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 ...
of
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 ...
s.
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''
See also
* Flora of Connecticut
The flora of Connecticut comprise a variety of plant species. Geobotanically, Connecticut belongs to the North American Atlantic Region.
* The state tree is the white oak; or more specifically, the Charter Oak.
* The state flower is the mount ...
* List of birds of Connecticut
* List of mammals of Connecticut
* List of mammals of New England
References
{{reflist
Further reading
Aspects of Connecticut's Physical Geography
Connecticut Audubon Society
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070316031606/http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/fish.html Fishes of the Connecticut River
The Flora and Fauna of Branford