The Spotted Salamander, also called Yellow-spotted Salamander, lives in the forests of eastern North America. Their yellow or orange spots warn predators of their toxicity and help them blend in with the forest floor.
Moreover, they are active at night, eating insects and other invertebrates, which helps keep pest populations in check. They mostly live underground and will come out to eat or breed.
Username: Nachima Published on 2024-12-13 18:41:02 ID NUMBER: 126970
The Montseny Brook Newt is native to the Montseny Massif in Northeast Spain. They primarily inhabit cold, fast-moving rivers with low nutrient levels, indicating they are strictly aquatic in nature. It was distinctively recognized as its own species, separate from the Pyrenean brook salamander, in 2005.
Displaying a chocolate-colored back, this species has a flattened head, and its body is oval-shaped with minimal dorsoventral compression. If they feel threatened, these newts secret a white, sticky, highly odorous substance, likely intended to deter predators.
Regrettably, the Montseny Brook newt is critically endangered, with fewer than 1,500 in the wild. Their survival is primarily challenged by the desiccation of their mountain stream habitats.
As the largest among the Siren family, the Greater Siren, found in North America's southeastern coastal plains, can measure up to 38 inches. It demonstrates paedomorphism, retaining external gills their entire life and lacking hindlimbs, pelvic girdle, and eyelids while sporting an unfused pectoral girdle.
Greater sirens are nocturnal hunters, preferring invertebrates such as insects, crustaceans, molluscs, and small fish, thus taking a midlevel predator role in the aquatic food web. .
Scientific name: Smerinthus jamaicensis.
Twin-spotted sphinx moths belong to the family Sphingidae along with others like the rosy maple moth and white-lined sphinx moth. This sphinx moth has a large wingspan of 2 to 3 inches.
This sphinx moth has stunning blue eyespots on its hind wing. The colors on its wings are beige-brown, white and pinkish-red, and yellow markings. The larger wedge-shaped forewings are yellowish-brown with shades of dark brown and white markings. You’ll find this sphinx moth spread across North America.
One of a threatened species, a northern spotted owl perches on a branch. Spotted owls are dark brown with spots of white. To an untrained eye, barred and spotted owls may look similar, but they are unique in their color patterns — and competitors for food and habitat. (Courtesy Paul Bannick)
