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Yosemite Toad
The Yosemite toad (''Anaxyrus canorus'', formerly ''Bufo canorus'') is a species of true toad in the family Bufonidae. Endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, the species ranges from the Alpine County to Fresno County. Yosemite toads are only found in the montane to subalpine elevational zone of asl. The Yosemite toad is similar to the nearby Western toad, but in many ways adapted to a high elevation lifestyle. It was initially described during the Grinnell Survey of California, by an undergraduate student of Joseph Grinnell named Charles Camp. Description Adults Yosemite toads are medium-sized (48–84 mm SVL) stocky toads, with females averaging larger than males. They generally lack cranial crests, but males will rarely have weakly developed ones. Their eyes have a dark brown iris with gold iridophores. In comparison with the closely related Western toad (''A. boreas''), the parotoid glands are large, narrowly spaced, and irregularly shaped (oval or flattened) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Lewis Camp
Charles Lewis Camp (March 12, 1893 Jamestown, North Dakota – August 14, 1975 San Jose, California) was a palaeontologist and zoologist, working from the University of California, Berkeley. He took part in excavations at the 'Placerias Quarry', in 1930 and the forty ''Shonisaurus'' skeleton discoveries of the 1960s, in what is now the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park. Camp served as the third director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology from 1930 to 1949, and coincidentally as chair of the UC Berkeley Paleontology Department between 1939 and 1949. Camp named a number of species of marine reptiles such as ''Shonisaurus'' and ''Plotosaurus'', as well as the dinosaur '' Segisaurus''. Camp was also an important bibliographer and historian of Western America. This aspect of his career is represented most notably by two works. The first is his biography of American pioneer James Clyman, which Bernard De Voto called "one of the half-dozen classics in the field." The secon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudacris Sierra
The Sierran chorus frog or Sierran treefrog (''Pseudacris sierra'') is native to the state of California, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and Montana. It has a range from the West Coast of the United States from Central California inland through Idaho. They can live at sea level, but also up to more than 10,000 feet utilyzing trees, ponds, grasslands, farmlands, meadows, and lakes as habitats. These frogs, alike other, reproduce in aquatic settings. They occur in shades of greens or browns and can change colors over periods of hours and weeks. These colors help them easily blend into the background and hard for the eye to catch. Taxonomy The naming of this frog has a very confusing history. These frogs have long been known as Pacific chorus frogs ''Pseudacris regilla''. Then, in 2006, Recuero et al. split that taxonomic concept into three species. Recuero et al. attached the name ''Pseudacris regilla'' with the northern piece, renaming the central piece the Sierran tree frog (''Pseudacri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carpenter Ant
Carpenter ants (''Camponotus'' spp.) are large () ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world. They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandibles or jaws, preferably in dead, damp wood. However, unlike termites, they do not consume wood, discarding a material that resembles sawdust outside their nest. Sometimes, carpenter ants hollow out sections of trees. They also commonly infest wooden buildings and structures, and are a widespread problem and major cause of structural damage. Nevertheless, their ability to excavate wood helps in forest decomposition. The genus includes over 1,000 species. They also farm aphids. In their farming, the ants protect the aphids from predators (usually other insects) while they excrete a sugary fluid called honeydew, which the ants get by stroking the aphids with their antennae. Description ''Camponotus'' are generally large ants, with workers being 4-7 mm long in small species or 7-13 mm in large spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Symphyta) are commonly called caterpillars as well. Both lepidopteran and symphytan larvae have eruciform body shapes. Caterpillars of most species eat plant material ( often leaves), but not all; some (about 1%) eat insects, and some are even cannibalistic. Some feed on other animal products. For example, clothes moths feed on wool, and horn moths feed on the hooves and horns of dead ungulates. Caterpillars are typically voracious feeders and many of them are among the most serious of agricultural pests. In fact, many moth species are best known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce, whereas the moths are obscure and do no direct harm. Conversely, various species of caterpi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "little fly". Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, one pair of wings, one pair of halteres, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and elongated mouthparts. The mosquito life cycle consists of egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. Eggs are laid on the water surface; they hatch into motile larvae that feed on aquatic algae and organic material. These larvae are important food sources for many freshwater animals, such as dragonfly nymphs, many fish, and some birds such as ducks. The adult females of most species have tube-like mouthparts (called a proboscis) that can pierce the skin of a host and feed on blood, which contains protein and iron needed to produce eggs. Thousands of mosquito species feed on the blood of various hosts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crane Fly
Crane fly is a common name referring to any member of the insect family Tipulidae. Cylindrotominae, Limoniinae, and Pediciinae have been ranked as subfamilies of Tipulidae by most authors, though occasionally elevated to family rank. In the most recent classifications, only Pediciidae is now ranked as a separate family, due to considerations of paraphyly. In colloquial speech, crane flies are sometimes known as "mosquito hawks", "skeeter-eater", or "daddy longlegs", (a term also used to describe opiliones (harvestmen) and members of the spider family Pholcidae, both of which are arachnids). The larvae of crane flies are known commonly as leatherjackets. Crown group crane flies have existed since at least the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous and are found worldwide, though individual species usually have limited ranges. They are most diverse in the tropics but are also common in northern latitudes and high elevations. Tipulidae is one of the largest groups of flies, inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weevil
Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, with most of them in the family Curculionidae (the true weevils). It also includes Bark beetle, bark beetles, which while morphologically dissimilar to other weevils in lacking the distinctive snout, is a subfamily of Curculionidae. Some other beetles, although not closely related, bear the name "weevil", such as the Drugstore beetle, biscuit weevil (''Stegobium paniceum''), which belongs to the family Ptinidae. Many weevils are considered pests because of their ability to damage and kill crops. The grain or wheat weevil (''Sitophilus granarius'') damages stored cereal, grain, as does the maize weevil (''Sitophilus zeamais'') among others. The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') attacks cotton crops; it lays its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coccinellidae
Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they are not true bugs. Many of the species have conspicuous aposematic colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential predators that they are distasteful. The majority of the more than 6,000 described species are generally considered beneficial insects, because many prey on herbivorous hemipterans such as aphids or scale insects, which are agricultural pests. Many coccinellids lay their eggs directly in aphid and scale insect colonies, ensuring their larvae have an immediate food source. However, some species such as the herbivorous Mexican bean beetle are agricultural pests. Etymology The name ''coccinellids'', created by Pierre André Latreille, is derived from the Latin word ''coccineus'' meaning "scarlet". The na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darkling Beetle
Darkling beetle is the common name for members of the beetle family Tenebrionidae. The number of species in the Tenebrionidae is estimated at more than 20,000 and the family is cosmopolitan in distribution. Taxonomy ''Tenebrio'' is the Latin generic name that Carl Linnaeus assigned to some flour beetles in his ''10th edition of Systema Naturae'' 1758-59. The word means "seeker of dark places" (or figuratively a trickster); an English language analogy is "darkling". Numerous Tenebrionidae species do inhabit dark places, however, there are many species in genera such as ''Stenocara'' and ''Onymacris'', which are active by day and inactive at night. The family covers a varied range of forms, such that classification presents great difficulties. These eleven subfamilies were listed in the 2021 review by Bouchard, Bousquet, ''et al.'', updating a similar catalog from 2005.Bouchard, Patrice. Lawrence, John F. Davies, Anthony E. Newton, Alfred F. Synoptic Classification of the World Te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belding's Ground Squirrel
Belding's ground squirrel (''Urocitellus beldingi''), also called pot gut, sage rat or picket-pin, is a squirrel that lives on mountains in the western United States. In California, it often is found at in meadows between Lake Tahoe and Kings Canyon. This species is not of conservation concern, and its range includes some protected areas. Physical description The Belding's ground squirrel is medium-sized with "a relatively short tail, short limbs, and small ears".Stephen H Jerkins, Bruce Eshelman. 1984. Spermophilus beldingi. Mammalian Species. 221:1–8 It has a gray pelage become more cinnamon at the underside and reddish-brown on the back. Its body length is . The tail is and is bushy but also flattened. The distal hairs of the tail have three color bands, one black, one white and one red. On average, the ground squirrel weighs . Its feet are covered in little to no hair. Compared to other ground squirrel species, its cheek pouches are moderate in size. Ecology Range and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vole
Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of low-crowned with rounded cusps). They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America. Vole species form the subfamily Arvicolinae with the lemmings and the muskrats. There are approximately 155 different vole species. Description Voles are small rodents that grow to , depending on the species. Females can have five to ten litters per year, though with an average lifespan of three months and requiring one month to adulthood, two litters is the norm. Gestation lasts for three weeks and the young voles reach sexual maturity in a month. As a result of this biological exponential growth, vole populations can grow very large within a short time. A mating pair can produce a hundred more voles in a year. Voles outwardly resemble s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smooth-toothed Pocket Gopher
The smooth-toothed pocket gophers, genus ''Thomomys'', are so called because they are among the only pocket gophers without grooves on their incisors. They are also called the western pocket gophers because they are distributed in western North America. They are considered distinct enough from other pocket gophers to be recognized as a separate subfamily or tribe. Natural history ''Thomomys'' gophers are highly fossorial. They rely on their incisors for digging more than most other gophers. They feed on plants, largely from beneath the surface, but they do come above ground at night. Roots, Plant stem, stems, leaf, leaves, and bulbs are eaten. When not directly in an agricultural field they are a benefit to humans by enriching soil and preventing runoff. Species Over one hundred subspecies have been described, but not all are currently recognized by modern authorities. Like many fossorial rodents, ''Thomomys'' shows a great deal of allopatric variation. *''Thomomys''Searc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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