Moroccan worm lizard

The Moroccan worm lizard ("Blanus mettetali" ) is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Blanidae. The species is endemic to Morocco.
Etymology.
The specific name, "mettetali", is in honor of a Mr. Mettetal who was head of the Laboratory of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences of Morocco.
Habitat.
The natural habitats of "B. mettetali" are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, arable land, and pastureland.
Conservation status.
"B. mettetali" is threatened by habitat loss.


Abronia martindelcampoi

Abronia martindelcampoi is an endangered species of arboreal alligator lizard described in 2003 by Flores-Villela and Sánchez-Herrera.
Etymology.
The specific name, "martindelcampoi", is in honor of Mexican herpetologist .
Geographic range.
"A. martindelcampoi" has been found only in the Mexican state of Guerrero.
Reproduction.
"A. martindelcampoi" is viviparous.


Berylline hummingbird

The berylline hummingbird ("Saucerottia beryllina") is a medium-sized hummingbird. It is 8–10 cm long, and weighs 4-5 g.
Adults are colored predominantly metallic olive green with a rusty gray lower belly. The tail and primary wings are rufous in color and slightly forked. The underwing is also rufous. The bill of the male is straight and very slender. It is very dark red in coloration, almost black. The female is less colorful than the male.
The breeding habitat is in forests and thickets of western Mexico to central Honduras in Central America. It regularly strays to southeasternmost Arizona in the United States where it occasionally breeds–(the Madrean sky islands). The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or tree. Females lay two white eggs. This hummingbird is essentially non-migratory.
These birds feed on nectar from flowers and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue or catch insects on the wing.
This species was formerly placed in the genus "Amazilia". A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus "Amazilia" was polyphyletic. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the berylline hummingbird was moved to the resurrected genus "Saucerottia".


Maiestas arida

Maiestas arida (formerly "Recilia aridus") is a species of leafhopper from Cicadellidae family that is endemic to India. It was formerly placed within "Recilia", but a 2009 revision moved it to "Maiestas".


Strymon flavaria

Strymon flavaria is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It was described by Ureta in 1956. It is found in Chile.


Pelasgus epiroticus

Pelasgus epiroticus, or tsima, is a species of freshwater minnow in the family Cyprinidae.
It is endemic to lake Pamvotis in Greece. Due to the restricted range of the species as well as the significant loss its population suffered since the early 1990s it has been assessed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).


Great white pelican

The great white pelican ("Pelecanus onocrotalus") also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes.
The great white pelican has been rated as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species (IUCN). It is listed under Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Annexure I under the EU Birds Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and Appendix II of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. It is also listed within 108 Special Protection Areas in the European Union. It occurs within 43 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in its European range. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) is applied.
Description.
The great white pelican is a huge birdonly the Dalmatian pelican is, on average, larger among pelicans. It measures in length with a enormous pink and yellow bill, and a dull pale-yellow gular pouch. The wingspan measures , the latter measurement being the highest among extant flying animals outside of the great albatross. The adult male measures about in length; it weighs from and larger races from the Palaearctic are usually around , with few exceeding . It has a bill measuring . The female measures about in length, and is considerably less bulky, weighing , and has a bill that measures in length. In Lake Edward, Uganda, the average weight of 52 males was found to and in 22 females it was . In South Africa, the average weight of males was and of females was . Thus the sexual dimorphism is especially pronounced in this species (perhaps the greatest known in any extant pelican), as at times the male can average more than 30% more massive than the female. The great white pelican rivals the kori bustard, which has even more pronounced sexual dimorphism, as the heaviest flying bird to reside in Africa (both averaging perhaps slightly heavier than the cape vulture and the wattled crane). There are a small few slightly heavier flying birds in the Eurasian portions of the range. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the tail , and the tarsus long. Standard measurements from different areas indicate that pelicans from the Western Palaearctic are somewhat larger than those from Asia and Africa.
The male has a downward bend in the neck and the female has a shorter, straighter beak. The plumage is predominantly white except on remiges, with a faint pink tinge on the neck and a yellowish base on the foreneck. The primary feathers are black, with white shafts at the bases, occasionally with paler tips and narrow fringes. The secondary feathers are also black, but with a whitish fringe. The upperwing coverts, underwing coverts, and tertials are white. The forehead is swollen and pinkish skin surrounds the bare, dark eyes having brown-red to dark brown irides. It has fleshy-yellow legs and pointed forehead-feathers where meeting the culmen. In breeding season, the male has pinkish skin while the female has orangey skin on its face. The bill is mostly bluish grey, with a red tip, reddish maxilla edges, and a cream-yellow to yolk-yellow gular pouch. The white plumage becomes tinged-pink with a yellow patch on the breast, and the body is tinged yellowish-rosy. It also has a short, shaggy crest on the nape. The white covert feathers contrast with the solid black primary and secondary feathers. The legs are yellow-flesh to pinkish orange. Both male and female are similar, but the female is smaller and has brighter orange facial skin in the breeding season.
The juvenile has darker, brownish underparts that are palest at the rump, center of the belly, and uppertail coverts. The underwing coverts are mostly dull-white, but the greater coverts are dark and there is a dark brownish bar over the lesser coverts. The rear tertials upperwing coverts mostly have paler tips with a silvery-grey tinge on the greater secondary coverts and tertials. It has dark flight feathers, and brown-edged wings. The head, neck, and upperparts, including the upperwing coverts, are mostly brownthis is the darkest part of the neck. The facial skin and the bill, including its gular pouch, are greyish to dusky greyish. The forehead, rump, and abdomen are white, and its legs and feet are grey. Its blackish tail occasionally has a silvery-grey tinge. Its underparts and back are initially browner and darker than those of the Dalmatian pelican, and the underwing is strongly patterned, similar to the juvenile brown pelican.
The great white pelican is distinguished from all other pelicans by its plumage. Its face is naked and the feathering on its forehead tapers to a fine point, whereas other species are completely feathered. In flight, the white underwing with black remiges of the adult are similar only to those of the American white pelican ("P. erythrorhynchos"), but the latter has white inner secondary feathers. It differs from the Dalmatian pelican in its pure white rather than greyish-white plumage, a bare pink facial patch around the eye, and pinkish legs. The spot-billed pelican ("P. philippensis") of Asia is slightly smaller than the great white pelican, with greyish tinged white plumage, and a paler, duller-colored bill. Similarly, the pink-backed pelican ("P. rufescens") is smaller, with brownish-grey plumage, a light pink to off-grey bill, and a pinkish wash on the back.
The bird is mostly silent but has a variety of low-pitched lowing, grunting, and growling calls. The flight call is a deep, quiet croak., while at breeding colonies, it gives deep "moooo" calls.
Distribution and habitat.
The breeding range of the great white pelican extends to Ethiopia, Tanzania, Chad, northern Cameroons, and Nigeria in Africa, and has been observed or reported breeding in Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa. In the 1990s, 6,700 to 11,000 breeding pairs in 23 to 25 breeding sites, were found in the Palearctic region. A 1991 study noted about 3,070 to 4,300 pairs were present in the Soviet Union. Only two breeding colonies are located in the Mediterranean basin, one having 250 to 400 pairs in Turkey and the other having 50 to 100 pairs in northern Greece. The breeding colony at Lake Rukwa, Tanzania is the largest known breeding colony in Africa, followed by the Lake Shala, Ethiopia colony which is probably of crucial importance to the species in Africa.
The African population of about 75,000 pairs of the great white pelican is resident. The ones breeding in the Palearctic region are migrants, although it is possible that the majority of the western Palearctic populations stop-over in Israel during their autumn migration. The migration routes are only partially known. Migratory populations are found from Eastern Europe to Kazakhstan during the breeding season. More than 50% of Eurasian great white pelicans breed in the Danube Delta in Romania. They also prefer staying in the Lakes near Burgas, Bulgaria and in Srebarna Lake in Bulgaria. The pelicans arrive in the Danube in late March or early April and depart after breeding from September to late November. Wintering locations for European pelicans are not exactly known but wintering birds may occur in northeastern Africa through Iraq to north India, with a particularly large number of breeders from Asia wintering around Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Northern populations migrate to China, India, Myanmar, with stragglers reaching Java and Bali in Indonesia. These are birds that are found mostly in lowlands, though in East Africa and Nepal may be found living at elevations of up to .
Overall, the great white pelican is one of the most widely distributed species. Although some areas still hold quite large colonies, it ranks behind the brown pelican and possibly the Australian pelican in overall abundance. Europe now holds an estimated 7,345–10,000 breeding pairs, with over 4,000 pairs that are known to nest in Russia. During migration, more than 75,000 have been observed in Israel and, in winter, over 45,000 may stay in Pakistan. In all its colonies combined, 75,000 pairs are estimated to nest in Africa. It is possibly extinct in Serbia and Montenegro, and regionally extinct in Hungary.
Great white pelicans usually prefer shallow, (seasonally or tropical) warm fresh water. Well scattered groups of breeding pelicans occur through Eurasia from the eastern Mediterranean to Vietnam. In Eurasia, fresh or brackish waters may be inhabited and the pelicans may be found in lakes, deltas, lagoons and marshes, usually with dense reed beds nearby for nesting purposes. Additionally, sedentary populations are found year-round in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert although these are patchy. In Africa, great white pelicans occur mainly around freshwater and alkaline lakes and may also be found in coastal, estuarine areas. Beyond reed beds, African pelicans have nested on inselbergs and flat inshore islands off of Banc d'Arguin National Park.
Behavior.
The great white pelican is highly sociable and often forms large flocks. It is well adapted for aquatic life. The short strong legs and webbed feet propel it in water and aid a rather awkward takeoff from the water surface. In flight, it is an elegant soaring bird, with the head held close to and aligned with the body. Its flight consists of a few slow wingbeats followed by a glide. Once aloft, the long-winged pelicans are powerful fliers, however, and often travel in spectacular linear, circular, or V-formation groups.
Feeding.
The great white pelican mainly eats fish. It leaves its roost to feed early in the morning and may fly over in search of food, as has been observed in Chad and in Mogode, Cameroon. It needs from of fish every day, which corresponds to around annual fish consumption at the largest colony of the great white pelican, on Tanzania's Lake Rukwa (with almost 75,000 birds). Fish targeted are usually fairly large ones, in the weight range, and are taken based on regional abundance. Common carp are preferred in Europe, mullets in China, and Arabian toothcarp in India. In Africa, often the commonest cichlids, including many species in the "Haplochromis" and "Tilapia" genera, seem to be preferred.
The pelican's pouch serves simply as a scoop. As the pelican pushes its bill underwater, the lower bill bows out, creating a large pouch which fills with water and fish. As it lifts its head, the pouch contracts, forcing out the water but retaining the fish. A group of 6 to 8 great white pelicans gather in a horseshoe formation in water to feed together. They dip their bills in unison, creating a circle of open pouches, ready to trap every fish in the area. Most feeding is cooperative and done in groups, especially in shallow waters where fish schools can be corralled easily, though they may also forage alone as well.
Great white pelicans are not restricted to fish, however, and are often opportunistic foragers. In some situations, they eat chicks of other birds, such as the well documented case off the southwest coast of South Africa. Here, breeding pelicans from the Dassen Island prey on chicks weighing up to from the Cape gannet colony on Malgas Island. Similarly, in Walvis Bay, Namibia the eggs and chicks of Cape cormorants are fed regularly to young pelicans. The local pelican population is so reliant on the cormorants, that when the cormorant species experienced a population decline, the numbers of pelicans appeared to decline as well.
They also rob other birds of their prey. During periods of starvation, they also eat seagulls and ducklings. The gulls are held under water and drowned before being eaten headfirst. A flock of captive great white pelicans in St James's Park, London is well known for occasionally eating local pigeons, despite being well-fed.
Breeding.
The breeding season commences in April or May in temperate zones, is essentially all year around in Africa and runs February through April in India. Large numbers of these pelicans breed together in colonies.
Nest locations vary: some populations make stick nests in trees but a majority, including all those that breed in Africa, nest exclusively in scrapes on the ground lined with grass, sticks, feathers and other material.
The female can lay from 1 to 4 eggs in a clutch, with two being the average. Incubation takes 29 to 36 days. The chicks are naked when they hatch but quickly sprout blackish-brown down. The young are cared for by both parents. The colony gathers in "pods" around 20 to 25 days after the eggs hatch. The young fledge at 65 to 75 days of age. Around 64% of young successful reach adulthood, attaining sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years of age.
Predators.
While white pelicans are often protected from bird-eating raptors by virtue of their own great size, eagles, especially sympatric "Haliaeetus" species, may prey on their eggs, nestlings, and fledglings. Occasionally, pelicans and their young are attacked at their colonies by mammalian carnivores, such as jackals and lions. As is common in pelicans, the close approach of a large predaceous or unknown mammal, including a human, at a colony will lead the pelican to abandon its nest in self-preservation. Additionally, crocodiles, especially Nile crocodiles in Africa, readily kill and eat swimming pelicans.
Status and conservation.
Since 1998, the great white pelican has been rated as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. This is because it has a large range more than 20,000 km2 (7700 mi2) and because its population is thought not to have declined by 30% over ten years or three generations, which is not a rapid enough decline to warrant a vulnerable rating. However, the state of its overall population is not known, and although it is widespread, it is not abundant anywhere. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. It is listed under the Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Appendix II of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and Annexure I of the EU Birds Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. It occurs within 43 Important Bird Areas in its European range, and is listed within 108 Special Protection Areas in the European Union. This species is often kept in captivity in zoos or in semi-wild colonies such as that in St. James's Park, London. The ancestors of this colony were originally given to Charles II by the Russian ambassador in 1664 which initiated the tradition of ambassadors donating the birds.
Today, because of overfishing in certain areas, white pelicans are forced to fly long distances to find food. Great white pelicans are exploited for many reasons. Their pouch is used to make tobacco bags, their skin is turned into leather, the guano is used as fertiliser, and the fat of its young is converted into oils for traditional medicine in China and India. In Ethiopia, great white pelicans are shot for their meat. Human disturbance, loss of foraging habitat and breeding sites, as well as pollution are all contributing to the decline of the great white pelican. Declines have been particularly notable in the Palaearctic.


Brachypelma emilia

The Mexican redleg or red-legged tarantula ("Brachypelma emilia") is a species of terrestrial tarantula closely related to the famous Mexican redknee tarantula. Like the redknee it is a docile tarantula and popular in the pet trade. It is slow growing and, like many tarantulas, females can live for decades.
Description.
The Mexican redleg, also known as the red-legged tarantula, has a dark-colored body with the second joint of its legs being pink, red or orange. Its carapace is light colored with a distinctive black triangle at the front. Following moulting, the colors are more pronounced.
An adult female has a body roughly 65 mm long, with a legspan of 12.5 cm, and a weight of approximately 15 to 16 grams.
White described it as follows:
Conservation.
All species of "Brachypelma" were placed on CITES Appendix II in 1994, thus restricting trade. Nevertheless, large numbers of tarantulas caught in the wild continue to be smuggled out of Mexico, including species of "Brachypelma". (However, the trade in "B. emilia" largely involves captive-bred spiderlings.)
In Mexico, the species is listed as "threatened".
Distribution.
This species is found in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Sinaloa and Nayarit in Mexico.
In captivity.
The Mexican redleg is a mostly docile species, perhaps more so even than the redknee. That, coupled with its coloration, and impressive size, makes it a very popular pet species. As such it is considered to be threatened by capture for sale to the pet trade.
It is very reluctant to bite when distressed, but possesses urticating hair and will flick these if it feels threatened.
Taxonomy.
It was first described in 1856 by Scottish zoologist Adam White as "Mygale Emilia," but in 1891 Eugene Simon transferred it to the new genus, "Brachypelma", making "B .emilia" the type species.


Diploderma grahami

Diploderma grahami, Graham's japalure, is endemic to China.


Clistopyga crassicaudata

Clistopyga crassicaudata is a species of ichneumon wasp in the family Ichneumonidae which was first described in 2018. It is found in Peru and was one of seven new species found in a narrow zone of vegetation between the Amazon rainforest and the Andes. It received attention in the news due to the size of the female stinger/ovipositor.


Nine-banded armadillo

The nine-banded armadillo ("Dasypus novemcinctus"), or the nine-banded, long-nosed armadillo, is a medium-sized mammal found in North, Central, and South America, making it the most widespread of the armadillos. Its ancestors originated in South America, and remained there until the formation of the Isthmus of Panama allowed them to enter North America as part of the Great American Interchange.
The nine-banded armadillo is a solitary, mainly nocturnal animal, found in many kinds of habitats, from mature and secondary rainforests to grassland and dry scrub. It is an insectivore, feeding chiefly on ants, termites, and other small invertebrates. The armadillo can jump straight in the air if sufficiently frightened, making it a particular danger on roads. It is the state small mammal of Texas.
Subspecies.
North American subspecies exhibit reduced genetic variability compared with the subspecies of South America, indicating the armadillos of North America are descended from a relatively small number of individuals that migrated from south of the Rio Grande.
Description.
Nine-banded armadillos generally weigh from , though the largest specimens can scale up to . They are one of the largest species of armadillos. Head and body length is , which combines with the tail, for a total length of . They stand tall at the top of the shell. The outer shell is composed of ossified dermal scutes covered by nonoverlapping, keratinized epidermal scales, which are connected by flexible bands of skin. This armor covers the back, sides, head, tail, and outside surfaces of the legs. The underside of the body and the inner surfaces of the legs have no armored protection. Instead, they are covered by tough skin and a layer of coarse hair. The vertebrae attach to the carapace.
The claws on the middle toes of the forefeet are elongated for digging, though not to the same degree as those of the much larger giant armadillo of South America.
Their low metabolic rate and poor thermoregulation make them best suited for semitropical environments.
Unlike the South American three-banded armadillos, the nine-banded armadillo cannot roll itself into a ball. It is, however, capable of floating across rivers by inflating its intestines, or by sinking and running across riverbeds. The second is possible due to its ability to hold its breath for up to six minutes, an adaptation originally developed for allowing the animal to keep its snout submerged in soil for extended periods while foraging. Although nine is the typical number of bands on the nine-banded armadillo, the actual number varies by geographic range.
Armadillos possess the teeth typical of all sloths and anteaters. The teeth are all small, peg-like molars with open roots and no enamel. Incisors do form in the embryos, but quickly degenerate and are usually absent by birth.
Habitat.
The nine-banded armadillo evolved in a warm, rainy environment, and is still most commonly found in regions resembling its ancestral home. As a very adaptable animal, though, it can also be found in scrublands, open prairies, and tropical rainforests. It cannot thrive in particularly cold or dry environments, as its large surface area, which is not well insulated by fat, makes it especially susceptible to heat and water loss.
Range.
The nine-banded armadillo has been rapidly expanding its range both north and east within the United States, where it is the only regularly occurring species of armadillo. The armadillo crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in the late 19th century, and was introduced in Florida at about the same time by humans. By 1995, the species had become well established in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and had been sighted as far afield as Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, and South Carolina. A decade later, the armadillo had become established in all of those areas and continued its migration, being sighted as far north as southern Nebraska, southern Illinois, and southern Indiana.
The primary cause of this rapid expansion is explained simply by the species having few natural predators within the United States, little desire on the part of Americans to hunt or eat the armadillo, and the animals' high reproductive rate. The northern expansion of the armadillo is expected to continue until the species reaches as far north as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut, and all points southward on the East Coast of the United States. Further northward and westward expansion will probably be limited by the armadillo's poor tolerance of harsh winters, due to its lack of insulating fat and its inability to hibernate.
As of 2009, newspaper reports indicated the nine-banded armadillo seems to have expanded its range northward as far as Omaha, Nebraska in the west, and Kentucky Dam and Evansville, Indiana, in the east. In 1995, armadillos were only seen in the southern tip of South Carolina, and within two to three years, they had swept across most of the state. In late 2009, North Carolina began considering the establishment of a hunting season for armadillo, following reports that the species has been moving into the southern reaches of the state (roughly between the areas of Charlotte and Wilmington).
Outside the United States, the nine-banded armadillo ranges southward through Central and South America into northern Argentina and Uruguay, where it is still expanding its range.
Diet.
Nine-banded armadillos are generally insectivores. They forage for meals by thrusting their snouts into loose soil and leaf litter and frantically digging in erratic patterns, stopping occasionally to dig up grubs, beetles (perhaps the main portion of this species' prey selection), ants, termites, and worms, which their sensitive noses can detect through of soil. They then lap up the insects with their sticky tongues. Nine-banded armadillos have been observed to roll about on ant hills to dislodge and consume the resident ants. They supplement their diets with amphibians and small reptiles, especially in more wintery months when such prey tends to be more sluggish, and occasionally bird eggs and baby mammals. Carrion is also eaten, although perhaps the species is most attracted to the maggots borne by carcasses rather than the meat itself. Less than 10% of the diet of this species is composed by nonanimal matter, though fungi, tubers, fruits, and seeds are occasionally eaten.
Behavior.
Nine-banded armadillos are solitary, largely nocturnal animals that come out to forage around dusk. They are extensive burrowers, with a single animal sometimes maintaining up to 12 burrows on its range. These burrows are roughly wide, deep, and long. Armadillos mark their territory with urine, feces, and excretions from scent glands found on the eyelids, nose, and feet. Males hold breeding territories and may become aggressive in order to keep other males out of their home range to increase chances of pairing with a female. Territorial disputes are settled by kicking and chasing. When they are not foraging, armadillos shuffle along fairly slowly, stopping occasionally to sniff the air for signs of danger.
Predation.
If alarmed, nine-banded armadillos can flee with surprising speed. Occasionally, a large predator may be able to ambush the armadillo before it can clear a distance, and breach the hard carapace with a well-placed bite or swipe. If the fleeing escape fails, the armadillo may quickly dig a shallow trench and lodge itself inside. Predators are rarely able to dislodge the animal once it has burrowed itself, and abandon their prey when they cannot breach the armadillo’s armor or grasp its tapered tail. Due to their softer carapaces, juvenile armadillos are more likely to fall victim to natural predation and their cautious behavior generally reflects this. Young nine-banded armadillos tend to forage earlier in the day and are more wary of the approach of an unknown animal (including humans) than are adults. Their known natural predators include cougars (perhaps the leading predator), maned wolves, coyotes, black bears, red wolves, jaguars, alligators, bobcats, and large raptors. By far the leading predator of nine-banded armadillos today is humans, as armadillos are locally harvested for their meat and shells and many thousands fall victim to auto accidents every year.
Reproduction.
Mating takes place during a two-to-three month long mating season, which occurs from July–August in the Northern Hemisphere and November–January in the Southern Hemisphere. A single egg is fertilized, but implantation is delayed for three to four months to ensure the young will not be born during an unfavorable time. Once the zygote does implant in the uterus, a gestation period of four months occurs, during which the zygote splits into four identical embryos, attached by a common placenta. They are born in March and weigh 3 oz (85 g). After birth, the quadruplets remain in the burrow, living off the mother’s milk for about three months. They then begin to forage with the mother, eventually leaving after six months to a year.
Nine-banded armadillos reach sexual maturity at the age of one year, and reproduce every year for the rest of their 12–to-15 year lifespans. A single female can produce up to 56 young over the course of her life. This high reproductive rate is a major cause of the species’ rapid expansion.
Effect on the environment.
The foraging of nine-banded armadillo can cause mild damage to the root systems of certain plants. Skunks, cotton rats, burrowing owls, pine snakes, and rattlesnakes can be found living in abandoned armadillo burrows. Occasionally, the armadillo may threaten the endangered gopher tortoise by aggressively displacing them from their burrows and claiming the burrows for themselves. Studies have shown the fan-tailed warbler habitually follows armadillos to feed on insects and other invertebrates displaced by them.
They are typically hunted for their meat, which is said to taste like pork, but are more frequently killed as a result of their tendency to steal the eggs of poultry and game birds. This has caused certain populations of the nine-banded armadillo to become threatened, although the species as a whole is under no immediate threat.
They are also valuable for use in medical research, as they are among the few mammals other than humans susceptible to leprosy.
In Texas, nine-banded armadillos are raised to participate in armadillo racing, a small-scale, but well-established sport in which the animals scurry down a 40-foot track.
Hoover hog.
During the Great Depression, the species was hunted for its meat in East Texas, where it was known as poor man’s pork, or the "Hoover hog" by those who considered President Herbert Hoover to be responsible for the Depression. Earlier, German settlers in Texas would often refer to the armadillo as "Panzerschwein" ("armored pig"). In 1995, the nine-banded armadillo was, with some resistance, made the state small mammal of Texas, where it is considered a pest and is often seen dead on the roadside. They first forayed into Texas across the Rio Grande from Mexico in the 19th century, eventually spreading across the southeast United States.


Oxynoemacheilus karunensis

Oxynoemacheilus karunensis is a species of stone loach which is endemic to Iran. It was first described in 2016.


Common black hawk

The common black hawk ("Buteogallus anthracinus") is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures. It formerly included the Cuban black-hawk ("Buteogallus gundlachii") as a subspecies. The mangrove black hawk, traditionally considered a distinct species, is now generally considered a subspecies, "B. a. subtilis", of the common black-hawk.
Description.
The adult common black-hawk is long and weighs on average. It has very broad wings, and is mainly black or dark gray. The short tail is black with a single broad white band and a white tip. The bill is black and the legs and cere are yellow. The adults resemble zone-tailed hawks, but have fewer white bars on their tail and are larger in size.
Sexes are similar, but immature birds are dark brown above with spotting and streaks. Their underparts are buff to whitish with dark blotches, and the tail has a number of black and white bars.
Distribution and habitat.
The common black-hawk is a breeding bird in the warmer parts of the Americas, from the Southwestern United States through Central America to Venezuela, Peru, Trinidad, and the Lesser Antilles. It is a mainly coastal, resident bird of mangrove swamps, estuaries and adjacent dry open woodland, though there are inland populations, including a migratory population in north-western Mexico and Arizona.
Behaviour.
Breeding.
The bird builds a platform nest of sticks fifteen to one hundred feet above the ground in a tree, often a mangrove. Nests are often reused and tend to grow bigger. It lays one to three eggs (usually one), which are whitish with brown markings.
Has hybridized naturally with Red-shouldered Hawk ("Buteo lineatus") in Sonoma County, California, USA. This natural hybridization between different genera of hawks is rare.
Feeding.
It feeds mainly on crabs, but will also take small vertebrates and eggs. This species is often seen soaring, with occasional lazy flaps, and has a talon-touching aerial courtship display. The call is a distinctive piping "".
Status and conservation.
The common black hawk is protected in the far north of its range (in the USA) under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.


Elachista tribertiella

Elachista tribertiella is a moth of the family Elachistidae that is endemic to Spain.


Dicerapanorpa

Dicerapanorpa is a genus of scorpionflies endemic to China. They can be easily recognized by the two anal horns on the posterior margin of the sixth tergum in males.
The anal horns of "Dicerapanorpa magna" (Chou, 1981) are used to grasp the female's abdomen during mating.
Species.
Dicerapanorpa consists of 8 species.


Sibirocosa sibirica

Sibirocosa sibirica is a species of wolf spider. It has a fairly wide distribution in Siberia: from the Putorana Plateau east to the Chersky Range and south to northern Transbaikal.
This spider has a body length of up to 6.5 mm. It is usually brown in colour, though it is quite variable. There are few external distinguishing marks although the male has a light coloured heart-shaped mark and two rows of white spots on the abdomen. It can only be distinguished with certainty from related species by details of the genitalia.


Hyloxalus sylvaticus

Hyloxalus sylvaticus is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae. It is endemic to northern Peru and found on the Amazonian slopes of the Eastern Andes and in the Huancabamba Depression. Its range might extend to Ecuador.
Its natural habitats are cloud forests. It is active along streams by day and can hide under rocks within and along streams at night. It is threatened by habitat loss in parts of its range.


Agapanthia talassica

Agapanthia talassica is a species of longhorn beetle in the subfamily Lamiinae found only in Kazakhstan.


Bothrops moojeni

Bothrops moojeni, commonly known in English as the Brazilian lancehead, is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae. It is a pit viper endemic to South America.
Etymology.
The specific name, "moojeni", is in honor of Brazilian zoologist (1904-1985).
Description and Behavior.
Grows on average 160 cm, with a maximum of 230 cm already reported, has a tan, gray-brown or olive-gray color, with fourteen to twenty-one trapezoidal side marks that are dark gray or completely black, 23 to 29 lines of dorsal scale of the average body, with the belly usually white or cream with dark gray spots scattered, while juveniles have a white tail. It is terrestrial, of nocturnal habits. it is considered very aggressive, able to make vertical boats, sometimes reaching the highest parts of the body. its body is viscous, varying from medium to heavy, broad head, flattened in a lance when seen from above and distinct from the narrow neck, the snout is not elevated, the eyes are medium in size, with lipid pupils vertically, while the scales back are keeled. "B. moojeni" is viviparous. Gestation lasts around four months, occurs once a year and 12 to 14 puppies are usually born. Live an average of 15 years. It feeds on small mammals, birds, lizards, snakes and amphibians.
Geographic range and Habitat.
"B. moojeni" is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.
The type locality is Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil. "B. moojeni" inhabits Araucaria moist forests and the "Cerrado".
Common names.
In South America common names for "B. moojeni" include "caiçaca, caissaca, caiçara, jacuruçu", and "jararação".
Venom.
Its venom has hemolytic and proteolytic action. B. moojeni venom contains a wide variety of enzymes, such as acidic phospholipase, base A phospholipase, metalloproteinases, serine proteinases, L-amino acid oxidase, and a myotoxin phospholipase A2. The myotoxin phospholipase A2 causes necrosis in muscle fibers, releasing creatinine kinase. Symptoms may include intense local pain, edema, muscular necrosis.The venom has an anticoagulant effect on the blood, makes the blood uncoagulable, causes severe hemorraghes and strokes. The venom has a lethal dose of 0.205 mg / kg for horses. The average yield for an adult female is 335 mg, 63 mg for newborns, specimens from Minas Gerais, Brazil have been reported to be 118 mg, specimens from Argentina have a yield of 248.0 ± 37 mg.


Opsilia irakensis

Opsilia irakensis is a species of beetle from the family Cerambycidae native to Iraq.


Long-tailed shrike

The long-tailed shrike or rufous-backed shrike ("Lanius schach") is a member of the bird family Laniidae, the shrikes. They are found widely distributed across Asia and there are variations in plumage across the range. The species ranges across much of Asia, both on the mainland and the eastern archipelagos. The eastern or Himalayan subspecies, "L. s. tricolor", is sometimes called the black-headed shrike. Although there are considerable differences in plumage among the subspecies, they all have a long and narrow black tail, have a black mask and forehead, rufous rump and flanks and a small white patch on the shoulder. It is considered to form a superspecies with the grey-backed shrike ("Lanius tephronotus") which breeds on the Tibetan Plateau.
Description.
The long-tailed shrike is a typical shrike, favouring dry open habitats and found perched prominently atop a bush or on a wire. The dark mask through the eye is broad and covers the forehead in most subspecies and the whole head is black in subspecies "tricolor" and "nasutus". The tail is narrow and graduated with pale rufous on the outer feathers. Subspecies "erythronotus" has the grey of the mantle and upper back suffused with rufous while the southern Indian "caniceps" has pure grey. A small amount of white is present at the base of the primaries. The bay-backed shrike is smaller and more contrastingly patterned and has a more prominent white patch on the wing. The sexes are alike in plumage.
Taxonomy.
The genus name, "Lanius", is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. The specific "schach" is an onomatopoeic name based on the call. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English "scríc", "shriek", referring to the shrill call.
A number of subspecies are noted within the widely distributed range of this species. Stuart Baker in the second edition of The Fauna of British India considered "Lanius schach", "Lanius tephronotus" and "Lanius tricolor" as three species. He considered "nigriceps" as synonymous with "tricolor" and included "erythronotus" as a race of "schach". Other treatments were proposed by Hugh Whistler and N B Kinnear where "tephronotus" was considered a subspecies of "schach" and "nigriceps" and "nasutus" grouped together. Another treatment considered "tricolor" as a subspecies of "L. tephronotus". It was subsequently however noted that "tephronotus" and "schach" co-occurred in the Kumaon region and so the two were confirmed as distinct species. Molecular distances also indicate that they are distant enough. The "erythronotus" group have a grey head which continues into the back with a gradual suffusion of rufous. The westernmost population from Transcaspia named by Sergei Buturlin as "jaxartensis" and said to be larger, is not considered valid. A very light grey form from western dry region of India named by Walter Koelz as "kathiawarensis" is also considered merely as a variant. In southern India and Sri Lanka, subspecies "caniceps", is marked by the rufous restricted to the rump, light crown and the pure grey on the back. Biswamoy Biswas supported the view that "nigriceps" (having upper mantle grey and lower mantle rufous) was a hybrid of "tricolor" and "erythronotus".
Subspecies "longicaudatus" has a greyer crown and is found in Thailand and Burma. The nominate subspecies is found in China from the Yangtze valley south to Hainan and Taiwan. Some individuals of the nominate form show melanism and were once described as a species "fuscatus". Island forms include "nasutus" (Philippine Islands from Mindanao to Luzon and north Borneo), "suluensis" (Sulu Island), "bentet" (Sunda Islands and Sumatra other than Borneo) and "stresemanni" of New Guinea.
Distribution and habitat.
The species is found across Asia from Kazakhstan to New Guinea. It is found mainly in scrub and open habitats. Many of the temperate zone populations are migratory, moving south in winter while those in the tropics tend to be sedentary although they may make short distance movements. Subspecies "caniceps" of southern India is found in winter in the dry coastal zone of southern India. Subspecies "tricolor" migrates south to Bengal in India. They are found in scrub, grassland and open land under cultivation. A survey in southern India found them to be among the commonest wintering shrikes and found at a linear density along roadsides at about 0.58 per kilometer, often choosing wires to perch.
This species is a rare vagrant to western Europe on the strength of two accepted records in Great Britain on South Uist in November 2000 and the Netherlands near Den Helder in October 2011. A bird matching the features of "caniceps" was seen on the island of Maldives. It has also occurred as a vagrant to Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Hungary, Japan and Sweden.
Behaviour and ecology.
This bird has a characteristic upright "shrike" attitude when perched on a bush, from which it glides down at an angle to take lizards, large insects, small birds and rodents. They maintain feeding territories and are usually found single or in pairs that are well spaced out. Several members have been observed indulging in play behaviour fighting over perches. The usual calls are harsh grating and scolding calls, likened to the squealing of a frog caught by a snake. They are capable of vocal mimicry and include the calls of many species including lapwings, cuckoos, puppies and squirrels in their song. This singing ability makes it a popular pet in parts of southeast Asia.
Long-tailed shrikes take a wide variety of animal prey. On occasion, they have been noted capturing fish from a stream. They also take small snakes. It sometimes indulges in kleptoparasitism and takes prey from other birds. It also captures flying insects in the air. They sometimes impale prey on a thorny bush after feeding just on the head or brain. They have been reported to feed on the fruits of the neem in Kerala, even attempting to impale them on a twig.
The breeding season is in summer in the temperate ranges. The nest is a deep and loose cup made up of thorny twigs, rags and hair. This is placed in a thorny bush, trees such as "Flacourtia" and wild date palms ("Phoenix"). The usual clutch is about 3 to 6 eggs which are incubated by both sexes. The eggs hatch after about 13 to 16 days. Young chicks are often fed with pieces of small birds captured by the parents. A second brood may be raised in the same nest. They are sometimes parasitized by cuckoos such as the common cuckoo (Dehra Dun), common hawk-cuckoo, Jacobin cuckoo and the Asian koel in Bangladesh.


Odontotermes ceylonicus

Odontotermes ceylonicus, is a species of termite of the genus "Odontotermes". It is native to India and Sri Lanka. Though nests in the ground, they never construct termitaria. It attacks many dead, diseased rotten plant roots and wooden buildings. It is a major pest of sugarcane and a secondary pest of tea.


Alopecosa ovalis

Alopecosa ovalis is a species of wolf spider found in Inner Mongolia in the People's Republic of China. The female has a length (excluding legs) of up to 9 mm, the male being rather smaller at about 8 mm. The female has a wide reddish-brown longitudinal band on the back of the carapace with a yellowish band along the back of the abdomen. The legs are faintly ringed. The male is similar but is generally much hairier and with dark legs with no trace of ringing.
This species, as well as "A. huabanna", which was described in the same paper, are similar to "A. hokkaidensis" and "A. moriutii" from Japan and "A. hingganica" from Inner Mongolia, and "A. pictilis" from the northern Holarctic.
The species name refers to the oval shape of the median septum of the epigyne.


List of birds of Romania

This is a list of the bird species recorded in Romania. The avifauna of Romania included a total of 402 confirmed species as of August 2020. Of them, 87 are accidental, one has been introduced by humans, and one has been extirpated. The status of 151 species (whether resident, breeding, seasonal, or accidental) is under review. None are endemic. Unless otherwise noted, the list is that of iGoTerra.
This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (English and scientific names) are those of "The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World", 2019 edition.
The following tags highlight several categories of occurrence other than regular migrants and residents.
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. 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 waders 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.
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.
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.
Auks, murres, and puffins.
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Alcidae
Alcids are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits. However, they are not related to the penguins and differ in being able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest.
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.
Loons.
Order: GaviiformesFamily: Gaviidae
Loons, known as divers in Europe, are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Europe. They are the size of a large duck or small goose, which they somewhat resemble when swimming, but to which they are completely unrelated.
Northern storm-petrels.
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Hydrobatidae
The northern storm-petrels are relatives of the petrels and are the smallest seabirds. They feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.
Shearwaters and petrels.
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae
The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
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.
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. 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 orioles.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Oriolidae
The Old World orioles are colourful passerine birds. They are not related to the similar-looking 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 shrike's beak is hooked, like that of a typical 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 tits 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.
Bearded reedling.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Panuridae
This species, the only one in its family, is found in reed beds throughout temperate Europe and Asia.
Cisticolas.
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.
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 greyish-green to greyish-brown colours.
Bush warblers and allies.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Scotocercidae
The members of this family are found mostly in Africa and Asia with a few species in Europe and Polynesia.
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.
Kinglets.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Regulidae
The kinglets and "crests" are a small family of birds which resemble some warblers. They are very small insectivorous birds in the single genus "Regulus". The adults have colored crowns, giving rise to their name.
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.
Treecreepers.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Certhiidae
Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. They have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark. They have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which they use to support themselves on vertical trees.
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.
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. Many have attractive songs.
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.
Waxwings.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Bombycillidae
The waxwings are a group of birds with soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers. In the Bohemian and cedar waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax and give the group its name. These are arboreal birds of northern forests. They live on insects in summer and berries in winter.
Accentors.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Prunellidae
The accentors are in the only bird family which is completely endemic to the Palearctic. They are small, fairly drab species superficially similar to sparrows.
Old World sparrows.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Passeridae
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.
Longspurs and snow buntings.
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Calcariidae
The Calcariidae are a family of birds that had been traditionally grouped with the New World sparrows, but differ in a number of respects and are usually found in open grassy areas.
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.


Oedipina tomasi

Oedipina tomasi is a small, lungless salamander in the family Plethodontidae. This critically endangered amphibian has only ever been observed in the Cusuco National Park in Honduras. Very few specimens have been observed in the wild.
Etymology.
The specific name tomasi honors JR McCranie's assistant Tomas, who was instrumental during the lengthy expedition that led to this species' discovery.
Description.
This species description is based on one male holotype and one female paratype, which suggest sexual dimorphism of body size, with males being smaller than females, despite the low sample size. "Oedipina tomasi" have dark black bodies with small, pale flecks along their backs, and have a snout to vent length of 57.5 millimeters.
Habitat and conservation.
This salamander has only been observed between 1780 and 1800 meters above sea level, in the wet sand on the banks of the Cusuco River in the Cusuco National Park. Loss of genetic diversity due to low population size and deforestation pose the largest threats to this species.


European golden plover

The European golden plover ("Pluvialis apricaria"), also known as the European golden-plover, Eurasian golden plover. or just the golden plover within Europe, is a largish plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers: the American golden plover, "Pluvialis dominica", and Pacific golden plover, "Pluvialis fulva", which are both smaller, slimmer and relatively longer-legged than European golden plover, and both have grey rather than white axillary feathers (only properly visible in flight).
Taxonomy.
The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from "pluvia", "rain". It was believed that golden plovers flocked when rain was imminent. The species name " apricaria" is Latin and means to bask in the sun.
Description.
The European golden plover is quite thickset, with its wings only being slightly longer than its tail. Its most distinct feature is a white "s"-shaped band stretching from its forehead to its flanks.
Distribution and habitat.
The European golden plover tends to breed in the Arctic tundra and other palearctic areas, ranging as far west as Iceland, where they are called Heiðlóa, and as far east as central Siberia. It tends to gather in large flocks and winter in open areas, agricultural plains, ploughed land, and short meadows, ranging from Europe to North Africa.
In the United Kingdom, golden plover chicks rely on Tipulidae for feeding, while in Sweden Bibionidae are more important.
Behaviour and ecology.
The European golden plover's call is a monosyllabic, slightly descending, melancholic "tuu".
Its flight action is rapid and powerful, with regular wingbeats.
In culture.
Folklore.
The European golden plover spends summers in Iceland, and in Icelandic folklore, the appearance of the first plover in the country means that spring has arrived. The Icelandic media always covers the first plover sighting, which in 2017, took place on March 27. In 2020, the first golden plover was sighted on March 16.
Origin of Guinness World Records.
On 10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the managing director of the Guinness Breweries, went on a shooting party in the North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford, Ireland. After missing a shot at a Eurasian golden plover, he became involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the golden plover or the red grouse (the former being correct). That evening at Castlebridge House, he realised that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europe's fastest game bird. Beaver knew that there must be numerous other questions debated nightly in pubs throughout Ireland, but there was no book in the world with which to settle arguments about records. He realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove popular. A Guinness employee told Sir Hugh of two twin brothers, Norris and Ross McWhirter, who had opened a fact checking agency in London. Sir Hugh interviewed the brothers and, impressed by their prodigious knowledge, commissioned the book. Later, he published the first Guinness World Records which became a best seller within months.
Status.
The European golden plover is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.


American eel

The American eel ("Anguilla rostrata") is a facultative catadromous fish found on the eastern coast of North America. Freshwater eels are fish belonging to the elopomorph superorder, a group of phylogenetically ancient teleosts. The American eel has a slender, snake-like body that is covered with a mucus layer, which makes the eel appear to be naked and slimy despite the presence of minute scales. A long dorsal fin runs from the middle of the back and is continuous with a similar ventral fin. Pelvic fins are absent, and relatively small pectoral fins can be found near the midline, followed by the head and gill covers. Variations exist in coloration, from olive green, brown shading to greenish-yellow and light gray or white on the belly. Eels from clear water are often lighter than those from dark, tannic acid streams.
The eel lives in fresh water and estuaries and only leaves these habitats to enter the Atlantic Ocean to make its spawning migration to the Sargasso Sea. Spawning takes place far offshore, where the eggs hatch. The female can lay up to 4 million buoyant eggs and dies after egg-laying. After the eggs hatch and the early-stage larvae develop into leptocephali, the young eels move toward North America, where they metamorphose into glass eels and enter freshwater systems where they grow as yellow eels until they begin to mature.
The American eel is found along the Atlantic coast including Chesapeake Bay and the Hudson River and as far north as the Saint Lawrence River region. It is also present in the river systems of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and in some areas further south. Like all anguillid eels, American eels hunt predominantly at night, and during the day they hide in mud, sand, or gravel very close to shore, at depths of roughly 5 to 6 feet. They feed on crustaceans, aquatic insects, small insects, and probably any aquatic organisms that they can find and eat.
American eels are economically important in various areas along the East Coast as bait for fishing for sport fishes such as the striped bass, or as a food fish in some areas. Their recruitment stages, the glass eels, are also caught and sold for use in aquaculture, although this is now restricted in most areas.
Eels were once an abundant species in rivers, and were an important fishery for aboriginal people. The construction of hydroelectric dams has blocked their migrations and locally extirpated eels in many watersheds. For example, in Canada, the vast numbers of eels in the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers have dwindled.
Etymology.
The American eel "Anguilla rostrata" was first described in 1817 by Lesueur. "Anguilla" is Latin for eel, and "rostrata" is a Latin word that can mean either "beaked or curved" or "long nose". , .
Description.
American eels can grow to in length and to in weight. Females are generally larger than males, lighter in color, with smaller eyes and higher fins. The body is elongate and snake-like. Its dorsal and anal fins are confluent with the rudimentary caudal fin. It lacks ventral fins but pectoral fins are present. The lateral line is well-developed and complete. The head is long and conical, with rather small, well-developed eyes. The mouth is terminal with jaws that are not particularly elongated. The teeth are small, pectinate or setiform in several series on the jaws and the vomer. Minute teeth also present on the pharyngeal bones, forming a patch on the upper pharyngeals. Tongue present with thick lips that are attached by a frenum in front. Nostrils are superior and well separated. Gill openings are partly below pectoral fins, relatively well-developed and well separated from one another. Inner gill slits are wide.
The scales are small, rudimentary, cycloid, relatively well embedded below the epidermis and therefore often difficult to see without magnification. The scales are not arranged in overlapping rows as they often are in other fish species but are rather irregular, in some places distributed like "parquet flooring". In general, one row of scales lies at right angle to the next, although the rows immediately above and below the lateral line lie at an angle of approximately 45°. Unlike other bony fishes, the first scales do not develop immediately after the larval stage but appear much later on.
Several morphological features distinguish the American eel from other eel species. Tesch (1977) described three morphological characteristics which persist through all stages from larvae to maturing eels: the total number of vertebrae (mean 107.2), the number of myomeres (mean 108.2), and the distance between the origin of the dorsal fin to the anus (mean 9.1% of total length).
Distribution and natural habitat.
Geographic range.
The distribution of the American eel encompasses all accessible freshwater (streams and lakes), estuaries and coastal marine waters across a latitudinal range of 5 to 62 N. Their natural range includes the eastern North Atlantic Ocean coastline from Venezuela to Greenland and including Iceland. Inland, this species extends into the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.
Nonindigenous occurrences of this species in the United States were recorded from Lake Mead on the Colorado River and on the Arizona border. It was stocked on a few occasions in Sacramento and San Francisco bay, California, in the late 1800s. No apparent evidence of survival on these occasions was noted. It was also stocked and unintentionally introduced in various states, including Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Stocking of this species also occurred in Utah in the late 1800s, but soon disappeared.
Natural habitat.
Eels are bottom dwellers. They hide in burrows, tubes, snags, masses of plants, other types of shelters. They are found in a variety of habitats including streams, rivers, and muddy or silt-bottomed lakes during their freshwater stage, as well as oceanic waters, coastal bays and estuaries. Individuals during the continental stage occasionally migrate between fresh, salt and brackish water habitats and have varying degrees of residence time in each. During winter, eels burrow under the mud and enter a state of torpor (or complete inactivity) at temperatures below 5 °C. although they may occasionally be active during this period. Temperature requirements are suggested to be flexible. It has been found that American eels during elver stage can survive temperature as low as −0.8 °C. Barila and Stauffer (1980) reported a final mean temperature preference at 16.7 °C. Karlsson et al. (1984) disagreed with this interpretation and found the final temperature preference of 17.4 ± 2.0 °C with a 95% confidence interval.
Seasonal patterns described by Fletcher and Anderson (1972) generalize annual movements from freshwater to estuaries and coastal bays to feed during spring, then either a return during the fall to overwinter (juvenile and immature adults), or a southward migration to the spawning grounds (silver eels Continental phase eels appear highly plastic in habitat use. Eels are extremely mobile and may access habitats that appear unavailable to them, using small watercourses or moving through wet grasses. Small eels (<100 mm total length) are able to climb and may succeed in passing over vertical barriers. Habitat availability may be reduced by factors such as habitat deterioration, barriers to upstream migration (larger eels), and barriers (i.e. turbines) to downstream migration that can result in mortality.
Life cycle.
The American eel's complex life history begins far offshore in the Sargasso Sea in a semelparous and panmictic reproduction. From there, young eels drift with ocean currents and then migrate inland into streams, rivers and lakes. This journey may take many years to complete with some eels travelling as far as 6,000 kilometers. After reaching these freshwater bodies they feed and mature for approximately 10 to 25 years before migrating back to the Sargasso Sea in order to complete their life cycle.
Life stages are detailed below.
1. Eggs:
The eggs hatch within a week of deposition in the Sargasso Sea. McCleave et al. (1987) suggested that hatching peaks in February and may continue until April. Wang and Tzeng (2000) proposed, on the basis of otolith back-calculations, that hatching occurs from March to October and peaks in August. However, Cieri and McCleave (2000) argued that these back-calculated spawning dates do not match collection evidence and may be explained by resorption. Fecundity for many eels is between about 0.5 to 4.0 million eggs, with larger individuals releasing as many as 8.5 million eggs. The diameter of egg is about 1.1 mm. Fertilization is external, and adult eels are presumed to die after spawning. None has been reported to migrate up rivers.
2. Leptocephali:
The leptocephalus is the larval form, a stage strikingly different from the adult form the eels will grow into. Leptocephali are transparent with a small pointed head and large teeth and are frequently described "leaf-like". The laterally compressed larvae are passively transported west and north to the coastal waters on the eastern coast of North America, by the surface currents of the Gulf Stream system, a journey that will last between 7 and 12 months. Vertical distribution is usually restricted to the upper 350 m of the ocean. Growth has been evaluated at about 0.21 to 0.38 mm per day.
3. Glass eel:
As they enter the continental shelf, leptocephali metamorphose into glass eels (juveniles), which are transparent and possess the typical elongate and serpentine eel shape. The term glass eel refers to all developmental stages between the end of metamorphosis and full pigmentation. Metamorphosis occurs when leptocephali are about 55 to 65 mm long. Mean age at this metamorphosis has been evaluated at 200 days and estuarine arrival at 255 days; giving 55 days between glass eel metamorphosis and estuarine arrival. Young eels use selective tidal stream transport to move up estuaries. As they enter coastal waters, the animals essentially transform from a pelagic oceanic organism to a benthic continental organism.
4. Elvers:
Glass eels become progressively pigmented as they approach the shore; these eels are termed elvers. The melanic pigmentation process occurs when the young eels are in coastal waters. At this phase of the life cycle, the eel is still sexually undifferentiated. The elver stage lasts about three to twelve months. Elvers that enter fresh water may spend much of this period migrating upstream. Elver influx is linked to increased temperature and reduced flow early in the migration season, and to tidal cycle influence later on.
5. Yellow eels:
This is the sexually immature adult stage of American eel. They begin to develop a yellow color and a creamy or yellowish belly. In this phase, the eels are still mainly nocturnal. Those remained in estuarine environment continue to go through their life cycle more quickly than those traveled into freshwater. Those in freshwater, however, tend to live longer and attain much larger sizes. Sexual differentiation occurs during the yellow stage and appears to be strongly influenced by environmental conditions. Krueger and Oliveira (1999) suggested that density was the primary environmental factor influencing the sex ratio of eels in a river, with high densities promoting the production of males. From life history traits of four rivers of Maine, Oliveira and McCleave (2000) evaluated that sexual differentiation was completed by 270 mm total length.
6. Silver eels:
As the maturation process proceeds, the yellow eel metamorphoses into a silver eel. The silvering metamorphosis results in morphological and physiological modifications that prepare the animal to migrate back to the Sargasso Sea. The eel acquires a greyish colour with a whitish or cream coloration ventrally. The digestive tract degenerates, the pectoral fins enlarge to improve swimming capacity, eye diameter expands and visual pigments in the retina adapt to the oceanic environment, the integument thickens, percentage of somatic lipids increases to supply energy for migrating and spawning, gonadosomatic index and oocyte diameter increase, gonadotropin hormone (GTH-II) production increases, and osmoregulatory physiology changes.
Feeding.
Eels are nocturnal and most of their feeding therefore occurs at night. Having a keen sense of smell, eels most likely depend on scent to find food. The American eel is a generalist species which colonizes a wide range of habitats. Their diet is therefore extremely diverse and includes most of the aquatic animals sharing the same environment.
Leptocephalus.
Little is known about the food habits of leptocephali. Recent studies on other eel species (Otake et al. 1993; Mochioka and Iwamizu 1996) suggest that leptocephali do not feed on zooplankton but rather consume detrital particles such as marine snow and fecal pellets or particles such as discarded houses of larvacean tunicates.
Glass eel and elver.
Based on laboratory experiments on European glass eels, Lecomte-Finiger (1983) reported that they were morphologically and physiologically unable to feed. However, Tesch (1977) found that elvers at a later stage of pigmentation, stage VIA4, were feeding. Stomach examination of elvers caught during their upstream migration in the Petite Trinité River on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence revealed that elvers fed primarily on insect larvae.
Yellow eel.
The yellow eel is essentially a nocturnal benthic omnivore. Prey includes fishes, molluscs, bivalves, crustaceans, insect larvae, surface-dwelling insects, worms, frogs and plants. The eel prefers small prey animals which can easily be attacked. Food type varies with body size. Stomachs of eels less than 40 cm and captured in streams contained mainly aquatic insect larvae, whereas larger eels fed predominantly on fishes and crayfishes. Insect abundance decreased in larger eels. The eel diet adapts to seasonal changes and the immediate environment. Feeding activity decreases or stops during the winter, and food intake ceases as eels physiologically prepare for the spawning migration.
Predation.
Little information about predation on eels has been published. It was reported that elvers and small yellow eels are prey of largemouth bass and striped bass, although they were not a major parts of these predators' diet. Leptocephali, glass eels, elvers, and small yellow eels are likely to be eaten by various predatory fishes. Older eels are also known to eat incoming glass eels. They also fall prey to other species of eels, bald eagles, gulls, as well as other fish-eating birds.
Commercial fisheries.
The major outlet for US landings of yellow and silver eels is the EU market.
In the 1970s, the annual North Atlantic harvest averaged 125,418 kg, with an average value of $84,000. In 1977, the eel landings from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts were about 79,700, 2,700, and 143,300 kg, valued at $263,000, $5,000, and $170,000, respectively (US Department of Commerce 1984)
During the 1980s and early 1990s, the American eel was one of the top three species in commercial value to Ontario's fishing industry. At its peak, the eel harvest was valued at $600,000 and, in some years, eel accounted for almost half of the value of the entire commercial fish harvest from Lake Ontario. The commercial catch of American eel has declined from approximately 223,000 kilograms (kg) in the early 1980s to 11,000 kg in 2002.
Conservation.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the American eel is at very high risk of extinction in the wild.
Substantial decline in numbers and fishery landings of American eels over their range in eastern Canada and the US was noted, raising concerns over the status of this species. The number of juvenile eels in the Lake Ontario area decreased from 935,000 in 1985 to about 8,000 in 1993 and was approaching zero levels in 2001. Rapid declines were also recorded in Virginia, as well as in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in Canada.
Because of its complex life cycle, the species face a broad range of threats, some of which are specific to certain growth stage. Being catadromous, the eels' reproductivity success depends heavily on free downstream passage for spawning migration. It also depends on the availability of diverse habitats for growth and maturation.
Sex ratio in the population can also be affected because males and females tend to utilize different habitats. Impacts on certain regions may greatly impact the number of either sex.
Despite being able to live in a wide range of temperatures and different levels of salinity, American eels are very sensitive to low dissolved oxygen level, which is typically found below dams. Contaminations of heavy metals, dioxins, chlordane, and polychlorinated biphenyls as well as pollutants from nonpoint source can bioaccumulate within the fat tissues of the eels, causing dangerous toxicity and reduced productivity. This problem is exacerbated due to the high fat content of eels.
Construction of dams and other irrigation facilities seriously decreases habitat availability and diversity for the eels. Dredging can affect migration, population distribution and prey availability. Overfishing or excessive harvesting of juveniles can also negatively impact local populations.
Other natural threats come from interspecific competition with exotic species like the flathead catfish ("Pylodictis olivaris") and blue catfish ("Ictalurus furcatus)", pathogens and parasites, and changes in oceanographic conditions that can alter currents—this potentially changes larval transport and migration of juveniles back to freshwater streams.
Conservation measures.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reviewed the status of the American eel both in 2007 and in 2015, finding both times that Endangered Species Act protection for the American eel is not warranted.
The Canadian province of Ontario has cancelled the commercial fishing quota since 2004. Eel sport fishery has been closed. Efforts have been made to improve the passage in which eels migrate across the hydroelectric dams on St. Lawrence River.
Sustainable consumption.
In 2010, Greenpeace International has added the American eel to its seafood red list. "The Greenpeace International seafood red list is a list of fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries."


Acrocercops malvacea

Acrocercops malvacea is a moth of the family Gracillariidae, known from Morocco. It was described by Walsingham, Lord Thomas de Grey, in 1907. The hostplant for the species is "Lavatera olbia" and "Malva" species.


Conus solidus

Conus solidus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones.
These snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans.
Description.
The size of the shell varies between 36 mm and 67 mm.
Distribution.
This marine species occurs in the Caribbean Sea off Venezuela, Trinidad and Barbados


Zodarion vankeerorum

Zodarion vankeerorum is a spider species found in Greece.


Loveridgelaps

Loveridgelaps is a genus of snake in the family Elapidae. It contains a single species, Loveridgelaps elapoides, commonly known as the Solomons small-eyed snake.
It is found in the Solomon Islands.


Oreolalax chuanbeiensis

Oreolalax chuanbeiensis (Sichuan lazy toad or Chuanbei toothed toad) is a species of amphibian in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to northern Sichuan, China where it is found in Pingwu County and Mao County.
Its natural habitats are temperate forests and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Male "Oreolalax chuanbeiensis" grow to about in snout-vent length and females to about . Tadpoles are in length.


Anomalepis aspinosus

Anomalepis aspinosus is a species of snake in the Anomalepididae family. It is endemic to Peru.


Chinese water snake

The Chinese water snake, Chinese smooth water snake, Chinese mud snake or Chinese rice paddy snake ("Enhydris chinensis" or "Myrrophis chinensis") is a species of mildly venomous, rear-fanged snake, endemic to Asia.
Geographic range.
"Enhydris chinensis" is found in China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Habitat.
As the common name suggests, the Chinese water snake is a highly aquatic species, adapting well to human-altered environments such as fish pools and rice paddies.
Conservation status.
"Enhydris chinensis" is considered common, although it has declined in Taiwan and is protected there.
Description.
"Enhydris chinensis" is a relatively small snake reaching total length (including tail) of up to .
Diet.
The Chinese water snake typically feeds on fish and amphibians.
Commercial use.
"Enhydris chinensis" are harvested for food and skins, but this is not considered to be threatening its populations.
Medicinal use.
"Enhydris chinensis" is used in folk medicine. It is commonly used in the production of Chinese snake oil. It is known for treating ailments such as fever, joint pain, and headache.


Calotes pethiyagodai

The Pethiyagoda's crestless lizard ("Calotes pethiyagodai") is an agamid lizard endemic to Sri Lanka. Locally known as පෙතියාගොඩගේ නොසිලු කටුස්සා (Pethiyagodage nosilu katussa).
Description.
Researchers named the new lizard "Pethiyagoda's crestless lizard" to honor Rohan Pethiyagoda for his contributions to the biodiversity of Sri Lanka. This species has earlier been misidentified as "Calotes liocephalus" but researchers found that the males of "C. pethiyagodai" lack a gular pouch unlike the males of "C. liocephalus"; scalation is also different.
Distribution.
The lizard is restricted to the Knuckles Mountain Range, at elevations of asl. It inhabits forest edges and is found in trees and shrubs.
Diet.
Diet consists of insects like dragonflies and moths.


California mussel

The California mussel ("Mytilus californianus") is a large edible mussel, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mytilidae.
This species is native to the west coast of North America, occurring from northern Mexico to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. California mussels are found clustered together, often in very large aggregations, on rocks in the upper intertidal zone on the open coast, where they are exposed to the strong action of the surf.
Shell description.
The shell of this species is thick and is often in length, sometimes larger still. The shell is blue on the outside with a heavy brown periostracum which is usually worn off except near the growing edge of the shell. The beaks of the shell are often eroded. The shell has coarse radial ribbing and irregular growth lines on the outer surface. The inner surface of the shell is blue and faintly pearly.
Like other mytilids, the animal is attached to the substrate with a very strong and elastic byssus.
The shell is primarily made of carbonates. In the 1950s that was mostly aragonite with some calcite, but by 2017/2018 the proportions had reversed. This was surprising given that previously "some" increase in aragonite was observed in "warmer" waters, and the ocean temperature has risen since then, making researchers expect an increase in aragonite. However it was the opposite - showing that the deciding factor in "M. californianus" shell carbonate composition is ocean acidification - because calcite withstands acidity better.
Ecology.
The California mussel prefers the high salinity, low sediment conditions found on open rocky coasts. However, they do not colonize bare rock easily, instead preferring the shelter of pre-existing mussels and their biological filaments. Mussels attach themselves to the hard surfaces using their thread-like byssus.
Given the right circumstances, California mussels can grow up to 200 mm (8 inches) in length and may live for more than 20 years. However, mortality in intertidal open coastal environments is often high, resulting from battering from driftwood and other debris, wave pounding, predation, desiccation, and disease. Predators of California mussels include the "Pisaster" starfish. They feed on plankton.
Human use.
California mussels were an important food source for the Native Americans who lived on the Pacific Coast prior to European contact. On California's Northern Channel Islands, archaeological evidence shows that they were harvested continuously for almost 12,000 years. Erlandson et al. (2008) documented a decline in the average size of harvested California mussels on San Miguel Island during the past 10,000 years, a pattern they attributed to growing human populations and increased predation pressure from human fishing. Hogan (2008) notes more specific archaeological recovery from the Chumash in the period 800 to 1300 AD.
California mussels continue to be harvested as sources of both food and bait up and down the Pacific Coast of North America. The flesh of the California mussel tends to be orange in color. They can be baked, boiled, or fried like other mussels, clams, and oysters.
While these mussels are usually edible, care needs to be taken, because during times of red tide in any given locality, California mussels may contain harmful levels of the toxins which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning.
In science.
The keystone species concept was coined, in 1969, by the zoologist Robert T. Paine, professor emeritus of the University of Washington, to explain the relationship between "Pisaster ochraceus", a species of starfish, and "Mytilus californianus".


Nebria hybrida

Nebria hybrida is a species of ground beetle in the Nebriinae subfamily that is endemic to Bulgaria.


Gnaphosa badia

Gnaphosa badia is a ground spider species found from Europe to Azerbaijan.


Amphisbaena metallurga

Amphisbaena metallurga is a species of worm lizard found in Brazil.


Long-tailed minivet

The long-tailed minivet ("Pericrocotus ethologus") is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is found in southern and south-eastern Asia where it occurs in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.


Oedipina gephyra

Oedipina gephyra, commonly known as the La Fortuna worm salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae.
It is endemic to Honduras.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
It is threatened by habitat loss.


Cytaea rai

Cytaea rai is a species of jumping spider.
Name.
Rai are the large stone discs used as money in Yap.
Distribution.
"Cytaea rai" is only known from Yap in the Caroline Islands.


Goniurosaurus bawanglingensis

Goniurosaurus bawanglingensis is a species of geckos endemic to the Hainan Bawangling National Nature Reserve in the southwest part of Hainan Island, China.


Green shrike-babbler

The green shrike-babbler ("Pteruthius xanthochlorus") is a bird species that was earlier placed in the family Timaliidae. The species is now considered to be an Asian offshoot of the American vireos and belongs in the family Vireonidae.
Description.
This species is about 13 centimeters in length. The male bird has a grey head, with olive-green on its back. Its throat and breast are a pale ashy grey color, with a yellow belly. The crown is blackish. The female bird is slightly duller than the male and has a greyish crown.
Distribution and habitat.
It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. This species is usually found in deciduous and coniferous forests, at altitudes of 2100–3000 meters above sea level, during most seasons. However, they may descend to lower altitudes in winter. In India, the species is found in Darjeeling, Sikkim, Uttrakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
Diet.
The diet consists of insects such as ants and beetles as well as berries and seeds.
Breeding.
The breeding season is mainly May and June. The nests are usually found about three to eight meters above the ground.


Marsh babbler

The marsh babbler ("Pellorneum palustre") is a member of the family Pellorneidae.
The marsh babbler is endemic to the Brahmaputra floodplain, its associated tributaries and adjacent hill ranges in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya in India and eastern Bangladesh.


Diatraea argentina

Diatraea argentina is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Harold Edmund Box in 1931. It is found in Argentina.