This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The Florida stone crab can by found in the western North Atlantic, from Connecticut to Colombia, including Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, Belize, Mexico, Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, and the East Coast of the United States. These crustaceans face the threats of overfishing, predation (from the common octopus), and even […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The purple skimmer hails from Florida, in the United States. They are a member of the skimmer family of dragonflies. These stealthy aerial hunters face the threats of habitat loss and destruction at the hands of residential and commercial developments, dams and other water management; land pollution, in the form […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The thorn bug is a widely distributed insect that is often considered a pest to many ornamental shrubs and trees. These insects utilize their thornlike pronotum to thwart various predators, such as birds, from eating them. They can be found in Florida and other southern states, Mexico, Central America, and […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The Nile monitor, aka African small-grain lizard, calls much of subsaharan Africa its home. There are also invasive populations in North America. The invasive breeding populations are found in Lee, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties, in Florida. Even though they face the threats of hunting, trapping, and pollution, these large […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The Florida softshell turtle is sometimes confused with the snake-necked turtles of Australia or the Argentine snake-necked turtle of South America. However, there are differences not only in the obvious locales but also in their physical appearance. These turtles face the threats of habitat division at the hands of roads […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The shoal bass is a freshwater fish from the sunfish family. They can be found in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, in the United States. These fish prefer lakes, rivers, and streams. These fish dwell in the same water bodies as non-native spotted bass, and are in direct competition with these […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The knight anole, aka Chipojo, chupacocote, Cuban knight anole, or Cuban giant anole, hails from, of all places, Cuba. But they have also been introduced to Florida. These are the largest known species of anole. These lizards can tolerate a wide range of habitats, like mangroves, forests, savannas, gardens, and […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The Florida scrub jay is the only species of bird endemic to the state of Florida, in the United States. Bird watchers travel from far and wide to get a glimpse of these cool song birds. They occur only in central Florida and in specific areas along the Atlantic coast […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The cotton mouse derives its name due to their habit of fashioning nests from cotton. They can be found in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Their preferred habitats are hardwood forests, swamps, the outskirts of cleared fields, salt […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

You read that correctly… a walking catfish. Originally from Indonesia, these invasive fish also dwell in Florida, in the United States. They are able to move from 1 water body to another, via land. This makes them a problem, since they are voracious predators that dramatically affect aquatic life. Due […]

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