Peary caribou

The Peary caribou ("Rangifer tarandus pearyi") is a subspecies of caribou found in the High Arctic islands of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories in Canada. They are the smallest of the North American caribou, with the females weighing an average of and the males . In length the females average and the males .
Like other caribou, both the males and females have antlers. The males grow their antlers from March to August and the females from June to September, and in both cases the velvet is gone by October. The coat of the caribou is white and thick in the winter. In the summer it becomes short and darker, almost slate-grey in colour. The coat is made up of hollow hair which helps to trap warmer air and insulate the caribou.
The males become sexually mature after two years and the females after three years. Breeding is in the fall and depends on the female having built up sufficient fat reserves. The gestation period last for seven to eight months and one calf is produced.
Peary caribou feed on most of the available grasses, Cyperaceae (sedges), lichen and mushrooms. In particular they seem to enjoy the purple saxifrage and in summer their muzzles become purple from the plants. Their hooves are sharp and shaped like a shovel to enable them to dig through the snow in search of food.
The caribou rarely travel more than from their winter feeding grounds to the summer ones. They are able to outrun the Arctic wolf, their main predator, and are good swimmers. They usually travel in small groups of no more than twelve in the summer and four in the winter.
The Peary caribou population has dropped from above 40,000 in 1961 to about 700 in 2009. During this period, the number of days with above freezing temperatures has increased significantly, resulting in ice layers in the snow pack. These ice layers hinder foraging and are the likely cause for dramatic drops in caribou population in the future.
The Peary caribou, called "tuktu" in Inuinnaqtun/Inuktitut, and written as "ᕐᑯᑦᓯᑦᑐᒥ ᑐᒃᑐ" in Inuktitut syllabics, is a major food source for the Inuit and was named after the American explorer Robert Peary.
Morphology.
Pelage.
During the winter, the fur of the Peary caribou becomes thicker and whiter. In the summer it is shorter and darker. The pelage of the Peary caribou is white in winter and slate-grey with white legs and underparts in summer like the barren-ground caribou in the Dolphin-Union caribou herd. The Dolphin-Union caribou are slightly darker.
Like all caribou the hollow hairs help trap warm air and insulate their bodies.
Antlers.
The Peary caribou and the Dolphin-Union caribou herd both have light slate-grey antler velvet. The antler velvet of the barren-ground caribou and the boreal woodland caribou are both dark chocolate brown.
Habitat.
The Peary caribou migrate seasonally up to each way. They occupy High Arctic islands, including Banks Island, Prince of Wales Island, Somerset Island and the Queen Elizabeth Islands. In summer they search for the richest vegetation which is found "on the upper slopes of river valleys and uplands." In the winter, they "inhabit areas where the snow is not too deep such as rugged uplands, beach ridges and rocky outcrops."
Aulavik National Park at the northern end of Banks Island is also home to the Peary caribou. The Thomsen River runs through the park and is the northernmost navigable river (by canoe) in North America. Aulavik National Park, a fly-in park, protects about of Arctic lowlands at the northern end of the island. In Inuvialuktun Aulavik means "place where people travel" and caribou have been hunted there for more than 3,400 years, from Pre-Dorset cultures to contemporary Inuvialuit.
The last live caribou reported from northern Greenland were most likely Peary caribou that had strayed from Ellesmere Island. They were last seen in Hall Land in 1922.
Conservation.
It was assigned a status of threatened in April 1979. In May 2004 the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) listed the Peary caribou as endangered.


Arion fuscus

Arion fuscus, also known as the "Dusky Arion", is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.
Arion subfuscus (Draparnaud, 1805) is considered by some authors to be a partial synonym for "Arion fuscus". "Arion subfuscus" (Draparnaud, 1805) and "A. fuscus" (Müller, 1774) have very similar morphology and have overlapping distributional ranges in northwestern Europe. "Arion fuscus" is widespread throughout Central, North and East Europe whereas "A. subfuscus" is restricted to West Europe. (For practical purposes the two are synonyms in Germany and in the Czech Republic.) The two taxa are referred to as the species complex "Arion subfuscus"/"fuscus" both members having several evolutionary lineages. They are only separable by alloenzyme analysis and gonad type.
Description.
A 50–70 mm roundback slug. It is brown in colour, ranging from black-brown through olive-brown to orange and bright reddish-orange. Darker lateral bands are present. Dark pigment reaches under the pneumostome from back to front. The foot fringe is pale with thin lines. The sole is uniformly pale/translucent.The tentacles are pale or dark. It does not contract into a bell shape when stimulated. The Dusky Arion differs from other "Arion" species in its yellow-orange body mucus.
Genitalia:Atrium about half diameter of spermatheca, spermatheca spherical, oviduct large and swollen like in "Arion lusitanicus"
Distribution.
This species occurs in European and Asian countries and islands including:
Habitat.
This slug lives under fallen logs and under bark in woodland areas, but it also lives in hedges, gardens, pastures and dunes.


White tern

The white tern or common white tern ("Gygis alba") is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the fairy tern although this name is potentially confusing as it is also the common name of "Sternula nereis". Other names for the species include angel tern and white noddy in English, and manu-o-Kū in Hawaiian. The little white tern ("Gygis microrhyncha"), previously considered a subspecies of the white tern ("Gygis alba microrhyncha"), is now recognised as a separate species.
Taxonomy.
The white tern was first formally described by the Swedish naturalist Anders Sparrman in 1786 under the binomial name "Sterna alba". The genus "Gygis" was introduced by the German zoologist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. The name "Gygis" is from the Ancient Greek "guges" for a mythical bird and the specific "alba" is Latin for "white".
Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the white tern is more closely related to the noddies than it is to the other terns. This implies that "white noddy" would be a more appropriate English name.
The white tern has the following recognized subspecies:
Some authors have postulated that there may be three species of "Gygis:" "Gygis alba", in the Atlantic Ocean, and "Gygis candida" and "Gygis microrhyncha", both in the Pacific.
Description.
The white tern has a wingspan of . It has white plumage and a long black bill. Nesting on coral islands, usually on trees with small branches but also on rocky ledges and on man-made structures, the white tern feeds on small fish which it catches by plunge diving.
Distribution and habitat.
The white tern ranges widely across the Pacific Ocean from the coasts of Chile and Colombia to New Zealand and along the eastern and southern coasts of Asia from China to India, South Maldives, the islands of the Indian Ocean, and the coast of South Africa. Rarely it is also found in Japan, Madagascar, Mexico, and on some islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is a pelagic and epipelagic bird, living along the coast and moving into wooded areas during the breeding season.
Behavior.
This species is notable for laying its egg on bare thin branches in a small fork or depression without a nest. This behaviour is unusual for terns, which generally nest on the ground, and even the related tree-nesting black noddy constructs a nest. It is thought that the reason for the absence of nests is the reduction in nest parasites, which in some colonial seabirds can cause the abandonment of an entire colony. In spite of these benefits there are costs associated with tree nesting, as the eggs and chicks are vulnerable to becoming dislodged by heavy winds. For this reason the white tern is also quick to relay should it lose the egg. The newly hatched chicks have well developed feet with which to hang on to their precarious nesting site. It is a long-lived bird, having been recorded living for 42 years.
Relationship with humans.
This is one of the most useful of all the landfinding birds used by Pacific navigators. They generally roam no more than 45 km from their home island, to which they usually return at nightfall. Polynesians also caught these birds for food or to keep as pets.
The white tern, "manu-o-Kū", was named Honolulu, Hawaii's official bird on April 2, 2007.
The two white tern species are both listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List, howenot considered threatened as it is a widespread species with several large colonies around the world.


Talpa martinorum

Talpa martinorum is a species of small blind mole in the family Talpidae found in eastern Thrace along the western Black Sea coast in south-eastern Bulgaria and north-eastern Turkey, mainly in the Strandzha mountain range. In Bulgaria it is found in Strandzha Nature Park.
Taxonomy.
Individuals of this species were formerly classified as "T. caeca" or "T. levantis" until being classified as a new species. "T. martinorum" is not closely related to the other "Talpa" endemic to the Balkans, "T. stankovici." Rather, it is most closely related to the widespread "T. europaea" as well as "T. aquitania", and "T. occidentalis," both of which are endemic to western Europe"." Based on this, "T. martinorum" likely originated from an isolated population of a mole species that was also ancestral to "T. europaea", as is also considered to be the case for the origin of "T. aquitania" and "T. occidentalis". Fossil evidence shows that a mole species similar to the present "T. martinorum" lived in the region during the Pliocene, indicating that "T. martinorum" has persisted in its current territory for a long time.


Mobula munkiana

Mobula munkiana, commonly known as the manta de monk, Munk's devil ray, pygmy devil ray, smoothtail mobula or Munk’s pygmy devil ray is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae. It is found in tropical parts of the eastern Pacific Ocean, ranging from the Gulf of California to Peru, as well as offshore islands such as the Galapagos, Cocos, and Malpelo. Munk's devil ray was first described in 1987 by the Italian ecologist Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara and named for his scientific mentor, Walter Munk.
Description.
Munk's devil ray is a large fish with a horizontally flattened body, bulging eyes on the sides of its head and gill slits on the underside. It grows to a width of up to , making it the smallest species of devil ray (although only slightly smaller than "M. hypostoma" and "M. kuhlii"). On either side of its central disc it has wide, pointed pectoral fins with which it swims, and a pair of fleshy lobes protrude from the front of its head, allowing it to funnel food into its mouth as it moves through the water. Its dorsal fin is small and its tail is long and slender, and does not bear a spine. The upper surface of this fish is a shade of lavender-grey to dark purplish-grey, and the underside is white, tinged with grey towards the tips of the pectoral fins. Brownish to mauve-grey dorsally.
Dorsal fin with dark rim along margins, often with a lighter grey area in the middle.
Behaviour.
Munk's devil ray is found in tropical oceanic and coastal waters. It can be alone, in small groups or in schools, near the surface of the sea or near the seabed. As it swims, water passes into its mouth and exits through its gill slits, which filter out small particles and absorb oxygen from the water. It feeds mainly on mysids and other zooplankton but also consumes small schooling fish. Munk's devil ray has been documented to leap out of the water, either alone or in groups, performing vertical jumps, somersaults and other acrobatic manoeuvres.
Munk's devil ray is ovoviparous, but little is known about its reproductive habits. The single developing young is at first sustained by the egg yolk and later receives nourishment from the uterine fluids in which it is immersed.
Conservation status.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature rates the conservation status of Munk's devil ray as "vulnerable". This is due to its low fecundity and the fact that it is frequently caught in gillnets; its young are also often accidentally caught by trawling. It is also vulnerable when near the shore, especially when it is schooling. Its migratory movements are poorly understood and may relate to differences in sea temperature of surface waters.


Chloroclystis rubrinotata

Chloroclystis rubrinotata is a moth in the family Geometridae. It was described by William Warren in 1893. It is endemic to India.
The wingspan is about . Adults are green with traces of waved lines on the wings. The forewings have a slight subbasal line and a large rufous quadrate patch on the costal area, bounded on the inner side by an oblique black line, and on outer side by a black line. The hindwings have three indistinct lines on the basal half and a series of prominent black specks on the postmedial line.


Holcocera epitomae

Holcocera epitomae is a moth in the family Blastobasidae which is endemic to Costa Rica.


Variegated mountain lizard

The variegated mountain lizard or Himalayan dragon ("Japalura variegata") is an agamid lizard found in northern India, Bhutan, and Nepal.
Description.
From C. A. L. Gunther (1864) "The Reptiles of British India":
Head covered with small, irregular, keeled shields above; canthusrostralis sharp; a small tubercle behind the superciliary edge; throat covered with small keeled scales; a series of small shields commences at the chin and runs backwards parallel to the lower labial shields. Tongue scarcely notched in front; two small canine teeth in each jaw; the upper with fifteen very small molars on each side, much smaller than those of the lower jaw, which arc sub-corneal and seventeen in number. A fold across the throat; male with a small gular pouch. Nape of the neck granular, with scattered larger tubercles. Both sexes with a nuchal crest, composed of triangular lobes; it is continued along the back as a slight serrated ridge, and gradually disappears on the anterior part of the tail. Trunk slightly compressed; the upper parts arc covered with smallish, keeled scales, intermixed with larger ones, all having their points obliquely directed upwards. Ventral scales strongly keeled, of moderate size; there arc about thirty-eight scales in a longitudinal series between fore and hind limb. All the scales of the tail are rhomboid and keeled, those on its lower side being the largest. The hind limb extends to the eye, if laid forwards; toes with keeled scales below; the fourth hind toe is one-fourth longer than the third. Back with alternate brown or black and grayish or yellowish-white cross bands which ascend obliquely backwards; head above variegated with black; a light, black-edged cross band on the inter-orbital space. A white or yellow band along the upper lip; another irregular band along each side of the neck, confluent with one of the light cross bands. Gular sac black behind; tail with broad brown or black rings.
The colors, however, vary to a considerable extent in this species. A large female is almost wholly black above, variegated with yellow, all the larger scales being of the latter color. The characteristic bands on the head and side of the neck arc present. This species is a native of Sikkim; it attains to a length of 12 inches, the tail taking two-thirds of it.


Ecnomiohyla salvaje

Ecnomiohyla salvaje is a species of frog in the family Hylidae.
It is found in Guatemala and Honduras.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest.
It is threatened by habitat loss.


Micropterix trinacriella

Micropterix trinacriella is a species of moth belonging to the family Micropterigidae that was described by Michael A. Kurz, Hans Christof Zeller-Lukashort and Marion E. Kurz in 1997. It is only known from the area near the northern shore of Sicily, as well as in the surrounding of Mount Etna.
The length of the forewings is for males and for females.


Incilius canaliferus

Incilius canaliferus, also known as the dwarf toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found along the Pacific slopes of western El Salvador, Guatemala, and southern Mexico (Oaxaca and Chiapas states). Its natural habitats are semi-deciduous forests near rivers and moderate-sized streams. Breeding takes place in ponds and streams. It also occurs in disturbed habitats, for example coffee plantations. Habitat loss and possibly water pollution are threats to this toad.


Laminacauda newtoni

Laminacauda newtoni is a species of sheet weaver found in Chile and Argentina. It was described by Millidge in 1985.


Olive-capped warbler

The olive-capped warbler ("Setophaga pityophila") is a species of New World warbler that is native to the western and eastern ends of Cuba as well as Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas. Its natural habitat is pine forests and occasionally adjacent mixed forests.


List of birds of Iraq

This is a list of the bird species recorded in Iraq. The avifauna of Iraq include a total of 418 species, of which two have been introduced by humans. 20 species are globally threatened.
This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of "The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World", 2019 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for Iraq.
The following tags have been used to highlight several categories, but not all species fall into one of these categories. Those that do not are commonly occurring native species.
Ostriches.
Order: StruthioniformesFamily: Struthionidae
Ducks, geese, and waterfowl.
Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae
Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating.
Pheasants, grouse, and allies.
Order: GalliformesFamily: Phasianidae
The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quails, partridges, snowcocks, francolins, spurfowls, tragopans, monals, pheasants, peafowls and jungle fowls. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings.
Flamingos.
Order: PhoenicopteriformesFamily: Phoenicopteridae
Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down.
Grebes.
Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land.
Pigeons and doves.
Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae
Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.
Sandgrouse.
Order: PterocliformesFamily: Pteroclidae
Sandgrouse have small, pigeon like heads and necks, but sturdy compact bodies. They have long pointed wings and sometimes tails and a fast direct flight. Flocks fly to watering holes at dawn and dusk. Their legs are feathered down to the toes.
Bustards.
Order: OtidiformesFamily: Otididae
Bustards are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World. They are omnivorous and nest on the ground. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go. They have long broad wings with "fingered" wingtips and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays.
Cuckoos.
Order: CuculiformesFamily: Cuculidae
The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. The Old World cuckoos are brood parasites.
Nightjars and allies.
Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Caprimulgidae
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is camouflaged to resemble bark or leaves.
Swifts.
Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Apodidae
Swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang.
Rails, gallinules, and coots.
Order: GruiformesFamily: Rallidae
Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots and gallinules. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers.
Cranes.
Order: GruiformesFamily: Gruidae
Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or "dances".
Thick-knees.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Burhinidae
The thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow-black bills, large yellow eyes and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats.
Stilts and avocets.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Recurvirostridae
Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the avocets and stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills. There are 9 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Iraq.
Oystercatchers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Haematopodidae
The oystercatchers are large and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs.
Plovers and lapwings.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Charadriidae
The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.
Sandpipers and allies.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Scolopacidae
Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
Crab plover.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Dromadidae
The crab plover is related to the waders. It resembles a plover but with very long grey legs and a strong heavy black bill similar to a tern. It has black-and-white plumage, a long neck, partially webbed feet and a bill designed for eating crabs.
Pratincoles and coursers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Glareolidae
Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincoles, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the coursers, which have long legs, short wings and long, pointed bills which curve downwards.
Skuas and jaegers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Stercorariidae
The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants.
Gulls, terns, and skimmers.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years.
Tropicbirds.
Order: PhaethontiformesFamily: Phaethontidae
Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings.
Storks.
Order: CiconiiformesFamily: Ciconiidae
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills. Storks are mute, but bill-clattering is an important mode of communication at the nest. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory.
Anhingas.
Order: SuliformesFamily: Anhingidae
Anhingas or darters are often called "snake-birds" because of their long thin neck, which gives a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged. The males have black and dark-brown plumage, an erectile crest on the nape and a larger bill than the female. The females have much paler plumage especially on the neck and underparts. The darters have completely webbed feet and their legs are short and set far back on the body. Their plumage is somewhat permeable, like that of cormorants, and they spread their wings to dry after diving.
Cormorants and shags.
Order: SuliformesFamily: Phalacrocoracidae
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium to large coastal, fish-eating seabirds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage colouration varies, with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black-and-white and a few being colourful.
Pelicans.
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Pelecanidae
Pelicans are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes.
Herons, egrets, and bitterns.
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Ardeidae
The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills.
Ibises and spoonbills.
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Threskiornithidae
Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings with 11 primary and about 20 secondary feathers. They are strong fliers and despite their size and weight, very capable soarers.
Osprey.
Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Pandionidae
The family Pandionidae contains only one species, the osprey. The osprey is a medium-large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution.
Hawks, eagles, and kites.
Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Accipitridae
Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons and keen eyesight.
Barn-owls.
Order: StrigiformesFamily: Tytonidae
Barn owls are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons.
Owls.
Order: StrigiformesFamily: Strigidae
The typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.
Hoopoes.
Order: BucerotiformesFamily: Upupidae
Hoopoes have black, white and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head.
Kingfishers.
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Alcedinidae
Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long, pointed bills, short legs and stubby tails.
Bee-eaters.
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Meropidae
The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colourful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar.
Rollers.
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Coraciidae
Rollers resemble crows in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. They share the colourful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not.
Woodpeckers.
Order: PiciformesFamily: Picidae
Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks.
Falcons and caracaras.
Order: FalconiformesFamily: Falconidae
Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.
Old World parrots.
Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Psittaculidae
Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly colored, and some are multi-colored. In size they range from to in length. Old World parrots are found from Africa east across south and southeast Asia and Oceania to Australia and New Zealand.
Old World orioles.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Oriolidae
The Old World orioles are colourful passerine birds. They are not related to the New World orioles.
Shrikes.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Laniidae
Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A typical shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey.
Crows, jays, and magpies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Corvidae
The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers and ground jays. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence.
Tits, chickadees, and titmice.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Paridae
The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects.
Penduline-tits.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Remizidae
The penduline-tits are a group of small passerine birds related to the true tits. They are insectivores.
Larks.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Alaudidae
Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds.
Cisticolas and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Cisticolidae
The Cisticolidae are warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are generally very small birds of drab brown or grey appearance found in open country such as grassland or scrub.
Reed warblers and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Acrocephalidae
The members of this family are usually rather large for "warblers". Most are rather plain olivaceous brown above with much yellow to beige below. They are usually found in open woodland, reedbeds, or tall grass. The family occurs mostly in southern to western Eurasia and surroundings, but it also ranges far into the Pacific, with some species in Africa.
Grassbirds and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Locustellidae
Locustellidae are a family of small insectivorous songbirds found mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. They are smallish birds with tails that are usually long and pointed, and tend to be drab brownish or buffy all over.
Swallows.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Hirundinidae
The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.
Bulbuls.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Pycnonotidae
Bulbuls are medium-sized songbirds. Some are colourful with yellow, red or orange vents, cheeks, throats or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage. Some species have distinct crests.
Leaf warblers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Phylloscopidae
Leaf warblers are a family of small insectivorous birds found mostly in Eurasia and ranging into Wallacea and Africa. The species are of various sizes, often green-plumaged above and yellow below, or more subdued with grayish-green to grayish-brown colors.
Bush warblers and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Scotocercidae
The members of this family are found throughout Africa, Asia, and Polynesia. Their taxonomy is in flux, and some authorities place some genera in other families.
Long-tailed tits.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Aegithalidae
Long-tailed tits are a group of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They make woven bag nests in trees. Most eat a mixed diet which includes insects.
Sylviid warblers, parrotbills, and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sylviidae
The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. They mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia and, to a lesser extent, Africa. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs.
Laughingthrushes and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Leiothrichidae
The members of this family are diverse in size and colouration, though those of genus "Turdoides" tend to be brown or greyish. The family is found in Africa, India, and southeast Asia.
Kinglets.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Regulidae
The kinglets, also called crests, are a small group of birds often included in the Old World warblers, but frequently given family status because they also resemble the titmice.
Wallcreeper.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Tichodromidae
The wallcreeper is a small bird related to the nuthatch family, which has stunning crimson, grey and black plumage.
Nuthatches.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sittidae
Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike other birds which can only go upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails and powerful bills and feet..
Wrens.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Troglodytidae
The wrens are mainly small and inconspicuous except for their loud songs. These birds have short wings and thin down-turned bills. Several species often hold their tails upright. All are insectivorous.
Dippers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Cinclidae
Dippers are a group of perching birds whose habitat includes aquatic environments in the Americas, Europe and Asia. They are named for their bobbing or dipping movements.
Starlings.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sturnidae
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen.
Thrushes and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Turdidae
The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground.
Old World flycatchers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Muscicapidae
Old World flycatchers are a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small arboreal insectivores. The appearance of these birds is highly varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls.
Hypocolius.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Hypocoliidae
The grey hypocolius is a small Middle Eastern bird with the shape and soft plumage of a waxwing. They are mainly a uniform grey colour except the males have a black triangular mask around their eyes.
Accentors.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Prunellidae
The accentors are in the only bird family, Prunellidae, which is completely endemic to the Palearctic. They are small, fairly drab species superficially similar to sparrows.
Old World sparrows.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Passeridae
Old World sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or grey birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects.
Wagtails and pipits.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Motacillidae
Motacillidae is a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country.
Finches, euphonias, and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Fringillidae
Finches are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have twelve tail feathers and nine primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well.
Old World buntings.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Emberizidae
The emberizids are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with distinctively shaped bills. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns.


Nototriton major

Nototriton major is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is also called the Plantanillo Gorge salamander.
It is endemic to the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica.
Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forests.
It is threatened by habitat loss.


Eupsophus calcaratus

Eupsophus calcaratus (common name: Chiloe Island ground frog) is a species of frog in the family Alsodidae.
It is endemic to Patagonia (southern Argentina and Chile). It has one of the broadest distributions of any Chilean frog.
Description.
"Eupsophus calcaratus" are moderate-sized frogs measuring in snout–vent length. Head is wider than long and snout is rounded. Skin is only slightly granulated but has many spots and reticulated pattern. The colouration is highly variable, but it usually has a characteristic, hourglass-shaped pattern in its head.
The tadpoles develop in water-filled cavities on the ground. Males show parental care: they remain with the eggs and tadpoles. Tadpoles are endotrophic.
Habitat and conservation.
Its natural habitat is humid "Nothofagus" temperate forest. It occurs in shady microhabitats (swamps and streams borders).
The species is common in appropriate habitats. Nevertheless, habitat loss and degradation due to deforestation is a major threat, and water pollution caused by forestry work is also a threat.


Faunis eumeus

Faunis eumeus, the large faun is a butterfly found in South and South East Asia that belongs to the Morphinae subfamily of the brush-footed butterfly family.
The "assama" subspecies of the large faun is now considered to be a separate species, "Faunis assama" (Westwood, 1858).
Distribution.
The large faun ranges from Assam to the Shan States and Burma.
Description.
Upperside of males and females: forewing maroon, with a very broad, oblique, preapical, somewhat diffuse, bright ochraceous band extending from costa to termen and along latter almost to the tornus; this band broader in the female than in the male. Hindwing brown, shading to dark maroon anteriorly. Underside maroon brown; apex of forewing broadly paler, dorsal margin of same dull brown; subbasal, discal and postdiscal dark, sinuous, continuous lines crossing both wings; between the latter two a series of prominent round white spots, five or six on the forewing (straight in the male, slightly incurved in the female), six or seven on the hindwing, arched in both sexes. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brown.
Status.
The subspecies "incerta" from the Shan States is reported by William Harry Evans as very rare.


Cosmophasis olorina

Cosmophasis olorina, is a species of spider of the genus "Cosmophasis". It is endemic to Sri Lanka.


Chain moray

Echidna catenata, commonly known as the chain moray, is a moray eel found in shallow parts of the western Atlantic Ocean and from islands elsewhere in the Atlantic. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a maximum length of but a more common length is about .
Description.
The chain moray is an elongated, heavy, eel-like fish that commonly grows to a length of about . The head has a rounded snout and pointed, blunt teeth, especially on the roof of the mouth. These teeth are used to crush the shells of crabs, their main source of food. The dorsal, tail and anal fins are combined into a single long fin, and there are no pectoral or ventral fins. The skin does not bear scales but is covered with a layer of clear mucus. This fish is dark brown to black, marked with an interconnecting lattice-work of yellow, chain-like lines. The eyes are yellow.
Distribution and habitat.
The species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean, where its range extends from Bermuda, Florida, and the Bahamas, to the Antilles and Brazil. It is common in the Caribbean, and is also reported from the eastern Atlantic (Cape Verde and Ascension Island) and some southern Atlantic islands. It is found on reefs and rocky shores in clear water at depths of less than , and usually within 2 metres (6 ft) of the surface.
Ecology.
Mainly nocturnal, the chain moray hides in holes and crevices in shallow water during the day, often with its head projecting. It continually opens and closes its mouth to increase the flow of water over its gills. A carnivore, it feeds on such organisms as crabs, which are the mainstay of its diet, shrimps, worms and small fish. Its blunt teeth are especially adapted for feeding on crustaceans. It does not always leave its hiding place to forage, sometimes remaining where it is, ready to grab any prey that passes. It sometimes forages in tide pools and is able to survive for up to half an hour out of water. As well as ambushing prey, its feeding strategies include searching under the rims of pools, beneath rocks and in holes for prey, stalking observed prey or chasing it for a distance of up to . When close enough to its prey, usually when it is within , it strikes, an action it can perform with its body wholly or partly out of the water. When captured, large crabs are torn apart while small ones are swallowed whole.


Anomaloglossus beebei

Anomaloglossus beebei (common names: Beebe's rocket frog, golden rocket frog) is a species of frog in the family Aromobatidae. It is endemic to Guyana and only found on the Kaieteur Plateau, in the eastern edge of them Pacaraima Mountains. Recently, it has also been found on Mount Ayanganna.
This frog inhabits the tank of the giant bromeliad "Brocchinia micrantha". Tadpoles live in small amounts of water trapped in the leaf axils. It is an opportunistic sit and wait predator whose diet includes small arthropods, mosquitos, and midges.
"Anomaloglossus beebei" has been assessed as being an endangered species because its range is small (<20 km2) and its habitat is slowly being lost by expanding forests.
A couple of researchers have found remarkable differences in the color of the Anomaloglossus beebei, depending on whether it has been grown in captivity or in wildlife conditions. For the latter, it has been seen how a chestnut brown color with a short black dorsal line tends to be a patter between the frogs’ shoulders, as well as reddish-brown forearms, and orange-red limbs. However, if the frogs were to be raised in captivity, their legs would be light brown, and no dorsal markings would be present. This change occurs mainly because of the presence of molecules that are related to phylogeny when they are kept in captivity. This is done for the most part to resolve the alpha-taxonomy of this frog, which has now become a vulnerable species.
It has also been noticed sexual dimorphisms and variations within the species. For example, male Golden Rocket frogs are usually smaller and with their third finger distinctly swollen when compared to females, which are normally larger. The coloration can also be distinct. Males have a densely pigmented black throat, and an orange pigmented belly; whereas females present a yellowish pigmentation in their throats and bellies.


Xerocrassa betulonensis

Xerocrassa betulonensis is a species of air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Hygromiidae, the hairy snails and their allies. This species is endemic to Catalonia in Spain.


Yarkand deer

The Yarkand deer ("Cervus elaphus yarkandensis"), or the Theenivs deer, is a subspecies of the red deer that is native to Central Asia. It is similar in ecology to the Bactrian deer in occupying lowland riparian corridors surrounded by deserts. Both populations are isolated from one another by the Tian Shan Mountains and probably form a primordial subgroup of the red deer.
Description.
This deer is light rufous in color with a large light-colored patch, including the tail. Its antlers usually have five tines with a terminal fork pointing forward. The fifth tine is usually larger than the fourth and is inclined inward.
Range and habitat.
The Yarkand deer, also known as the Tarim deer or Lop Nor stag, lives in the Tarim Basin deciduous forests and steppe ecoregion in the Tarim Basin of China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region (East Turkestan). They are dependent on the lowland riparian corridors for food and shelter. They do not migrate, but may disperse into adjacent desert areas at night or at times of cooler temperatures. The deer population in the Tarim basin declined from over 10,000 in the 1950s to fewer than 3000 in the 1990s.
They are preyed on by the Himalayan wolf.


Barbodes xouthos

Barbodes xouthos is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the carp and minnow family Cyprinidae. It has an unusual pattern on its body consisting of a plain brown body with faint reticulations. It has only been recorded from Brunei on the island of Borneo.


Amnicola limosus

Amnicola limosus, common name the mud amnicola, is a species of very small aquatic snail, an operculate gastropod mollusk in the family Hydrobiidae.
Distribution.
This species is distributed in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean and along the Gulf of Maine. "Amnicola limosus limosus" has been found in Utah.
The type locality is Delaware River and Schuylkill River.
Parasites.
"Amnicola limosus" is the first intermediate host for the trematode "Metorchis conjunctus".


Ypthima sakra

Ypthima sakra, the Himalayan five-ring, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae native to Asia.
Subspecies.
The species may be divided into the following subspecies:
Description.
"Ypthima sakra" has a wingspan of about . The upperside of the forewings shows one ocellus, while hindwings have three ocelli. The underside is yellow, covered with short narrow dark brown striae (stripes). The underside of the forewings has one ocellus, while hindwings has two geminated (paired) anterior ocelli and three single posterior ocelli. Larva feed on Gramineae.
Distribution and habitat.
This species can be found in Bhutan, Burma, Tibet and north-western India. The habitat consists of wet grasslands and forest clearings and margins in submontane and montane areas.


Acerbia churkini

Acerbia churkini is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Saldaitis, Ivinskis and Witt in 2003 and is endemic to Kyrgyzstan.


Physalaemus nattereri

Physalaemus nattereri (common name: Cuyaba dwarf frog) is a frog native to central and southeastern Brazil and eastern Bolivia and Paraguay.
Description.
It has two "false eyes" on its rear. The 3–4 cm frog lifts its rear end when threatened, startling predators. If a predator does not get fooled by the eyespots, and decides to move closer, the frog can produce an unpleasant secretion that comes from glands located in the eyespots. Similar display is known from "Physalaemus deimaticus".
Reproduction.
A study in Bodoquena (in the Mato Grosso do Sul state of Brazil) found "Physalaemus nattereri" to be an explosive breeder, with most of the reproductive activity occurring within a few days after heavy rainfall. Males formed choruses to attract females but they could also actively search for females. Egg clutches were deposited in the margins of temporary ponds. Several pairs may use the same foam nest. Mean clutch size was about 3800 eggs. Females were larger (mean snout–vent length , range 43–56 mm; mean body mass 19.3 g) than males (, range 43–55 mm; 11.4 g). Ovaries made about 22% of female body mass; fecundity increased with the female body size.
Habitat and conservation.
"Physalaemus nattereri" is a fossorial and seasonal frog. It inhabits savannas and grasslands in the Cerrado biome and is found on the ground near standing and temporary waterbodies, such as ponds and swamps. It could be locally threatened by spread of intensive agriculture. It is present in several protected areas.


Bythocrotus

Bythocrotus is a genus of Caribbean jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. it contains only two species, found only on Hispaniola: "Bythocrotus cephalotes" and "Bythocrotus crypticus".


Teardrop butterflyfish

The teardrop butterflyfish ("Chaetodon unimaculatus") is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the (family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Description.
The teardrop butterflyfish has a whitish body with yellow dorsal, anal and pelvic fins, this yellow colour extends on to the back. The upper flank is marked with a large teardrop shaped black blotch and there is a wide, black, vertical bar though the eye. There are delicate yellowish-orange chevrons on the flanks in front of the black teardrop and there is another black vertical band with runs from the rear of the dorsal fin, across the caudal peduncle to the rear of the anal fin. The dorsal fin contains 12-13 spines and 19-23 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 18-20 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of , although around is more usual.
Distribution.
The teardrop butterflyfish is found in the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans from Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Island east as far as Hawaii, the Marquesas and Ducie Island, north as far as Southern Japan, and south to Lord Howe in the Tasman Sea and the central coast of New South Wales.
Habitat and biology.
Teradrop butterflyfish are normally encountered in small groups in reef flats, clear lagoon and seaward reefs where they feed on soft and hard corals, as well as polychaetes, small crustaceans and filamentous algae. This is an oviparous species and they are monogamous with the sexes forming pairs to breed. These fishes may be found at depths of and they are most numerous where the leathery corals of the genera "Sarcophyton" and "Sinularia" grow.
Taxonomy.
The teardrop butterflyfish was first formally described in 1787 by the german medical doctor and zoologist Marcus Elieser Bloch ((1723-1799) with the type locality give as the East Indies, i.e. Indonesia. In the western Indian Ocean it is replaced by the yellow teardrop butterflyfish ("Chaetodon interruptus"), now a separate species but previously considered a subspecies of "Chaetodon unimaculatus".
In its subgenus "Lepidochaetodon" it is sometimes considered a separate genus. It is only distantly related to other "Chaetodon" species such as the sunburst butterflyfish ("Chaetodon kleinii") and the Tahiti butterflyfish ("Chaetodon trichrous").
Utilisation.
The teardrop butterflyfish is relatively common in the aquarium trade. It is caught by some artisanal fisheries.


Yellow-throated fulvetta

The yellow-throated fulvetta ("Schoeniparus cinereus") is a species of bird in the family Pellorneidae. Its common name is misleading, because it is not a close relative of the "typical" fulvettas, which are now in the family Paradoxornithidae.
It is found in south-eastern Asia from the Himalayas to north-central Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.


Alhandra heart-tongued frog

The Alhandra heart-tongued frog ("Phyllodytes brevirostris") is a species of frog in the family Hylidae endemic to Brazil.
Habitat.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland.
The frogs are threatened by habitat loss.
https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/1737362/


Hyposcada illinissa

Hyposcada illinissa, the illinissa glasswing, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from Colombia to Bolivia. The habitat consists of lowland rainforests at altitudes between 100 and 1,100 metres.


Turbonilla almejasensis

Turbonilla almejasensis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pyramidellidae, the pyrams and their allies.
Description.
The milk-white shell is slender and has an elongate conic shape. Its length measures 8 mm. The 2½ whorls of the protoconch are well rounded, forming a moderately elevated spire, the axis of which is at right angles to that of the succeeding turns, in the first of which the tilted spire is one-fifth immersed.
The type specimen has 12 or 13 (the first is probably lost) whorls in the teleoconch. The early whorls are flattened, the later ones well rounded. All have the summit feebly shouldered. The whorls are ornamented by very regular well rounded axial ribs which become somewhat enfeebled toward the summit. These ribs have a decided protractive slant on the early whorls, while on the middle turns they are vertical, and on the later volutions they have a decidedly retractive slant. Here, too, they are a little less strong and less regular and much more closely spaced. Of these ribs 18 occur upon the first four of the remaining turns, 20 upon the fifth, 22 upon the sixth, 24 upon the seventh, 28 upon the eighth, 34: upon the ninth, 36 upon the tenth, and about 52 upon the last turn. The intercostal spaces are a little narrower than the ribs. They are marked by 15 fairly equal and equally spaced spiral series of pits, which are about as wide as the spaces that separate them. Of these pits the first is about one-twelfth the distance between the first basal line and the peripheral series of pits anterior to the summit. On the body whorl, where the axial ribs become decidedly enfeebled, the combination of the axial and raised spiral sculpture gives to the surface a thimble pitted appearance. The suture of the early whorls is slightly and of the later strongly constricted. The periphery of the body whorl is well rounded. The base of the shell is attenuated. It is marked by the very feeble continuations of the axial ribs, and 12 incised spiral lines, which are of irregular strength and spacing. The aperture is broadly oval. The posterior angle is acute. The outer lip is thin. The inner lip is slightly curved, decidedly oblique, revolute, and appressed to the attenuated base for almost its entire length. It is provided with a strong very oblique fold at its insertion. The parietal wall is covered by a very thick callus.
Distribution.
The type specimen of this marine species was found off Magdalena Bay, Baja California.


Little striped whiptail

The little striped whiptail ("Aspidoscelis inornatus") is a species of lizard found in the southwestern United States (in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas) and in northern Mexico (in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, and Nuevo León). A significant amount of research was done on the species during the mid-1990s, with several new subspecies being added, many of which some sources consider to be distinct enough to warrant full species status, and the research is ongoing. It is called "little" to distinguish it from many other species known as striped whiptails and to indicate that it is the smallest of those species.
Description.
The little striped whiptail grows from 6.5 to 9.5 inches in length. It is typically black in color, with yellow or white striping from head to tail, and a light blue underside. It is slender bodied, with a blue colored tail approximately three times the body length. The blue coloration is much more pronounced on males than females. They aren't always striped or blue, sometimes they are brown with darker patches to blend in with the sand or dirt.
Behavior.
Like most species of whiptail lizard, the little striped whiptail is diurnal and insectivorous. They are wary, energetic, and fast moving, darting for cover if approached. They are found in a range of habitats, from grasslands to semi-arid rocky slopes. Breeding takes place in the late spring, and clutches of 2 to 4 eggs are laid from May to July and hatch approximately six weeks later. The whiptail species eat crickets and other insects that live in Arizona. They are very fast in speed and quick to dive under a cactus if necessary.
Subspecies.
There are eight recognized subspecies of "Cnemidophorus inornatus":


Ozyptila perplexa

Ozyptila perplexa is a crab spider species found in Spain, France and Algeria.


Quasipaa boulengeri

Quasipaa boulengeri is a species of frog in the family Dicroglossidae. It is known under many common names, including Boulenger's spiny frog, spiny-bellied frog, and Boulenger's paa frog. It is found in southern and southwestern China and northern Vietnam. It is a very common species that has declined. It is collected for human consumption, and it is also threatened by habitat loss. Its natural habitats are hill streams and ponds.
"Quasipaa boulengeri" are relatively large frogs: males grow to a snout–vent length of about and females to . Tadpoles are up to about in length.


Leurochilus acon

Leurochilus acon, the Smoothlip stargazer, is a species of sand stargazer native to the waters around the Caribbean islands of the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Antigua and Cuba where it can be found on bottoms consisting of sand, marl and rock at depths from near the surface to . It can reach a maximum length of SL. This species is currently the only known member of its genus.


Bachia psamophila

Bachia psamophila is a species of lizard in the family Gymnophthalmidae. It is endemic to Brazil.


Alburnoides idignensis

Alburnoides idignensis, is a fish species of the family Cyprinidae endemic to Iran. It can be differentiated from its cogenerates by differences in fin ray and vertebral counts, together with other morphological characters. The specific name is derived from the Sumerian name for the River Tigris, "Idigna".


Black guillemot

The black guillemot or tystie ("Cepphus grylle") is a medium-sized seabird of the alcid family, Alcidae, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the high arctic migrate southwards in winter. The bird can be seen in and around its breeding habitat of rocky shores, cliffs and islands in single or smalls groups of pairs. They feed mainly by diving towards the sea floor feeding on fish, crustaceans or other benthic invertebrates. They are listed on the IUCN red list as a species of least concern.
Both sexes have very similar appearances with black plumage and a large white patch on the upper side of their wings in summer. The bill is also black, being rather long and slender, while the feet are coral-red. In winter adult underparts are white and the upperparts are a pale grey with the back and shoulders exhibiting barred light grey and white patterning.
The birds breed in solitary pairs or small groups during their breeding season starting in late February and early May. Breeding pairs will typically lay 2-egg clutches and raise 2 chicks to fledging. Incubation typically lasts 28 to 32 days, once hatched chicks receive care from the parents until they fledge aged 30 – 40 days. Once fledged chicks are totally independent and by age three or four years they will begin to re-join their natal colony.
The genus name "Cepphus" is from Ancient Greek "kepphos", a pale waterbird mentioned by Greek authors including Aristotle. The species name "grylle" was the local dialect name for this bird in Gotland at the time of Linnaeus's visit there in 1741. The English word "guillemot" is from French "guillemot" probably derived from "Guillaume", "William".
Description.
The Black guillemot is a medium-sized bird with adults normally in length and with wingspans of . The bodyweight can range from . Adults have both summer and winter plumage and there is no sexual difference in this that can be identified in the field. The English common name “Black Guillemot” references their strikingly black breeding summer plumage which is totally black except for a large white patch on the upper side of their wings. During the summer plumage, their legs, feet and inside of the mouth are all a bright coral-red, and their beak is a black. Adults lose their summer plumage in an early fall moult where their upper plumage become barred with light grey and white, their head is a pale grey, their underparts white, and legs and feet a pale red. They retain their white wing patch, black beak and red inside their mouth. The call in the breeding season is a high whistle. The red gape is also prominent then.
Juveniles and immatures can easily be identified by the spotting of the white wing patch with grey or brown feathers and is easy to see even at far distances in the field.
Taxonomy and Evolution.
There are five listed subspecies of the black guillemot:
Distribution and habitat.
The Black Guillemot is a circumpolar species distributed in the boreal, low arctic and high arctic regions of the north Atlantic and arctic oceans and breeding between 43° and 82°N. The 5 listed subspecies inhabit different parts of this range. In North America they can be found as far south as the Gulf of Maine and New England and across parts of the northern coast of North America as far as Alaska, where they are replaced by the pigeon guillemot in the North Pacific. In Europe and Asia they are found from the British Isles and Northward across the northern coast of Asia. They are one of the few birds to breed on Surtsey, Iceland, a new volcanic island. In the UK it is a fairly common breeding bird in western and northern Scotland and Ireland. In the rest of Great Britain they only breed at St. Bees Head in Cumbria, the Isle of Man and on east Anglesey in north Wales. Approximately 40% of the population breeds in the high arctic where the largest colonies are found, 30% in the low arctic, and 30% in boreal waters. In the winter some of the birds in the high arctic waters are forced south by the winter ice making them seasonal migrants, but in more temperate zones the species is essentially resident.
Typically restricted to rocky shores, black guillemots utilize the cliffs, crevices and boulders for their nests, hunting the inshore waters for benthic prey. Compared to other auks they forage fairly close to the colony, in the breeding season mostly in inshore waters more than 50m in depth, farther afield in the winter months.
Behaviour.
One of the early ornithologists that described aspects of the behaviour of the black guillemot was Edmund Selous (1857-1934) in his book "The Bird Watcher in the Shetlands" (1905). In the chapter titled 'From the Edge of a Precipice' he writes for instance that sometimes the black guillemots carry a fish they have caught in their beak for hours. He also gives further details about the behaviour.
They dive for food from the surface, swimming underwater. They mainly eat fish and crustaceans, also some mollusks, insects and plant material.


White-bellied storm petrel

The white-bellied storm petrel ("Fregetta grallaria") is a species of seabird in the family Oceanitidae. It is found in Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Maldives, Namibia, New Zealand, Perú, Saint Helena, and South Africa. Its natural habitat is open seas.
Subspecies.
The white-bellied storm petrel of the Southern Hemisphere is a poorly understood pelagic species showing morphological differences and varied colour phases; it is easily confused with similar species of black and white storm petrels.
Subclassification of the genus "Fregetta" has been described as "tentative" awaiting the clarification of further study, in particular genetic studies. The large degree of speciation observed amongst storm petrels may relate to remote island-nesting patterns associated with specific water types.
Description.
The species is characterised on colour patterns, the condition of the nasal tubes, tail shape, structure of claws, and proportions of the leg bones. "Fregetta" spp. have their plumage black above, white below, and white upper tail coverts, nasal tube free at end and upturned, half culmen in length; tarsus booted in front, webs black, basal joint middle toe flattened, and claws blunt and flattened.
The white-bellied storm petrel is a small bird, around in length with a wing span of , tubenose, with a fine black bill, square tail, and polymorphic patterns of black, grey, and white plumage. As the name suggests, the upper parts are dark and the underparts are light coloured with many variations in plumage observed including a largely dark variant. Its legs are long ("grallae" being Latin for "stilts") and a distinguishing characteristic is that the toes do not usually project beyond the tail. Plumage variation between sexes and between adults and juveniles has not been observed.
Sounds.
The white-bellied storm petrel is thought to be customarily silent at sea and vocal when on the nest on land. The voice has been described as "soft high-pitched twittering calls, such as pee-pee-pee-pee repeated up to 20 times."
Distribution and habitat.
The white-bellied storm petrel has a widespread range throughout the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere including the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, although little detail is known of its pelagic distribution.
It is native in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, New Zealand, Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha. It is vagrant in Angola, Antarctica, Maldives, Namibia, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Yemen. It is present, with uncertain origin, in American Samoa, Bouvet Island, Congo, Cook Islands, Ecuador, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Fiji, Gabon, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Kiribati, Madagascar, Mozambique, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Pitcairn, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna.
Behaviour.
The white-bellied storm petrel is highly pelagic, rare and not commonly observed. As a result, there is limited knowledge of its behaviour and ecology. Visits to land are uncommon and occur near breeding colonies. It is nocturnal when ashore.
Flight tends to be low gliding with pattering and dipping to feed, stepping off the water's surface with their legs, an asymmetrical gait having been observed. It has been known to feed with other seabirds and to follow ships.
Breeding.
Breeding colonies have been identified in the Lord Howe Island group (Roach Island, Ball's Pyramid, Muttonbird Island and possibly Blackburn Island), although they are extinct on the main island of Lord Howe itself (Australia'); on Macauley and Curtis Islands in the Kermadec Islands (New Zealand') ; the Austral Islands (French Polynesia) and Juan Fernández and Desventuradas Islands ('Chile) in the Pacific Ocean; Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island (St Helena to UK') in the Atlantic Ocean; and Île Saint-Paul (French Southern Territories) in the Indian Ocean.
Breeding sites occur on offshore islands and rocky outcrops in dispersed colonies with grass-lined nests built in crevices and burrows. Breeding occurs in late summer and early autumn, with egg laying between January and March, and fledgling chicks seen from mid-April to May. The average clutch is a single white egg with light red, brown, or pink specks.
Young are fed by both parents, which spend the day at sea and return to the nest at night.
Little is known of the life and times of the white-bellied storm petrel, but extrapolations from cogeners postulate a generation time of 15.2 years (assuming “an average age at first breeding of 4.7 years, an annual survival of adults of 87.8% and a maximum longevity of 30.4 years ”).
Food.
Small crustaceans, small squid and sea skaters have been identified as dietary components. Feeding occurs by skimming across the water and dipping to catch their submarine mark near the surface. Young are fed by both parents with crustaceans and squid.
Migration.
Sources describe the white-bellied storm petrel as both nonmigratory and fully migrant reflecting perhaps how little is known or understood of this elusive sea bird. It is thought to migrate some distance north, but its movements at sea are not known. Maximum dispersal has been estimated at several thousand km.
Population.
The quality of data on which population estimates are based is recognised to be poor and unreliable. In 2004 Brookes estimated the global population of "Fregetta grallaria" to be some 300,000, a population thought to be likely in decline as a result of predatory invasive species.
The global population of "Fregetta grallari grallaria" is estimated at 2,500 pairs. An estimated 1,000 breeding pairs of "Fregetta grallari grallaria" (Tasman Sea) nest in the Lord Howe Island group but are now extinct on the main island. Tasman Sea which may be a subspecies, "F. g. grallaria". Populations of "Fregetta grallaria grallaria" and "Fregetta grallaria titan" in the eastern Pacific have been described as “meagre”.
The white bellied storm petrel is considered to be rare in New Zealand with an estimated 700 nesters.
Conservation status.
Significant deficiencies in the data sources that inform these decisions are well-recognised. The IUCN Red List evaluates "Fregetta grallaria" as being of least concern based on range size, population trend, and population size criteria.
In New Zealand, its conservation status is nationally endangered (2013).
In Australia, the commonwealth status listing of "F. grallaria" is vulnerable. Nationally in Australia, the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act statutory listing status is vulnerable and requires a recovery plan (2009). Its nonstatutory listing under the NGO Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010 is vulnerable. In New South Wales, Australia, at the state level, "F. grallaria" is listed as vulnerable under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995.
"F. g. gallaria" (Tasman Sea) is “considered to be vulnerable at the global level”. The Australian breeding population is listed as vulnerable (“small populations at five locations with plausible future threat”) and the population visiting Australian territory as near threatened (“seven locations with plausible future threat”) under the Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010. All existing breeding populations are now important to long-term survival.
Threats.
The natural history of the seabird (longevity, delayed fertility and small clutch size) renders them susceptible to changes in their environment. The status of the world's seabirds is considered to be both more threatened and to be deteriorating faster than comparable groups. Identified threats include commercial fishing, marine pollution, predation by alien invasive species, habitat loss, and direct disturbance and exploitation by humans.
Heavy metals including mercury and cadmium have been identified at toxic levels in the seabirds of Gough Island, a breeding site for "F. grallaria". Ingested plastics are a recognised hazard and may be more prone to accumulate in Procellariiformes for anatomical reasons (constricted entry to the gizzard limits regurgitation). Ship and other artificial lights confuse seabirds and "Fregetta grallaria" are at risk when returning to breeding grounds at night.
In Australia, the primary sources of threat to "F. grallaria" are habitat loss and invasive species, the latter introduced by fishing and shipping vessels and land-based activity, in particular the domestic cat and the black rat. The impact of invasive species is considered a ‘concern’ for breeding and a ‘potential concern’ for foraging by the commonwealth and include reduced reproductive success, direct mortality, and ecosystem degradation. The extinction of "F. grallaria" on Lord Howe island is attributed to the introduction of the black rat in 1918.
Identified sources of ‘potential concern’ include climate change, shipping vessels, fishing vessels, land-based activities, tourism, recreational and charter fishing, and research activities. These effects are mediated through changes in sea temperature, oceanography, ocean acidification, chemical pollution and contamination, marine debris, light pollution, oil pollution, and human presence and activities.
Climate change.
The productivity of the sea surface is predicted to change due to changes in sea temperature as a result of ongoing global climate change, and seabirds are particularly vulnerable to such change. Sea temperatures have warmed by between 1910-1929 and 1989–2008, and current projections estimate ocean temperatures will be warmer by 2030.
"F. g. grallaria" is listed amongst the birds most sensitive to climate change effects, especially when breeding. Increased vulnerability is due to the population being small and localised, slow breeding, and specialised feeding patterns. The anticipated southerly shift in food distribution is expected to detrimentally affect reproductive outcomes. Local extinction is a real prospect.
Priorities.
Derived from a global assessment of seabirds (2012), the following priority actions have been recommended:


Hooded seal

The hooded seal ("Cystophora cristata") is a large phocid found only in the central and western North Atlantic, ranging from Svalbard in the east to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the west. The seals are typically silver-grey or white in color, with black spots that vary in size covering most of the body. Hooded seal pups are known as "blue-backs" because their coats are blue-grey on the back with whitish bellies, though this coat is shed after 14 months of age when the pups molt.
Naming.
The generic name "Cystophora" means "bladder-bearer" in Greek, from the species' unusual sexual ornament – a peculiar inflatable bladder septum on the head of the adult male. This bladder hangs between the eyes and down over the upper lip in the deflated state. In addition, the hooded seal can inflate a large balloon-like sac from one of its nostrils. This is done by shutting one nostril valve and inflating a membrane, which then protrudes from the other nostril.
Size.
Adult males are long on average, can grow to 3.5 m, and weigh . Sexual dimorphism is obvious from birth and females are much smaller: long and weighing . The color is silvery; the body is scattered with dark, irregular marks. The head is darker than the rest of the body, and without marks.
Distribution and habitat.
Hooded seals live primarily on drifting pack ice and in deep water in the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic. Although some drift away to warmer regions during the year, their best survival rate is in colder climates. They can be found on four distinct areas with pack ice: near Jan Mayen Island (northeast of Iceland); off Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland; the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and the Davis Strait (off midwestern Greenland). Males appear to be localized around areas of complex seabed, such as Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, and the Flemish cap, while females concentrate their habitat efforts primarily on shelf areas, such as the Labrador Shelf. Hooded seals are known to be a highly migratory species that often wander long distances, as far west as Alaska and as far south as the Canary Islands and Guadeloupe. Prior to the mid 1990s, hooded seal sightings in Maine and the east Atlantic were rare, but began increasing in the mid 1990s. From January 1997 to December 1999, a total of 84 recorded sightings of hooded seals occurred in the Gulf of Maine, one in France and one in Portugal. From 1996 to 2006, five strandings and sightings were noted near the Spanish coasts in the Mediterranean Sea. There is no scientific explanation for the increase in sightings and range of the hooded seal.
Diet.
The diet of the hooded seal is composed primarily of various amphipods (crustaceans), euphausiids (krill), and fish, including Atlantic Argentine, capelin, Greenland halibut, cod, herring, and redfish. They also are known to eat squid, sea stars, and mussels. Relative to the other species, hooded seals consume 3 times the proportion of redfish; percentages of capelin were similar in relation to closely related species. Capelin is considered a more common choice of sustenance during the winter season. Their diet is considered to be rich in lipids and fatty acids.
Behavior.
Hooded seals tend to feed in relatively deep waters ranging from , and dive from 5 to 25 minute durations. However, some dives can go deeper than and as long, or longer, than 52 minutes. Diving is rather continuous, with approximately 90% of their time spent submerged during the day and night, although dives during the day are generally deeper and longer. Dives during the winter are also deeper and longer than those in the summer. It is known that the hooded seal is generally a solitary species, except during breeding and molting seasons. During these two periods, they tend to fast as well. The seals mass annually near the Denmark strait around July, at the time of their molting periods, to mate. Hooded seals are a relatively unsocial species compared to other seals, and they are typically more aggressive and territorial. They demonstrate aggression by inflating the "hood" (which is explained in the "Nasal Cavity" section below). They frequently migrate and remain alone for most of the year, except during mating season.
Nasal cavity.
The hooded seal is known for its uniquely elastic nasal cavity located at the top of its head, also known as the hood. Only males possess this display-worthy nasal sac, which they begin to develop around the age of four. The hood begins to inflate as the seal makes its initial breath prior to going underwater. It then begins to repetitively deflate and inflate as the seal is swimming. The purpose of this happening is for acoustic signaling, meaning that it occurs when the seal feels threatened and attempts to ward off hostile species when competing for resources such as food and shelter. It also serves to communicate their health and superior status to both other males and females they are attempting to attract. In sexually mature males, a pinkish balloon-like nasal membrane comes out of the left nostril to further aid it in attracting a mate. This membrane, when shaken, is able to produce various sounds and calls depending on whether the seal is underwater or on land. Most of these acoustic signals are used in acoustic situation (about 79%), while about 12% of the signals are used for sexual purposes.
Breeding and life cycle.
There are four major breeding areas for the hooded seal: the Gulf of St. Lawrence; the "Front" east of Newfoundland; Davis Strait (between Greenland and northern Canada); and the West Ice near Jan Mayen. Male hooded seals are known to have several mates in a single mating season, following the hypothesis that they are polygynous. While some males will defend and mate with just one female for long periods of time, others will be more mobile and tend to mate with multiple females for shorter periods of time, generating maximum offspring within the population. Most males reach sexual maturity by 5 years of age.
Throughout all areas, the hooded seals whelp in late March and early April and molt from June to August. The four recognized herds are generally sorted into two distinct populations: a Northeast (NE) Atlantic population and a Northwest (NW) Atlantic population. It is estimated that 90% of the total NW population give birth on the "Front". The NE herd whelping (giving birth) around Jan Mayen generally disperse into the sea after they breed in March. From April through June, after the breeding season, this species travels long distances to feed and then eventually gather together once again. Although some individuals return to the same area of ice in July to undergo moulting, the majority of the herd molt further North. After molting, the species disperses widely again to feed in the late summer and autumn before returning to the breeding areas again in late winter.
Offspring.
Pups are about long at birth and weigh about . They are born on the ice from mid-March to early April with a well-developed blubber layer and having shed their pre-natal coat. They are born with a slate blue-grey coat (giving them the name "blueback"), with a pale cream color on the belly, which they will molt after about 14 months. Nursing of the pup lasts for an average of only 4 days, the shortest lactation period of any mammal, during which the pup doubles in size, gaining around /day. This is possible because the milk that they drink has a fat content of 60%. The female pup will mature between ages 3 and 6, whereas the male pup will mature between ages 5 and 7.
Early development.
Researchers find that due to a pup's differing needs in regards to sustaining work and foraging while under water compared to adults, the skeletal and cardiac muscles develop differently. Studies show that cardiac blood flow provides sufficient O2 to sustain lipolytic pathways during dives, remedying their hypoxic challenge. Cardiac tissue is found to be more developed than skeletal muscles at birth and during the weaning period, although neither tissue is fully developed by the end of the weaning period. Pups are born with fully developed hemoglobin stores (found in blood), but their myoglobin levels (found in skeletal tissue) are only 25–30% of adult levels. These observations conclude that pup muscles are less able to sustain both aerobic ATP and anaerobic ATP production during dives than adults are. This is due to the large stores of oxygen, either bound to hemoglobin or myoglobin, which the seals rely on to dive for extended periods of time. This could be a potential explanation for pups’ short weaning period as diving is essential to their living and survival.
Lifespan.
The hooded seal can live to about age 30 to 35.
Threats and conservation practices.
Prior to the 1940s, adult hooded seals were primarily hunted for their leather and oil deposits. More recently, the main threats are hunting, including subsistence hunting, and bycatch. Seal strandings are not considered a large threat to Hooded Seal populations but are highly researched. Seal pups are hunted for their blue and black pelts and many mothers are killed in the process, attempting to protect their young. Hunting primarily occurs in areas of Greenland, Canada, Russia, and Norway. Overall, northwest Atlantic Hooded Seal populations are stable or increasing whereas the northeast Atlantic populations have declined by 85–90% within the last 60 years.
It was believed by the scientific community that sonar was leading to mass stranding of Hooded Seals. After multiple sonar tests on captive seals, ranging from 1 to 7 kHz, it became evident that it had little effect on the subjects. The first test on each subject yielded differing results, ranging from reduced diving activity and rapid exploratory swimming. A difference was only noted for all subjects on their initial exposure.
Conservation practices, brought about by international cooperation and the formation of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) led to Hooded Seal population increases. It is now required to hold a license to hunt Hooded Seals in international waters and each license is set a quota. Total allowable catch of hooded seals are set at 10,000 annually.
The Hooded Seal is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.


Common tree frog

Polypedates leucomystax is a species in the shrub frog family Rhacophoridae. It is known under numerous common names, including common tree frog, four-lined tree frog, golden tree frog or striped tree frog. Many past authors have united it with the common Indian tree frog in "P. maculatus" (or "Rhacophorus maculatus", as was common in older times), but today they are generally considered distinct species. In its native range, it is also called "white-lipped tree frog", but this name is otherwise applied to a species of true tree frogs (family Hylidae).
"Polypedates leucomystax" is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN. It is in fact a species complex containing various cryptic species within it.
Range.
Previously, "P. leucomystex" was thought to distribute below the Red River of Vietnam and in western Yunnan, while "P. megacephalus" can be found above the Red River and in Northeast India. However, recent genetic studies revealed that the natural barriers between these species are the Isthmus of Kra and the Tenasserim Range, where "P. leucomystax" can be found below the isthmus and west of the range.
The "Polypedates leucomystax" complex began diverging during the Pliocene, and spread quickly after the Pleistocene due to human activity. The range of "P. leucomystax" has recently expanded in the Philippines and Indonesia due to the widespread conversion of forests into agricultural-use land. It is also frequently found in trans-island agricultural shipments. Lineages on the Indochina mainland are more diverse.
In Indonesia, it has been found throughout the archipelago in Borneo, Mentawai, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Bali, Lombok, Natuna Islands, Anambas Islands, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, and Timor, and has also been introduced to Papua. In Japan, where it has been introduced, it is found on the islands of Okinawa, Tonaki, Kurima, Miyako, Ie, Iheya, Izena, Sesoko, and Yabuchi.
4 major haplotype clades of "P. leucomystax" have been recognized by Brown, et al. (2010), with the clades other than the southern Sunda region clade likely to be cryptic species.
Divergent varieties that are either "P. cf. leucomystax" or "P. cf. megacephalus" have been found in southern China (including Hainan) and Vietnam.
Habitat.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, rocky shores, coastal freshwater lagoons, arable land, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, urban areas, water storage areas, ponds, aquaculture ponds, irrigated land, seasonally flooded agricultural land, and introduced vegetation.
Description.
"Polypedates leucomystax" can reach approximately a snout–vent length of in males, of in females. Body of these rather small shrub frogs is moderately slender, ovoid, slightly flattened above, with sharply pointed tail. The skin on the upper side is smooth. The body colour is rather variable, with various shades of gray, green, yellow, reddish or dark brown. Usually it is irregularly mottled, often with four stripes along the back. The tip of snout sometimes shows a distinct white spot. Eyes are at the side of the head. The hind feet are webbed. The feet have clear, large cushions as usual with leaf frogs.
Biology.
In the damp areas of the propagation, these frogs are present all year round. In drier environments, the period usually restricts to the beginning of the rainy season. The mating takes place at the margins of shallow pools, where the males first arrive and call the females with a distinctive loud, duck-like sound. The female places between 100 and 400 eggs in a protective foam nest that is attached to vegetation or other objects above the water surface. The eggs hatch after 3 to 4 days. The tadpoles develop inside the foam nest and then fall into the water. They develop into adult frogs in about 7 weeks.
In captivity.
This species of tree frog is commonly kept in captivity in vivariums and terrariums by both hobbyists and professional.


Nebria tibialis

Nebria tibialis is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that is endemic to Italy.
Subspecies.
The species have 3 subspecies all of which are endemic to Italy:


Udea scorialis

Udea scorialis is a species of moth in the family Crambidae. It is found on Sicily.


Crested porcupine

The crested porcupine ("Hystrix cristata") also known as the African crested porcupine, is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae found in Italy, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa.
Physical attributes.
The more common name for this species is the crested porcupine. The adult crested porcupine has an average head and body length around long, discounting the tail, and weighs from . It is one of the largest rodents in the world.
Almost the entire body is covered with bristles which are either dark brown or black and rather coarse. This mammal is recognizable by the quills that run along the head, nape, and back that can be raised into a crest, hence the name crested porcupine. Also, some sturdier quills which are about in length run along the sides and back half of the body. These sturdier quills are used, for the most part, for defense and are usually marked with light and dark bands which alternate; these are not firmly attached. This porcupine has a shorter tail which has rattle quills at the end. The rattle quills broaden at the terminal end and the broad portion is hollow with thin walls. When these quills are vibrated, they produce a hiss-like rattle.
The front feet of the crested porcupine have four developed and clawed digits with a regressed thumb, the rear feet have five. The paws have naked and padded soles and have a plantigrade gait. The ears are external and both the eyes and ears are very small with long vibrissae on its head. The skull is specific in many ways; first, the infraorbital foramen is greatly enlarged so portions of the masseter extend through it and attach from the frontal side surface of the snout. Second, the angular process is inflected on the lower jaw, and third, the nasal cavity is enlarged. Prominent pockets create enlarged areas of attachment for chewing muscles. Collar bones are very much reduced, and one incisor, one premolar and three molars are present in each quadrant. The male's penis is directed caudally when not erect.
Food and digestion.
The crested porcupine is for the most part herbivorous, eating roots, bulbs, and leaves, but occasionally they do consume insects, small vertebrates, and carrion. To ingest calcium and sharpen incisors, they often gnaw on bones. These animals often travel long distances looking for food. They have high crowned teeth that grind plant tissues which are digested in the stomach, and the undigested fibers are retained in an enlarged appendix and anterior large intestine, where they are broken down by microorganisms.
Reproduction.
Most of what is known about reproduction in the crested porcupine comes from individuals in captivity. Usually, female crested porcupines have one litter every year. One or two very well developed young are born in a chamber within the burrow that is usually lined with grass, after a 66-day gestation period, on average. The young weigh about at birth, which is about 5% of the mother's weight. They leave the den after one week. At this time, the spines begin to harden. Crested porcupines reach adult weight at one to two years and are often sexually mature just before then. Breeding occurs throughout the year.
Behavior.
The crested porcupine is a terrestrial mammal; they very seldom climb trees, but can swim. They are nocturnal and monogamous. The crested porcupine takes care of the young for a long time and small family groups consist of the adult pair and young of various ages. In defense, when disturbed, they raise and fan their quills to make themselves look bigger. If continually bothered, the crested porcupine will stamp its feet, whirr the quills, and charge the disturber back end first trying to stab the enemy with the thicker, shorter quills. These attacks are known to have killed lions, leopards, hyenas, and even humans.
Crested porcupines have been known to collect thousands of bones that they find at night. They are mostly nocturnal, and they may wander upon the skeletons of many animals. They collect these bones, and store them in an underground chamber, or cave. Sometimes, humans dig up these bones.
Population.
Eight species are placed in the genus "Hystrix", only two of which are found outside of Asia. Although it is favored in many parts of its range as food, its conservation status is set at least concern.
Range.
The crested porcupine is found in Italy, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. In the Mediterranean, it is known from mainland Italy and the island of Sicily, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia; they are also recorded in Ghana, Libya and along the Egyptian coast. It has been recorded from sea level to in Moroccan Anti-Atlas. The porcupine was thought to have been introduced to Italy by the Romans, but fossil and subfossil remains suggest it was possibly present in Europe in the Upper Pleistocene.
Countries.
These are the countries from which the crested porcupine is known:


Wrangel lemming

The Wrangel lemming ("Dicrostonyx vinogradovi") is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of eastern Russia. Its natural habitat is tundra, and it is threatened by habitat loss.


Squalius ghigii

Squalius ghigii, the Rhodes minnow, is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, also known as the gizani or ghizáni. It is currently considered to be endemic to the island of Rhodes, Greece. Its natural habitats are rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, and water storage areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Some authors have included the species in the genus "Ladigesocypris".


Eresia erysice

Eresia erysice is a butterfly of the Nymphalinae family. It was described by Carl Geyer in 1832. It is found in French Guiana and Brazil.


Chilean angelshark

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The Chilean angelshark ("Squatina armata") is an angelshark of the family Squatinidae found in the subtropical waters of Chile, that grows up to in length. The holotype is lost. Reproduction is ovoviviparous.


Amazona tresmariae


La Palma salamander

The La Palma salamander ("Bolitoglossa subpalmata") is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae.
It is found in Costa Rica and western Panama.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest. The species occur at high elevations and cold temperatures atypical of habitats for most other plethodontids. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Olepa schleini

Olepa schleini is a moth of the family Erebidae first described by Thomas J. Witt, Günter C. Müller, Vasiliy D. Kravchenko, Michael A. Miller, Axel Hausmann and Wolfgang Speidel in 2005. It is only known from the coastal regions of Israel, but is probably an alien species, as its food plant is not native to Israel. The species was discovered in 2005 and is named for the entomologist and sculptor Yosef Schlein.
The larvae only feed on "Ricinus communis", which is curious because this plants produces the natural insecticide ricin.
According to the author, the species is in fact a biblical moth species mentioned in the Book of Jonah, in which there is a description of a worm that, nightly, infested a "kikayon" ("Ricinus") plant, and caused it to wither. The larvae of the recently described "Olepa schleini" are the only insects which regularly infest "Ricinus communis" in Israel and adjacent countries. The aggregation of larvae on particular trees, with the unusual feeding that includes the stems, causes massive damage and withering of this plant.