by Rich Leighton | May 28, 2021 | Crustaceans, Interesting Nature Facts, Marine Invertebrates, Natural History, Nature & Wildlife, Pacific Northwest
Did you know that barnacles are a type of stationary crustacean? Barnacles are in the same family as shrimp, crabs and lobsters and like most crustaceans, they are omnivorous predators that eat whatever they can catch with their modified “feeler” feet (called cirri)...
by Rich Leighton | May 23, 2021 | Herps, Interesting Nature Facts, Natural History, Nature & Wildlife, Reptiles, Snakes
Most people know garter snakes as common and mostly harmless, but they are in fact mildly venomous. These beautiful snakes are what is known as rear-fanged, meaning they have enlarged back teeth connected to what is called the Duvernoy’s gland that they use to help...
by Rich Leighton | May 13, 2021 | Amphibians, Herps, Interesting Nature Facts, Natural History, Nature & Wildlife, Nature Photography
The word salamander comes from the Greek word for fire lizard. While not a lizard or a reptile, salamanders are amphibians and related to frogs, are nocturnal and have been around since at least 40 million years before the first dinosaur! While these amazing animals...
by Rich Leighton | Dec 23, 2020 | Interesting Nature Facts, Mammals, Natural History, Nature & Wildlife
The second fastest animal in the world (the cheetah is first), the pronghorn is the only surviving modern member of the Antilocapridae family in North America. Evolved to outrun the extinct American cheetah, it still retains its once most valuable resource –...
by Rich Leighton | Dec 18, 2020 | Birds, Interesting Nature Facts, Natural History, Nature & Wildlife
One of the very smallest of all of North America’s songbirds, the desert-loving, black-tailed gnatcatcher weighs about the same as a nickel. MORE PHOTOS OF BIRDS MORE INTERESTING NATURE FACTS Interesting Nature Facts is a series about the flora, fauna and places...
by Rich Leighton | Dec 13, 2020 | Herps, Interesting Nature Facts, Natural History, Nature & Wildlife, New Mexico, Reptiles
Collared lizards are capable of bipedal locomotion. This means they can run on their rear two legs at speeds up to 15 miles per hour! If you see a collared lizard with red splotches on its body, you can tell it is a gravid female (carrying eggs) and these red markings...
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