray, tan, yellowish-olive, or blackish ground color, which is overlaid with a series of 10–17 dark brown to almost black crossbands. These crossbands, which usually have black edges, are sometimes broken along the dorsal midline to form a series of staggered halfbands on either side of the body. These crossbands are visibly lighter in the center, almost matching the ground color, often contain irregular dark markings, and extend well down onto the ventral scales. The dorsal banding pattern fades with age, so older individuals are an almost uniform olive-brown, grayish-brown, or black. The belly is white, yellowish-white, or tan, marked with dark spots, and becomes darker posteriorly. The amount of dark pigment on the belly varies from virtually none to almost completely black. The head is a more or less uniform brown color, especially in A. p. piscivorus. Subadult specimens may exhibit the same kind of dark, parietal spots characteristic of A. contortrix, but sometimes these are still visible in adults. Eastern populations have a broad, dark, postocular stripe, bordered with pale pigment above and below, that is faint or absent in western populations. The underside of the head is generally whitish, cream, or tan.
Juvenile and subadult specimens generally have a more contrasting color pattern, with dark crossbands on a lighter ground color. The ground color is then tan, brown, or reddish brown. The tip of the tail is usually yellowish, becoming greenish yellow or greenish in subadults, and then black in adults. On some juveniles, the banding pattern can also be seen on the tail.  Young snakes wiggle the tips of their tails to lure prey animals.
This species is often confused with the copperhead, A. contortrix. This is especially true for juveniles, but differences exist. A. piscivorus has broad, dark stripes on the sides of its head that extend back from the eye, whereas A. contortrix has only a thin, dark line that divides the pale supralabials from the somewhat darker color of the head. The watersnakes of the genus Nerodia are also similar in appearance, being thick-bodied with large heads, but they have round pupils, no loreal pit, a single anal plate, subcaudal scales that are divided throughout, and a distinctive overall color pattern.


Agkistrodon piscivorus is the most aquatic species of the genus Agkistrodon, and is usually associated with bodies of water, such as creeks, streams, marshes, swamps, and the shores of ponds and lakes. The U.S. Navy (1991) describes it as inhabiting swamps, shallow lakes, and sluggish streams, but it is usually not found in swift, deep, cool water. Behler and King (1979) list its habitats as including lowland swamps, lakes, rivers, bayheads, sloughs, irrigation ditches, canals, rice fields, and small, clear, rocky, mountain streams.
It is also found in brackish-water habitats and is sometimes seen swimming in salt water. It has been much more successful at colonizing Atlantic and Gulf coast barrier islands than the copperhead. However, even on these islands, it tends to favor freshwater marshes. A study by Dunson and Freda (1985) describes it as not being particularly salt-tolerant.
The snake is not limited to aquatic habitats, however, as Gloyd and Conant (1990) mentioned large specimens have been found more than a mile (1.6 km) from water. In various locations, the species is well-adapted to less moist environments, such as palmetto thickets, pine-palmetto forest, pine woods in East Texas, pine flatwoods in Florida, eastern deciduous dune forest, dune and beach areas, riparian forest, and prairies.


Agkistrodon piscivorus is ovoviviparous, with females usually giving birth to one to 16 live young and possibly as many as 20. Litters of six to eight are the most common. Neonates are 22–35 cm in length (excluding runts), with the largest belonging to A. p. conanti and A. p. leucostoma the smallest. If weather conditions are favorable and food is readily available, growth is rapid and females may reproduce at less than three years of age and a total length of as little as 60 cm. The young are born in August or September, while mating may occur during any of the warmer months of the year, at least in certain parts of its range.
Regarding A. p. piscivorus, an early account by Stejneger (1895) described a pair in the Berlin Zoological Garden that mated on January 21, 1873, after which eight neonates were discovered in the cage on July 16 of that year. The young were each 26 cm in length and 1.5 cm thick. They shed for the first time within two weeks, after which they accepted small frogs, but not fish.
Combat behavior between males has been reported on a number of occasions, and is very similar in form to that seen in many other viperid species. An important factor in sexual selection, it allows for the establishment and recognition of dominance as males compete for access to sexually active females.
A few accounts exist that describe females defending their newborn litters. Wharten (1960, 1966) reported several cases where females found near their young stood their ground and considered these to be examples of guarding behavior. Another case was described by Walters and Card (1996) in which a female was found at the entrance of a chamber with seven neonates crawling on or around her. When one of the young was moved a short distance from the chamber, she seemed to be agitated and faced the intruder. Eventually, all of her offspring retreated into the chamber, but the female remained at the entrance, ready to strike.


The common ringtail possum feeds on a wide variety of plants in the family Myrtaceae including the foliage, flowers and fruits from shrubs and lower canopy. Some populations are also known to feed on the leaves of cypress pine (Callitris), wattles (Acacia spp.) and plant gum or resins.
When foraging, ringtail possums prefer young leaves over old ones. One study found the emergence of young possums from their pouches corresponds to the flowering and fruiting of the tea-tree, Leptospermum and the peak of fresh plant growth. Young eucalypt leaves are richer in nitrogen and have less dense cell walls than older leaves, however the protein gained from them is less available due to higher amounts of tannins. When feeding, the possum's molars slice through the leaves, slitting them into pieces. The possum's caecum separates the fine particles from the coarse ones. These particles stay in the caecum for up to 70 hours where the cell walls and tanned cytoplasts are partially digested.
What distinguishes the digestive system of the common ringtail possum from that of the koala and the greater glider is the caecal content transfers directly back to the stomach. Because of this, the ringtail possum is able to gain more protein. This is also done by lagomorphs like rabbits and pikas. Hard faeces are produced during the night while feeding and are not eaten, while soft faeces are produced during the day during rests and are eaten.


Common ringtail possum populations severely declined during the 1950s. However, populations seem to have recovered in recent times. Because they are largely arboreal, common ringtail possums are particularly affected by deforestation in Australia. They are also heavily predated upon by the introduced red fox.  They are also hit by cars, or killed by snakes, cats and dogs in suburban areas.


The common ringtail possum is currently classified as the only living species in the genus Pseudocheirus; the species of Pseudochirulus and other ringtail genera were formerly also classified in Pseudocheirus. Several subspecies have been described, such as the Western Australian Pseudocheirus peregrinus occidentalis, but the entire population may be a species complex.
The arrangement as the only extant species of Pseudocheirus is:
Pseudocheirus peregrinus pereginus, the type subspecies based on a collection made at Endeavour River
Pseudocheirus peregrinus convolutor, (Eastern ringtail possum or Southeastern ringtail possum)
Pseudocheirus peregrinus pulcher, (Rufous ringtail possum)
Pseudocheirus peregrinus occidentalis, called the Western ringtail possum, found in the south west of the country. Taxonomic opinion favours regarding this as a separate species, Pseudocheirus occidentalis, though the currently contradictory evidence would not allow this recommendation to be formalised.


As a marsupial, the common ringtail possum carries its young in a pouch, where it develops. Depending on the area, the mating season can take place anywhere between April and December. The majority of the young are born between May and July. The oestrous cycle of ringtail possum lasts 28 days. It is both polyoestrous and polyovular. If a female prematurely loses her litter, she can return to oestrous and produce a second litter in October as a replacement if conditions are right. The average litter is two, although there are very occasionally triplets. Common ringtail possum young tend to grow relatively slowly due to dilute milk with low lipid levels that is provided to the young. As with other marsupials, the common ringtail possum's milk changes through lactation. During the second phase of lactation, more solid foods are eaten, especially when the young first emerges from the pouch. During this time, the concentration of carbohydrates fall, while those of proteins and lipids reach their highest. The long lactation of the ringtail possums may give the young more time to learn skills in the communal nest as well as to climb and forage in the trees.
The young are first able to vocalise and open their eyes between 90 and 106 days of age. They leave their mother's pouch at 120–130 days. However, lactation usually continues until 180–220 days after birth but sometimes ends by 145 days. Both sexes become sexually mature in the first mating season after their birth.


Misumenoides formosipes is a species of crab spiders (Thomisidae), belonging to the genus Misumenoides ("crab" or "flower" spiders). The species' unofficial common name is white banded crab spider, which refers to a white line that runs through the plane of their eyes. This species is a sit-and-wait predator that captures pollinators as they visit the inflorescences on which the spider sits. The spider has strong front legs which are used to seize prey. The female spider is much larger than the male. The pattern of markings on females is variable and the overall color of the body can change between white and yellow dependent on the color of their surroundings. The color pattern for males, which does not change in their lifetime, differs from females in that the four front legs of males are darker and the abdomen is gold. The spider can be found throughout the United States. Males search for sedentary females within a heterogeneous habitat and guard them until they are sexually mature to reproduce.


Female M. formosipes have a length of  5.0–11.3 millimetres (0.20–0.44 in). They can change their coloring to appear as white, yellow, or light brown and can have various markings along their body that are red, black, or brown. Their posterior is a rounded triangular shape.


Female M. formosipes hunt by waiting on inflorescences and capturing pollinators that visit the flower. Male M. formosipes are nectarivores and get a majority of their nutrients from consuming nectar from Daucus carota , commonly known as Queen Anne's Lace. Since the male M. formosipes are significantly smaller than the females, they are able to benefit from the low amounts of sucrose found in nectar.


The eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) is a common newt of eastern North America. It frequents small lakes, ponds, and streams or nearby wet forests. The eastern newt produces tetrodotoxin, which makes the species unpalatable to predatory fish and crayfish. It has a lifespan of 12 to 15 years in the wild, and it may grow to 5 in (13 cm) in length. These animals are common aquarium pets, being either collected from the wild or sold commercially. The striking bright orange juvenile stage, which is land-dwelling, is known as a red eft. Some sources blend the general name of the species and that of the red-spotted newt subspecies into the eastern red-spotted newt (although there is no "western" one).


Eastern newts are at home in both coniferous and deciduous forests. They need a moist environment with either a temporary or permanent body of water, and thrive best in a muddy environment. During the eft stage, they may travel far from their original location. Red efts may often be seen in a forest after a rainstorm. Adults prefer a muddy aquatic habitat, but will move to land during a dry spell. Eastern newts have some amount of toxins in their skin, which is brightly colored to act as a warning. Even then, only 2% of larvae make it to the eft stage. Some larvae have been found in the pitchers of the carnivorous plant Sarracenia purpurea.
Eastern newts eat a variety of prey, such as insects, small mollusks and crustaceans, young amphibians, worms, and frog eggs. They also eat a lot of snails, beetles, ants, and mosquito larvae. Their dietary habits prove to be very beneficial to humans because they help to control insect populations. They are very active animals and they tend to feed every two to three days.


Secretion of toxins through the skin protects the newt from predators, and should therefore not be handled with bare hands. The red colors of the adult newt also act as a warning sign for predators. Its ventral surface has poison glands, which makes predators reluctant to eat it. This special toxin is known as tetrodoxin. Several studies have found that newt larvae increase the production of this toxin while in the presence of predators (dragonflies). Tetrodoxin is known to cause muscle paralysis, skin irritation, and even death in predators. The Eastern newt also has a greater tail depth and is capable of swimming quickly away from aquatic predators.


Similar to other members of the family Theridiidae, S. triangulosa constructs a cobweb, i.e. an irregular tangle of sticky silken fibers. As with other web-weavers, these spiders have very poor eyesight and depend mostly on vibrations reaching them through their webs to orient themselves to prey or warn them of larger animals that could injure or kill them. They are not aggressive. There is one known case of human envenomation. It will not kill a person unless an allergic reaction occurs.
S. triangulosa is a cosmopolitan species, and is found in many parts of the world, including across North America, in southern Russia, New Zealand, and Europe. The spider is believed to be native to Eurasia and introduced elsewhere. This species is primarily a house spider, and builds webs in dark corners of buildings and other man-made structures.


The adult female triangulate cobweb spider is 3 to 6 mm long (1/8 to 1/4 inch), with a brownish-orange cephalothorax and spindly, yellowish legs, and tiny hairs. The round, bulbous abdomen is creamy in color, with parallel purply-brown zigzag lines running front to back. This distinctive pattern sets it apart from other theridiids in its area.
The triangulate cobweb spider is known to prey on many other types of arthropods, ants (including fire ants), other spiders, pillbugs, and ticks. It preys on several other spiders believed to be harmful to humans, including the brown recluse.
The egg sac of the triangulated cobweb spider is made from loosely woven silk, and is about the same size as the spider itself. Each egg sac contains approximately 30 eggs. Cobweb spiders typically live on windows or in dark areas. They eat for a margin of their day and spend hours developing their web; it does not break if it is woven well. Below or in its web, there may be many dead insects, ranging from stinkbugs to other spiders, and even wasps.


As mentioned earlier, H. chrysospermus is not edible and may be poisonous.  The bolete eater is used in Chinese herbal medicine to stop and heal external bleeding, primarily through application of the spore onto open wounds or cuts.


The bolete eater infects boletes, initially with a thin whitish layer which then becomes golden and finally a reddish-brown pimpled appearance. The bolete's flesh softens and is putrescent by the third stage. Single or multiple boletes may be infected, members of Paxillus and Rhizopogon are also attacked.
The spores are oval-shaped and smooth in the white stage and measure 10–30 by 5–12 μm, and are warty, round and thicker-walled in the yellow stage and are 10–25 μm in diameter. These two stages are asexual, while the final stage is sexual; here the spores are spindle-shaped and measure 25–30 by 5–6 μm.


The shelflike or bracketlike fruit body is fan-shaped to semicircular, and typically measures 5–15 cm (2–6 in) in diameter, and up to 2 cm (0.8 in) thick.  Its upper surface is broadly convex to flat, dry, smooth to somewhat hairy, and usually has concentric zone lines. Its color ranges from reddish brown to brown to grayish, sometimes becoming blackish in maturity. The cap surface may have an umbo at the point of attachment to the substrate. Fruit bodies are leathery to corky when moist, but become hard and rigid when dry. The flesh is white to pinkish to brownish and tough. The underside of the fruit bodies features tiny pores measuring about 0.5–1.5 mm in diameter. They are white to tan to brown, but will develop pinkish or reddish tones if bruised. Pore shape is highly variable, ranging from circular to elongated, to mazelike, to gill-like. The tubes are up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in) long. The fruit body lacks a stalk, as the shelf attaches directly to the substrate. The inedible fruit bodies have no distinctive odor and a slightly bitter taste.
The spore print is white; spores are cylindrical, smooth, and measure 7–11 by 2–3 μm. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) have a shape ranging from cylindrical to club-shaped, and dimensions of 20–40 by 3–5 μm. The hymenium features numerous hyphidia (modified terminal hyphae), which measure 2–3 μm. The hyphal system of Daedaleopsis confragrosa is trimitic, meaning that there are three types of hyphae in the fruit body: skeletal hyphae, which provide structural support, are thick walled, measuring 3–7 μm in diameter; generative hyphae, responsible for new growth, can be either thin- or thick-walled, may contain clamps, and measure 2–6 μm; binding hyphae, thick-walled and much branched, are 2–5 μm.
The polypore is used in ornamental paper making, whereby the fruit bodies are pulped, pressed, and dried to produce sheets with unusual textures and colors.


Cerrena unicolor (formerly Daedalea unicolor) is a common polypore species with a mazelike pore surface that can resemble D. confragosa. It can be distinguished by its thinner fruit bodies, a black line in the flesh, and the way that the tubes often break into irregular flattened teeth in maturity. Daedalea quercina, common on oak, has a larger fruit body up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter and 1–8 cm (0.4–3.1 in) thick, and its pore surface is more distinctively labyrinthine (maze-like). It causes a brown heart rot, where carbohydrates are removed from the inner heartwood, leaving brownish, oxidized lignin.


Daedaleopsis confragosa is a lignicolous fungus that produces a decay of sapwood. It causes white rot, a type of wood decay in which lignin is degraded and cellulose remains as a light-colored residue. The fruit bodies grow singly or in groups, sometimes in tiers, in the wounds of living trees. Its preferred host is willow, but it has also been found on birch and other hardwoods. Fruiting usually occurs from June to December, but the hard shelves can persist year-round. In North America, the species is most common in eastern locales, but rare in western regions. It is common in Europe, and is one of the 100 most common fungi in the United Kingdom. Its European range extends east to the Urals. In Asia it is widely distributed, having been recorded from China, western Maharashtra (India), Iran, and Japan.
The fruit bodies are popular among fungus-loving beetles. In a Russian study, 54 species from 16 families in the Coleoptera complex were recorded using the fungus; the most common were Cis comptus, Sillcacis affinis (Ciidae), Tritoma subbasalis, Dacne bipustulata (Erotylidae), Mycetophagus multipunctatus, M. piceus (Mycetophagidae), and Thymalus oblongus (Trogossitidae).