The

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

comprise a variety of

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. * The state bird is the

American robin The American robin (''Turdus migratorius'') is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closel ...

. * The

state insect State insects are designated by 48 individual states of the fifty United States. Some states have more than one designated insect, or have multiple categories (e.g., state insect and state butterfly, etc.). Iowa and Michigan are the two states with ...

is the

European mantis The European mantis (''Mantis religiosa'') is a large hemimetabolic insect in the family of the Mantidae ('mantids'), which is the largest family of the order Mantodea (mantises). Their common name praying mantis is derived from the distinctive ...

. * The

state animal This is a list of animals that represent List of first-level administrative country subdivisions, first-level administrative country subdivisions. List by country Australia Brazil * See also List of Brazilian state birds Canada People's ...

is the

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...

. * The

state shellfish This is a list of official state shells for those states of the United States that have chosen to select one as part of their state insignia.List of all state shells http://www.jaxshells.org/listing.htm In 1965, North Carolina was the first stat ...

is the

eastern oyster The eastern oyster (''Crassostrea virginica'')—also called the Atlantic oyster, American oyster, or East Coast oyster—is a species of true oyster native to eastern North and South America. Other names in local or culinary use include the Wel ...

. * The

state fish This is a list of official and unofficial U.S. state fishes: __TOC__ Table See also * Lists of U.S. state insignia * Lists of U.S. state animals Notes References Netstate.com state fish tables External links {{state insignia .State ...

is the

American shad The American shad (''Alosa sapidissima'') is a species of anadromous clupeid fish naturally distributed on the North American coast of the North Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Florida, and as an introduced species on the North Pacific coast. The ...

. * The

state fossil Most American states have made a state fossil designation, in many cases during the 1980s. It is common to designate one species in which fossilization has occurred, rather than a single specimen, or a category of fossils not limited to a single ...

is the ''Eubrontes giganteus''.

Biodiversity

There are, as of 2004, 256 Connecticut species listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern. These are 11 species of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s, 50 species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s, 11 species of

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s, 7 species of

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s, 7 species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

, and 170 species of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

Ancient life

Notable sites preserving the prehistoric history of Connecticut include the Peabody Museum of Natural History and Dinosaur State Park. Extinct species that once roamed Connecticut include '' Coelophysis'',
Age of Dinosaurs Field Trip
'' Dilophosaurus'', and ''

Eubrontes ''Eubrontes'' is the name of fossilised dinosaur footprints dating from the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. They have been identified from France, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Australia (Queensland), USA, India and C ...

''.

List of native species

Sources appear below.University of New Haven Student Projects - "Potential Impacts of the Proposed Galleria at Long Wharf on the Biological, Chemical, and Socioeconomic Aspects of the Local New Haven Environment" - Slide 7: Species List
by Sara Ignudo and Farah Refai, Fall 2000

Annelids

* '' Ampharete arctica'' * ''

Capitella capitata Capitella capitata is a polychaete worm that grows up to 10 cm in length. It is often blood-red in colour. The species is sedentary and fragile, with a flexible body. ''Capitella capitata'' occurs on muddy sand, gritty sand, fine sand or r ...

'' *

Capitellidae Capitellidae is a polychaete worm family in the subclass Scolecida. Genera * ''Abyssocapitella'' * ''Amastigos'' * ''Anotomastus'' * ''Baldia (worm), Baldia'' * ''Barantolla'' * ''Branchiocapitella'' * ''Capitella'' * ''Capitellethus'' * ''Cap ...

* '' Eteone lactea'' * '' Glycera dibranchiata'' * '' Alitta (Nereis) succinea'' *

Opheliidae Opheliidae is a family of small, annelid worms. Some of the genera, like Armandia, Ophelina and Polyophthalmus, have lost their circular muscles. The family consist of the following genera: *'' Ammotrypanella'' *'' Antiobactrum'' *'' Armandia'' * ...

sp. * '' Phyllodoce'' sp. * ''

Polydora Polydora (; grc, Πολυδώρᾱ in Attic and in Ionic, means 'many-gifts' or 'the shapely') was the name of several characters in Greek mythology: *Polydora, the 'handsome' Oceanid, one of the 3,000 water-nymph daughters of the Titans Oce ...

'' sp. * '' Scoloplos robustus'' * '' Spio setosa'' * ''

Spionidae Spionidae is a family of marine worms within the Polychaeta. Spionids are selective deposit feeders that use their two grooved palps Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a grou ...

'' * '' Streblospio benedicti'' * ''

Syllidae Syllidae is a family of small to medium-sized polychaete worms. Syllids are distinguished from other polychaetes by the presence of a muscular region of the anterior digestive tract known as the ''proventricle''. Syllid worms range in size from ...

'' sp.

Arthropods

* ''

Chiridotea ''Chiridotea'' is a genus of isopod crustaceans in the family Chaetiliidae The Chaetiliidae are a family of isopod crustaceans in the suborder Valvifera The Valvifera are marine isopod crustaceans. Valviferans are distinguished, however, ...

'' spp. * '' Gammarus'' sp. * '' Neomysis americana'' * '' Sphaeroma quadridentata''

Mollusks

* '' Acteocina canaliculata'' * '' Gemma gemma'' * ''

Nassarius obsoletus The eastern mudsnail, ''Ilyanassa obsoleta'', is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the nassa mud snails.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Ilyanassa obsoleta (Say, 1822). Accessed through: World R ...

'' * ''

Mulinia lateralis ''Mulinia lateralis'', the dwarf surf clam or coot clam, is a species of small saltwater clam, a bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae. It occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Description ''Mulinia lateralis'' has a some ...

'' * '' Mya arenaria'' * '' Nucula'' sp. * '' Periploma papyratium'' * '' Retusa canaliculata'' * '' Tellina agillis''

References

{{reflist

Biodiversity

Ancient life

List of native species

Annelids

Arthropods

Mollusks

See also

References

Further reading