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1.Common Name: Coyote
Scientific Name: Canis Latrans Location:Coyotes live in North America and roam the plains, forests, mountains and deserts of Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central America. Niche:The coyote is a ferocious predator that preys on many animals leading to a reduction of animal populations of small carnivore creatures such as white-tailed deer and red fox. Life Cycle: The average litter size is usually around six. The pups are born blind with floppy ears. They open up their eyes in about ten days. Male and female coyotes pair off and mate together for several years. Gestation:60 – 63 days 2.Common Name: Cottontail Scientific name: Sylvilagus Floridanus Location: The eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is one of the most common rabbit species in North America. Niche: They are primary consumers, animals that are at the bottom of the food chain and eat only plants. Their high rate of reproduction means they can support many predators in their local environment. Their grazing and digging habits control the growth of local plants; different species may be more or less specialized for their particular niche. Life Cycle: The average lifespan of an eastern cottontail in the wild is usually less than three years. In captivity, though, a cottontail rabbit can live up to eight years. Gestation: The rabbit's gestation period is only 28 or 29 days, and a female is usually bred again within a few hours of giving birth. 3.Common Name: Fox Squirrel Scientific name: Sciurus nicer Location: North America Niche: The fox squirrel generally is restricted to areas of human habitation in California, but may be sympatric in some areas with the western gray squirrel. Predation is not a major source of mortality for most eastern populations, although Fritts and Sealander (1978b) reported that bobcat diets were 24% fox and gray squirrel (Flyger and Gates 1982). Severe winter weather, drought, food shortage, and combinations of these factors with mange, are major causes of mortality in eastern populations. Life Cycle: In captivity, eastern fox squirrels have been known to live 18 years, but in the wild most fox squirrels die before they become adults. Their maximum life expectancy is typically 12.6 years for females and 8.6 years for males. Gestation: The female eastern fox squirrel usually gives birth to 2 or 3 young after a gestation period of 44 to 45 days 4.Common Name: Armadillo Scientific Name: Dasypus novemcinctus Location: Of the 20 varieties of armadillo, all but one live in Latin America. The familiar nine-banded armadillo is the only species that includes the United States in its range. Niche: Armadillos use their claws to burrow underground where they live. Their tunnels are made only the width of their body and go one way. Life Cycle: The nine-banded armadillo breeds in the summer. The embryo isn't implanted until 14 weeks after mating. Females almost always give birth to four identical young, all of the same sex, about four months after the embryo is implanted. The young are born with their eyes open and are walking within a few hours. Gestation:122 days 5.Common name: Raccoon Scientific Name: Procyon Lotor Location: native to the North American continent, but can also travel as far south as the northern countries of South America. In recent years, raccoons have also been imported to parts of Europe and Japan. Niche: Eat: Fish, clams, crayfish, berries, fruits, plants, nuts, insects, squirrels, mice, gophers, frogs, eggs, rodents, rats, (small mammals) etc… -The diet of the omnivorous raccoon, which is usually nocturnal, consists of about 40% invertebrates, 33% plant foods, and 27% vertebrates. -In urban environments where resources are limited, raccoons are known for sifting through garbage. A- majority of the raccoon's diet consists of invertebrates and plant life. Eaten By: Wolves, coyotes, domestic dogs, bobcats, foxes, pumas etc… Environment: Raccoons help the environment by spreading plant seeds. Seeds from plants get stuck in the fur of the raccoon, and eventually get brushed off. These seeds are then pushed back into the earth, and are able to grow in a new area, therefore expanding the range of existence of that type of plant. Trophic Level: Omnivore Life Cycle: 2-3 years Gestation: 63 – 65 days 6.Common Name: Blue Jay Scientific Name: Cyanocitta cristata Location: native to North America. It is resident through most of eastern and central United States and southern Canada, although western populations may be migratory. Niche:The Blue Jay helps spread the vegetation around by storing seeds in different places and then forgetting where it is, and as a result the seeds grow and help the circle of life continue. Life Cycle: about 7 years Gestation: 17-18 days 7.Common Name: Mockingbird Scientific name:Mimus Polyglottos Location:The northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe. Niche:Northern Mockingbirds are ground foragers and are commonly seen running across mowed lawns, with their wings lifted to flash their white wing-patches. Life Cycle: The northern mockingbird's lifespan is observed to be up to 8 years, but captive birds can live up to 20 years. Gestation: The northern mockingbird pairs hatch about 2 to 4 broods a year. In one breeding season 8.Common Name: Peregrine Falcon Scientific Name: Falco Peregrinus Location: Peregrine falcons are among the world's most common birds of prey and live on all continents except Antarctica. Niche: Its niche is to hunt small birds to keep down the population and to keep the bug population down, because small birds eat bugs and such. Life Cycle: 16-20 years Gestation: 32 days. 9.Common Name:Black-Chinned Hummingbird Scientific Name: Archilochus Alexandri Location: North America and Mexico Niche: it gets pollen from flowers and spread it around to the other flowers. Life Cycle: about 5 years Gestation: 14 to 19 days 10.Common Name: Burrowing Owl Scientific Name: Athene Cunicularia Location:Burrowing owls are distributed from the Mississippi to the Pacific and from the Canadian prairie provinces into South America. They are also found in Florida and the Caribbean islands. Niche:nocturnal birds of prey that eat small rodents, insects and birds. Life Cycle: at leasts 20 years Gestation:31-32 days 11.Common Name: Downy WoodPecker Scientific Name: Picoides pubescens Location: North America to Central America. Niche:They live in a warm tree hole all year and eat the bugs that live inside it. Life Cycle: 4-11 years. Gestation: 18-35 days 12.Common Name: Ferruginous Hawk Scientific Name: Buteo Regalis Location: Found in prairies, deserts, and open range of the West, the regal Ferruginous Hawk hunts from a lone tree, rock outcrop, or from high in the sky Niche: Ferruginous Hawks eat a diet of small mammals, sometimes standing above prairie dog or ground squirrel burrows to wait for prey to emerge. Life Cycle: 15 to 20 years in the wild. Gestation:32–33 days 13.Common Name: Northern Cardinal Scientific Name: Cardinalis Cardinalis Location: Look for Northern Cardinals in inhabited areas such as backyards, parks, woodlots, and shrubby forest edges. Northern Cardinals nest in dense tangles of shrubs and vines. Niche: Cardinals are non-migratory birds. Most cardinals live within a mile of where they were born. Cardinals are song birds and the male uses its call to attract a mate. Life Cycle:13 to 15 years Gestation:11–13 days 14.Common Name: Rock Pigeon Scientific Name: Columbia Livia Location: Urban areas, farmland, and rocky cliffs. May gather in large flocks in urban parks where people feed them. Niche: Rock Pigeons crowd streets and public squares, living on discarded food and offerings of birdseed Life Cycle: 6 years in the wild Gestation:18 days 15.Common Name: Inca Dove Scientific Name: Columbina Inca Location: Look for Northern Cardinals in dense shrubby areas such as forest edges, overgrown fields, hedgerows, backyards, marshy thickets, mesquite, regrowing forest, and ornamental landscaping. Niche: These little doves are often seen walking about on lawns with dainty steps, or fluttering up with a rattle of wings. Life Cycle: 10 years in the wild Gestation:15-16 days 16.Common Name:Channel Catfish Scientific Name:Ictalurus Punctatus Location: The channel catfish is the smallest of the catfish species but are the most sought after throughout the US. Niche: Eat plants in the water and their 'waste' can be used to fertilize the plants Life Cycle: about 4-5 years Gestation: 2 to 7 days 17.Common Name: Fathead Minnow Scientific Name:Pimephales Promelas Location: The original range includes much of North America from Quebec to the Northwest Territories, Canada and south to Alabama, Texas and New Mexico, ranging into Mexico. Widely introduced throughout much of the United States and in many other countries including Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, China, Germany, and France. Niche: They provide food for other animals and humans and when they die their bodies float down to the bottom of the ocean and act like fertilizer Life Cycle: 4 years Gestation: 3-7 days 18.Common Name: Green Sunfish Scientific Name: Lepomis Cyanellus Location: Originally the distribution of green sunfish appears to have been limited to the central plains west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Rocky Mountains, including northeastern Mexico. However, due to introductions the species has become nearly ubiquitous in the United States with the exception of Florida and parts of the northwest. Green sunfish are found throughout Texas. Niche: Both a predator and prey, therefore it is a means of transferring energy through the food chain. Life Cycle: 3 years Gestation: 2-8 days 19.Common Name: Largemouth Bass Scientific Name: Micropterus Salmoides Location: The largemouth bass is native only to North America, and its original range was generally the eastern half of the United States and southern Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Niche:The bulk of the largemouth bass diet consists of other fish such as bluegill, shad, shiners and other minnow species, small catfish, and other sunfish, as well as large invertebrates, crayfish and frogs. In addition to their core diet, they are aggressive and opportunistic predators that may eat whatever creature they can ambush, including ducks, snakes and small turtles. Life Cycle: about 15-16 years Gestation: 1-6 days 20.Common Name: Smooth Green Snake Scientific Name: Liochlorophis vernalis Location:The range spreads through northeastern Canada, west to Saskatchewan, and south through Illinois and Virginia. It can also be found in other areas, such as Wyoming, New Mexico, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, Texas, and northern Mexico. Niche: These small snakes are preyed upon by birds of prey, small mammals and other snakes. Life Cycle: about 7 years Gestation:3 to 9 months 21.Common Name: Texas Ratsnake Scientific Name: Pantherophis Obsoletus Location: United States, primarily within the state of Texas, but its range extends into Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Niche: It can eat mouse, rabbits, frogs, fish, humans. Snakes that are not poisonous can be pets. Life Cycle: about 10 years Gestation: 3 to 9 months 22.Common Name: Texas Cooter Scientific Name: Pseudemys texana Location: Texas Niche: Controls small animal population and fish population Life Cycle: more than 20 years Gestation: typically lasts 60 days. 23.Common Name:Yellow Mud Turtle Scientific Name: Kinosternon Flavescens Location:found in disjunct populations from the southern United States in the north to Mexico in the south . In the United States, it is found in Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and New Mexico Niche: Feces from Kinosternon flavescens helps with soil fertilization. Yellow mud turtles help regulate population size of small fishes and amphibians by feeding on the eggs of many species. Yellow mud turtles are parasitized by leeches, Macrobdella decora, which attach themselves to the skin of their legs and tails. Life Cycle: 10-15 years Gestation:2-3 months |