This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The California tiger salamander was previously considered to be a subspecies of the tiger salamander, however these salamanders were recently designated as a separate species again. They face the threats of habitat loss and destruction at the hands of residential and commercial developments, as well as the timber industry; roads […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The Tequila splitfin, aka Tequila fish, gets its specific epithet from the Tequila Volcano, which is situated nearby. They are endemic to the Ameca River basin in west-central Mexico. Their current distribution is restricted to a single spring pool in Teuchitlán, only 13 feet in diameter. These fish face the […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The common mudpuppy is a species of salamander in the family Proteidae. They can be found in eastern Canada and eastern United States. Preferring lakes, rivers and ponds, these salamanders, like the axolotls, never complete metamorphosis and thus remain in the larval stage their entire lives. These critters face the […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The eastern pondhawk, aka common pondhawk, is a dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. These dragonflies are native to the eastern 2/3 of the United States, as well as in Quebec and Ontario, Canada. They also inhabit Mexico, Central America, and South America. Due to their abundance in North America and […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The northern crested newt, aka warty newt or great crested newt, hails from Europe to western Asia. These critters have the largest range of any European newt species. They prefer groves, deciduous woodlands, conifer woods, swampy meadows, hedgerows, scrublands, and quarries. Even though they face the threats of habitat loss […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The smooth newt, aka common newt, European newt, or northern smooth newt, can be found throughout Europe and portions of western Asia. They have also been introduced to Australia. These adaptable newts can tolerate a range of habitats like standing water with numerous weeds for breeding, such as lake margins, […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The bluegill, aka bream, brim, copper nose, or sunny, hails from the lakes, ponds, reservoirs, and slow moving rivers & streams of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. They prefer sandy bottoms with plenty of vegetation in which to hide. These fish are popular pan fish amongst anglers. The term […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The Orinoco crocodile has no subspecies, but does come in 3 colorations: amarillo (light tan), mariposo (greyish-green), and negro (dark grey). These crocodilians can be found in Colombia and Venezuela in and around the Orinoco River basin. Seeing as they prefer slower moving or still water, when the rainy season […]

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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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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

Found in oceans, lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams the world over, zooplankton are tiny, living creatures that are a type of plankton. There are literally hundreds of thousands of creatures that can be called zooplankton. Even newly hatched jellyfish fall into this category. They are typically found on the surface […]

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