Halloween Wildlife

Its diet is unusually specialized: this bat feeds only on vertebrate blood, taking meals from livestock, wild mammals, and occasionally humans.

Range Occurs from Mexico southward to Argentina and Chile.

Habitat Lives in warm tropical and subtropical climates, including both arid and humid areas; roosts in caves, tree hollows, wells, mine shafts, and abandoned buildings.

Diet An obligate blood-feeder that consumes vertebrate blood, including blood from livestock, wild mammals, and occasionally humans.

More to notice

• Large incisors and canines, a grooved expandable tongue, and anticoagulant saliva help it feed on blood. Strong hind limbs and a long thumb also let it move on the ground and launch into flight from the ground.
• Young vampire bats begin receiving regurgitated blood from their mothers at about two months old, then accompany them on hunts at about four months.
• A compact, swollen-looking muzzle, pointed ears, no tail, and a reduced membrane between the legs help distinguish this grayish-brown bat with a lighter underside.

Its very large ears join across the head, while a forked tragus, large eyes, a long simple noseleaf and a prominent lower lip help distinguish it. The species has no tail.

Range Occurs in northern Australia: the Pilbara and Kimberley of Western Australia, the Top End of the Northern Territory, northwestern Queensland and adjacent Northern Territory, and eastern Queensland from Cape York to Rockhampton.

Habitat Uses caves and other rocky roosts, mine workings and a range of tropical and subtropical habitats; it requires connected roosting and foraging areas.

Diet Carnivorous; eats large insects, microbats, birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

More to notice

• Rather than chasing every meal in flight, the ghost bat commonly waits on a perch and ambushes prey on the ground as well as in the air.
• A ghost bat uses facultative echolocation together with its large eyes and ears to detect prey.
• Pregnant females gather in maternity roosts, and each female typically produces one pup. Young can fly independently at about seven weeks but continue suckling for roughly two more months.
• Its varied carnivorous diet includes microbats, birds, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and large insects.

Its reddish-brown to dark-brown coat is paired with leaf-like chin appendages, short rounded ears joined across the forehead, and a strongly arched crown—features that give the face its distinctive appearance.

Habitat Roosts mainly in caves, tunnels, and mine shafts, with occasional use of old buildings; forages in desert scrub, riverine areas, arroyos, canyons, and near standing water.

Diet Primarily an aerial insectivore; documented prey includes large moths, beetles, true bugs, and net-winged insects.

More to notice

• The tail projects upward from the membrane between the hind legs, adding an unusual profile when the bat is viewed at rest.
• It catches insects in the air with strong, rapid flight and can forage at relatively high altitude.
• Large moths are documented prey, while beetles, true bugs, and net-winged insects occur in smaller amounts in its diet.
• Females generally produce a single offspring each year, with births concentrated in late spring or early summer.

Its jaws can shoot forward almost to the end of the snout. Elastic ligaments help catapult them outward, while the mouth floor drops to expand the oral cavity and draw in water and prey.

Range Recorded in the Atlantic, Indo-Pacific and Oceania, and eastern Pacific oceans.

Habitat A benthopelagic deep-sea shark of upper continental slopes, submarine canyons and seamounts, most often at 270–960 m; adults occur deeper than juveniles.

Diet Feeds mainly on deep-sea fishes, and also takes cephalopods and crustaceans.

More to notice

• The long snout is covered with ampullae of Lorenzini—sensory organs that detect the weak electric fields produced by nearby animals. This gives the shark a way to locate prey in the dim deep sea.
• Living goblin sharks are pink or tan because blood vessels show through their soft, semi-translucent skin. After death, the color quickly fades to dull gray or brown.
• The shark was formally described in 1898 from an immature male caught in Sagami Bay, Japan. Its scientific name honors shipmaster and naturalist Alan Owston and Professor Kakichi Mitsukuri.
• Although observations are scarce, its low-density flesh and large oily liver make it neutrally buoyant. It can therefore drift toward prey with little movement before striking.

The female’s most recognizable mark is a red hourglass on the underside of her rounded abdomen. Juveniles look different, with pale stripes and yellow-orange spots rather than the adult’s glossy black appearance. (Source: wikipedia)

Range Native to North America; primarily found in the southeastern United States, with records extending north to Ohio and west to Texas. It is also found in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and is established in the Hawaiian Islands.

Diet Typically eats insects, woodlice, millipedes, centipedes and other arachnids.

More to notice

• Its web is a three-dimensional tangle made from high-tensile-strength silk. When an insect or other prey becomes trapped, the spider rushes from its retreat, wraps it tightly, and bites it. (Source: wikipedia)
• A female may produce four to nine silk egg sacs in one summer, with about 100–400 eggs in each. The eggs usually incubate for twenty to thirty days, but many young fail to survive their early stages. (Source: wikipedia)
• The female may eat the male after mating. This behavior is occasional rather than an inevitable part of reproduction. (Source: wikipedia)
• The introduced brown widow is reported to compete with and ultimately displace southern black widows in some shared areas, including by preying on them. (Source: wikipedia)

The name is misleading: Goliath birdeaters rarely prey on birds. Their recorded prey includes large arthropods, worms, amphibians, and small terrestrial vertebrates.

Range Native to upland rainforest regions of northern South America, including Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, northern Brazil, eastern Colombia, and southern Venezuela.

Habitat A terrestrial spider of upland rainforest, especially marshy or swampy areas, where it lives in deep burrows.

Diet Primarily eats large arthropods, worms, and amphibians; it also takes insects and small terrestrial vertebrates, including rodents, frogs, toads, lizards, and snakes.

More to notice

• When threatened, this tarantula rubs setae—specialized hairs—on its pedipalps and legs to make a stridulating sound. It can also rub its abdomen with its hind legs and release irritating hairs.
• Rather than feeding in the open, it drags prey back to its burrow, liquefies the insides, and sucks up the resulting fluid.
• Females lay 100–200 eggs, and the spiderlings hatch after 6–8 weeks.
• The species is terrestrial and spends its life in deep burrows, especially in marshy or swampy parts of northern South American rainforest.

Instead of waiting for prey to blunder into a web, this spider holds a small web stretched across its legs like a living net. It hangs from a sparse web frame and lunges when an insect approaches.

Range Found in the United States, St. Vincent, and Venezuela.

Habitat Uses a sparse web frame and rests on host palm plants.

Diet Feeds on insects caught in its capture net.

More to notice

• The spider can strike in two directions: it lunges forward for nearby prey and uses a backward striking motion to catch prey flying above it.
• When prey is outside its field of vision, a sensory structure on the front legs—the metatarsal organ—helps it detect the prey.
• By day, it remains motionless and blends into its host palm plant. After dark, it becomes an active hunter.

Six spine-like projections ring the female’s abdomen, making the spider recognizable even before its color pattern is considered.

Range Native to North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America; introduced elsewhere, including Hawaii.

Habitat Edges of woodland and shrubby gardens; also frequently studied in Florida citrus groves.

Diet A butterfly is shown as food in the species source.

More to notice

• The upper abdomen can be white or yellow with black spots. White forms may have red or black spines, while yellow forms have black spines.
• Males are much smaller than females and have only four or five short, stubby abdominal projections instead of the female’s six prominent spines.
• This spider’s internal daily clock runs on an unusual 19-hour cycle rather than the familiar roughly day–night pattern.
• It can live within or along the edges of colonies formed by the colonial orb-weaver Metepeira incrassata, sharing space with other orb-weaving spiders.

Unlike many familiar spiders, it captures prey directly instead of spinning a web. It injects venom after catching prey such as insects.

Range Native to tropical regions worldwide; introduced in some subtropical areas.

Habitat Commonly lives in houses and other structures such as barns and sheds, especially where temperatures are cold; it can live outdoors in warmer climates.

Diet Predominantly insects, including butterflies and moths; it also has been reported to prey on scorpions and bats.

More to notice

• A female carries her egg sac under her body with her pedipalps—the small appendages beside the mouth. The spiderlings complete their first molt while still inside the sac.
• During courtship, the male vibrates his abdomen while keeping his feet planted, producing a faint buzz or hum that people can sometimes hear.
• The legs bear erectile setae, or bristles that can stand up, and each is marked with a black dot—useful details for recognizing this otherwise fairly smooth-legged spider.
• In some tropical households, this spider is tolerated because it consumes pest insects. It is especially likely to live indoors in places where outdoor temperatures are too cold.

Its two long front legs are not ordinary walking legs: they act like feelers, helping the vinegaroon detect prey and vibrations in its surroundings. Its vision is weak, so touch guides much of its navigation.

Range Native from the southern United States to Mexico.

Habitat Found in desert regions as well as grasslands, scrub, pine forest, and mountains; it may shelter in loose soil, leaf litter, beneath logs and rotting wood, or in humid indoor corners.

Diet A nocturnal predator of insects and other small animals, including cockroaches, crickets, millipedes, other arachnids, worms, slugs, and occasionally small frogs and toads.

More to notice

• When threatened, it can spray a defensive liquid containing 85% acetic acid from the base of its tail. The vinegar-like smell gives this arachnid its familiar name.
• Large claw-like pedipalps hold prey while the chelicerae—small mouthparts—tear and bite it. Its nighttime menu can include cockroaches, crickets, millipedes, other arachnids, and even small frogs and toads.
• After producing about 40 offspring, the female protects and feeds them early in life. This extended maternal care improves the young's chances of surviving.

The body, wings and projections on the limbs closely resemble a dead leaf, providing useful visual clues when identifying this mantis.

Diet A predatory insect; in an experimental study, it readily preyed on adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

More to notice

• Shading from pigment forms crease-like patterns on the wings, strengthening the dead-leaf disguise.
• Its leaf-like masquerade helps it remain inconspicuous to both predators and prey.
• This predatory mantis readily preyed on adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in an experimental study.

Its flattened, greatly extended thorax and patterned wings resemble dead leafy vegetation. Body lines imitate leaf veins, while colors range from mottled brown and pale orangey brown to very dark brown.

Range Recorded from Southeast Asia, including Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sumatra and the Philippines; Malaysian records include Sabah.

Habitat Scrubland and tropical forests, including tropical rainforest regions with abundant vegetation.

More to notice

• The mantis can make its disguise more convincing by swaying subtly as though foliage were moving in a breeze. This concealment can help it remain hidden from both predators and prey.
• If threatened, it may spread black underwings marked with large eyespots, producing a sudden visual display.
• Females are larger and have prothorax shields that end in sharp points; males are smaller, lighter, and have rounder shield edges. Males may also be more yellowish than the darker females.

Look for orange-tinted wings with dark bands. A complete brown band near the wing tip helps distinguish this dragonfly from the calico pennant, which has a smaller comparable spot.

Range Occurs across eastern North America, from Ontario and Maine south to Florida and west through New Mexico and Colorado; also recorded from Cuba and the Bahamas.

Habitat Breeds in still or slow-moving freshwater and forages in nearby open fields and grasslands.

Diet Adults catch small flying insects in flight; aquatic nymphs eat small aquatic arthropods.

More to notice

• Its life switches between two hunting worlds: flying adults take insects from the air, while aquatic nymphs prey on small arthropods underwater.
• This dragonfly can stay active in stiff winds, rain, cool weather, and light mist. From an exposed high perch, its wings moving in the breeze create the characteristic flag-like display.
• Morning courtship is followed by egg-laying in water. The young remain aquatic until they leave the water and molt into winged adults.

Females have pinkish-white or tan bands on the wings, markings that are absent in males.

Range Adults can migrate long distances, including over open water.

More to notice

• Adults are active at night and can travel long distances, including across open water.
• Its long forewings and nighttime flight can produce a bat-like silhouette.
• Comma-shaped or eye-like spots stand out against the moth’s brown, disrupted wing pattern.

A patch of yellowish thoracic hairs creates the moth’s famous skull-like marking. Viewed upside down, the surrounding markings can also suggest a head with eyes, an illusion proposed to deter, distract or deceive predators.

Range Native across much of Africa and the Mediterranean and Middle East; it frequently reaches western Eurasia, including Great Britain, where few individuals successfully overwinter.

Diet Adults can pierce honeycomb and feed on its contents; larvae develop on nightshades and other recorded host plants.

More to notice

• Acherontia atropos can produce a startling squeak by drawing air into the throat and vibrating an internal flap during exhalation. This ability is shared by the other two Acherontia species, so the sound is a genus trait rather than a feature unique to A. atropos.
• Its adult feeding apparatus is unusually short, stout and sharply pointed, an adaptation suited to piercing honeycomb rather than using the long, slender proboscis typical of nectar-feeding hawkmoths.
• The caterpillar changes appearance as it grows: the final larval stage may be green, brown or yellow, and its rear horn curves downward near the base before turning upward toward the tip.
• The species can migrate far beyond its usual range. Individuals have been found on ships far from land, and occasional young moths reach areas as far north as Sweden above the Arctic Circle.

Its body is adapted for floral mimicry, allowing the mantis to remain motionless while an insect approaches within striking range.

Range Native to Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Somalia, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda. Also documented at Nquthu, Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; this is a locality record, not a complete range statement.

Diet Airborne insects, including flies, moths, butterflies and beetles; nymphs eat small insects such as houseflies and fruit flies.

More to notice

• A threatened mantis can raise its front legs and spread its wings to reveal red, white, blue, purple and black markings in a startling display.
• Its compound eyes provide a reported perceptual span of 180°, helping it detect prey and predators while maintaining a concealed posture.
• Males have more developed, feather-like antennae that detect pheromones released by females ready to reproduce.
• After hatching, the young mantises feed on small insects such as houseflies and fruit flies before progressing through successive molts.

Ghost pipe has no photosynthetic function. Instead, it receives carbon and mineral nutrients indirectly from forest trees through partnerships with Russulaceae fungi, including Russula and Lactarius.

Range Disjunctly distributed across North America, Central America, northern South America, and temperate-to-boreal eastern Asia, including Japan, Korea, China, and the Himalayas.

Habitat Found in coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests, from moist to dry conditions, from sea level to about 3,000 m.

Diet Does not photosynthesize; obtains carbon and mineral nutrients through mycorrhizal associations with Russulaceae fungi, especially Russula and Lactarius.

More to notice

• Its flowers generally rely on visits from Bombus bees for outcrossing, while self-compatibility and self-pollination are low or negligible in the studied populations.
• Watch the flower’s posture after pollination: the nodding flower becomes erect and forms a capsule packed with numerous small seeds.
• This plant can occur in coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests, across conditions ranging from moist to dry and from sea level to about 3,000 m.

When wet, the fruit body can exude red droplets containing a red pigment.

More to notice

• The red droplets are a temporary wet-weather feature: they are associated with moisture on the fruit body rather than a general claim about its dry appearance.
• Its tooth-like spore-bearing layer provides expanded surface area for producing spores.
• The visible fruit body is the reproductive structure, producing spores from its elongated tooth-like underside.

Fresh specimens can show a blue-green glow from their gills in low light after the observer’s eyes become dark-adapted. The cap and stem do not glow; the gills do.

Range Distributed in southern Europe and other Mediterranean countries; also reported from South Africa’s Western Cape Province.

Habitat Woodland and deciduous-tree forests, growing from decaying stumps, buried roots and hardwood-tree bases, especially decaying olive-tree roots.

More to notice

• Its orange color remains consistent inside and out, and the flesh does not change color when bruised or sliced. Sharp, paper-like gills help distinguish it from chanterelles, whose false gills form blunt ridges.
• This fungus grows from hidden woody material, including buried roots and dead wood, rather than from ordinary soil. It is especially associated with decaying stumps, hardwood bases and olive-tree roots.
• It produces its visible fruiting bodies in dense clusters in late summer and autumn, when groups may appear in woodland.
• Although bioluminescence can attract insects in some fungi, the exact purpose of the glow in this species has not been determined.

Its mature fruit body forms a hollow, three-dimensional cage of interlaced red to orange arms, with openings of unequal size. The structure can emerge from its egg in as little as a few hours.

Range Native to southern and central continental Europe, Macaronesia, western Turkey, North Africa and western Asia; introduced or likely introduced in other regions, including urban areas of the United States.

Habitat Fruits in leaf litter, lawns, gardens, cultivated soil and woodchip mulch, usually near woody debris.

Diet Saprobic; obtains nutrients from decaying woody plant material.

More to notice

• The inner lattice is coated with dark olive-green to olive-brown gleba, a sticky spore-bearing slime with a smell like rotting meat. That odor attracts flies and other insects, which help carry the spores away.
• The fungus spends its earliest stage inside a whitish, roughly spherical egg. As the lattice expands, the torn egg membrane remains at the base as a cup-like volva.
• The receptacle is spongy rather than solid, and it collapses about 24 hours after erupting from the egg. This makes a fresh specimen especially short-lived as a visible lattice.
• Its pink, orange and red colors come mainly from the carotenoid pigments lycopene and beta-carotene—the same pigments associated with the red and orange colors of tomatoes and carrots.

Its familiar cap is yellow to orange and may carry white veil scales. Look beneath it for free white gills and at the stem base for two or three scaly rings formed by the volva, a cup-like protective structure.

Range Recorded in Europe, North America, and temperate eastern Asia; introduced into parts of the Southern Hemisphere, including Australia and New Zealand.

Diet Ectomycorrhizal fungus that exchanges resources with tree-root hosts rather than feeding conventionally.

More to notice

• This fungus partners with tree roots in an ectomycorrhizal relationship—a mutually beneficial root association. It acts as an extension of the plant’s root system while exchanging resources with its host.
• The visible fruiting body releases spores, generally from late spring through fall. These spores enable reproduction and dispersal, and can help the species persist through unfavorable conditions.
• Its root-partnering lifestyle is reflected in its genome: the lineage has lost many genes used to break down plant cell walls and has changes associated with interaction with host plants.

A trap usually needs two trigger-hair contacts within about 20 seconds before it fully closes. This repeated-trigger rule helps the plant avoid wasting energy on raindrops or drifting debris.

Range Native to coastal North and South Carolina, United States; naturalized in northern Florida and introduced in western Washington.

Habitat Wet, nutrient-poor habitats such as bogs, wet savannahs and canebrakes, usually in wet sandy or peaty soils.

Diet Carnivorous; chiefly captures insects and arachnids, including ants, spiders, beetles and grasshoppers.

More to notice

• After capture, five additional stimulations of the trigger hairs activate digestion. The trap eventually seals around the prey, and digestion takes about ten days before the trap reopens.
• The plant grows in soils poor in nitrogen and phosphorus. Nutrients from insect prey help supply what the soil lacks, while the plant continues to photosynthesize through its leaf tissue.
• Periodic fire is part of the flytrap's natural habitat: in most places, burning every 3–5 years helps keep competing vegetation and shade from taking over.
• The Venus flytrap is one of only a very small group of plants capable of rapid movement. Its hinged leaf lobes can snap shut in about one-tenth of a second after the trigger conditions are met.

Its two prominent lid spines are unique to this species. They may help lure insects into an unstable position above the pitcher mouth, where they can fall into the fluid.

Range Endemic to Borneo, especially the western coastal peat-swamp region.

Habitat Most common in humid, shaded peat-swamp forests; also found in kerangas and white-sand heath forests.

Diet Captures insect prey, but mature plants commonly obtain substantial nutrients through their mutualistic association with Camponotus schmitzi ants.

More to notice

• The hollow tendrils provide the only known home for the ant Camponotus schmitzi. The ants swim in the pitcher fluid, retrieve large prey, and clean contaminants from the pitcher rim.
• This plant is an ant-fed pitcher plant: ant waste and occasional ant remains supply nutrients, while the ants also help prevent prey from escaping and protect pitchers from some weevils.
• When wet, the pitcher’s peristome—the ridged rim around its opening—catches insect prey at more than three times the rate observed when it is dry.
• Unlike many Nepenthes, its pitchers have little or no waxy inner zone, and the fluid appears less viscoelastic and may lack functional digestive enzymes. The plant is therefore especially reliant on its ant partner.

The fruiting bodies are so dark that they can disappear visually against the forest floor. Look closely among leaf litter rather than scanning only for bright mushroom colors.

Habitat Forest floor.

Diet An ectomycorrhizal symbiotroph that exchanges resources with tree roots rather than feeding like an animal; associations include deciduous trees and conifers.

More to notice

• Its fruiting body has a hollow, trumpet-like shape—an important identification feature when the dark color makes it easy to overlook.
• What appears above ground is only the mushroom’s fruiting body. The underground mycelium produces it, and released spores can start new mycelia in other places.
• Black trumpets form ectomycorrhizal partnerships with tree roots, including those of deciduous trees and conifers.

Its dark carapace is marked with paired pale spots and bright yellow, orange, or reddish spots behind the eyes. Purple claws and red-orange legs add to the crab’s striking pattern.

Range Pacific coast from the Gulf of California in Mexico through Central America to Panama. Older records from Atlantic Colombia and Peru refer to other species.

Habitat Coastal rainforests, mangroves, and sand dunes near water and moist environments; spends most of its time on land.

Diet Largely herbivorous; eats leaf litter and seedlings.

More to notice

• This land crab digs burrows that can sometimes reach 1.5 m in length, giving it a deep shelter in the coastal forest.
• Females travel to the sea to release their brood, even though the adults live on land. In Panama, researchers observed these migrations after the rainy season’s first rains.
• It is mainly a plant-eater, foraging on fallen leaves and seedlings on the forest floor.

Its stalked compound eyes can swivel, giving the crab a 360° field of vision.

Range Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia and Massachusetts south through the tropical western Atlantic to southern Brazil; also recorded in Bermuda and Fernando de Noronha.

Habitat Terrestrial on sandy beaches; lives in burrows in sand above the strandline.

Diet Omnivore; eats clams, mole crabs, insects, plant material, detritus and other crabs. It also feeds on sea-turtle eggs and hatchlings and on shorebirds such as piping plovers.

More to notice

• It produces several kinds of sound: by striking the ground with its claws, rubbing its legs together, and using comb-like teeth in its gastric mill, a grinding structure in the stomach.
• Ghost crabs can run at more than a meter per second, making this species exceptionally quick on land among terrestrial invertebrates.
• A 2023 mirror-test study reported apparent self-recognition in this species, though the supplied source presents the finding as a study conclusion rather than an established general trait.

Its branched arms gather drifting zooplankton and small crustaceans from the water.

Habitat Juveniles can remain within soft-coral colonies during early development.

Diet Primarily feeds on zooplankton and small benthic crustaceans, collecting drifting prey with its branched arms.

More to notice

• In the northeastern Pacific, spawning takes place from June through November.
• Young basket stars can remain among soft-coral colonies during their early development.

Its flattened, leaf-like tail, mottled brown, gray, or rust coloration, and lichen-like patches help it blend into forest surroundings. Vein-like ridges and notches make the tail resemble a damaged dead leaf.

Range Endemic to Madagascar, in eastern rainforest regions.

Habitat Arboreal in eastern Madagascar rainforests, usually among trees, shrubs, and low vegetation within roughly 3 m of the ground.

Diet Wild diet is poorly documented; in human care, it eats small invertebrates such as crickets and moths.

More to notice

• The eyes have vertical pupils, and pointed scales above the eyes give the head a horned appearance—useful features for recognizing this small gecko.
• When threatened, it may gape to reveal a bright mouth and produce a loud call, shifting from camouflage to a conspicuous warning display.
• Females place clutches of two spherical eggs among leaf litter on the forest floor. Egg-laying begins near the start of Madagascar’s rainy season, around November.
• Although it lives in trees and shrubs, it is usually found in vegetation close to the ground—within roughly 3 m—rather than high in the canopy.

The adult’s dark upper wings are edged in yellow and marked with bright blue spots. Their irregular edges carry short projections, while the closed-wing underside is dark and finely striated with a pale border.

Diet Caterpillars feed communally on the leaves of willows, poplars, elms, hackberries, birches, and other hardwoods. Adults mainly take tree sap and fermenting fruit, with occasional nectar feeding.

More to notice

• Dark wings help adults absorb heat. They can also bask or shiver—rapidly contracting their flight muscles—to warm themselves.
• Caterpillars feed together rather than singly, gathering on host plants and developing in communal webs.
• The adults survive winter, then mate in spring. Eggs are placed in rings around host-plant twigs, usually leading to one generation per year.
• When their wings are closed, their darker coloration is cryptic, or difficult to notice; synchronized twitching by groups of larvae may also provide defensive or thermal benefits.

Its retreat is a silk-lined tube with a collapsed tunnel or funnel-shaped entrance. Fine trip-lines spread over the ground, alerting the spider when prey crosses them.

Range Native to eastern Australia, with distribution centered on Sydney and extending through parts of New South Wales.

Habitat Mostly terrestrial; inhabits moist, humid microhabitats such as sheltered ground, spaces under rocks or logs, and holes in rough-barked trees.

Diet Feeds on insects and their larvae, land snails, millipedes, lizards and frogs.

More to notice

• When threatened, it rears up on its hind legs and displays its fangs. During a bite it may hold on tightly and bite repeatedly.
• Males are smaller-bodied but longer-legged than females, and their venom is described as more potent than that of females. This makes wandering males especially important in accounts of dangerous encounters.
• A Sydney funnel-web can survive immersion for up to 24 hours by trapping air bubbles among hairs around its abdomen.
• The species was first described in 1877 from a female specimen. Later, male and female spiders given separate scientific names were recognized as the same species through anatomical comparison.

Its densely hairy legs, short broad ears and reduced interfemoral membrane help distinguish it from other vampire bats. It also lacks a tail and has a well-developed secondary noseleaf.

Range Occurs from eastern Mexico through Central America and into northern and central South America; a single likely accidental record is known from southern Texas.

Habitat Associated with tropical and subtropical environments from sea level to about 1,900 m. Caves are the principal roosts, though other sheltered refuges may also be used.

Diet A blood-feeding bat that feeds mainly on birds, including wild and domestic species; mammals are eaten occasionally.

More to notice

• This species has continuously sharpened upper incisors for blood feeding. A heat-sensitive nose helps it locate superficial blood vessels, while anticoagulant saliva helps keep blood flowing from the bite.
• Although it is a bird specialist, records also show occasional feeding on mammals. Its usual prey includes both wild and domestic birds.
• A female normally produces one young, and reproduction may occur throughout the year rather than being restricted to a single breeding season.

Habitat Arboreal in forest habitat.

Diet Carnivorous; documented diet includes insects.

Ants dominate the recorded diet. The species is listed as carnivorous and feeds on insects, mostly ants.

Habitat Terrestrial; associated with desert and shrubland habitat.

Diet Carnivorous; insects, mostly ants, are recorded as the principal food.

More to notice

• This is a ground-dwelling lizard of desert and shrubland habitats, with activity recorded during the day.
• Females lay eggs rather than giving birth to live young. The recorded clutch size is 3–10 eggs, with one clutch produced per year.
• The supplied assessment lists the species as Least Concern and records its population trend as Stable.

Its large green eyes, smooth scaleless body, numerous white spots, and filamentous tail make the spotted ratfish distinctive. It also has two dorsal fins, no anal fin, and broad triangular pectoral fins.

Range Eastern Pacific distribution from Alaska to southern Baja California, the Gulf of California, and Costa Rica; reported from 0–1029 m depth.

Habitat Marine, bottom-dwelling fish associated mainly with rocky habitats, from shallow water to approximately 1029 m.

Diet A carnivorous bottom-feeder that eats small fishes and invertebrates, especially shrimps, mollusks, and echinoderms.

More to notice

• Near the seafloor, the spotted ratfish can use electroreception—sensing weak electrical signals—and smell to help locate prey.
• Mineralized tooth plates act like grinding surfaces for crushing prey, matching the ratfish’s diet of hard-bodied bottom animals such as mollusks and echinoderms.
• Females produce egg cases that settle onto the seafloor or bottom sediments. Reproductive activity is reported throughout the year.
• A venomous spine on the dorsal side provides a defensive adaptation, while broad pectoral fins support slow, bottom-oriented swimming.

When disturbed, an adult can reveal conspicuous eyespots on its hindwings in a sudden startle display. Against dead leaves, its resting camouflage is much less conspicuous.

Range From southern Canada through the eastern United States to eastern Mexico, extending south to Costa Rica.

Habitat Uses a wide range of habitats, from forests and scrub to residential areas, croplands, wetlands, lakeshores, savannas, and mountain slopes.

Diet Larvae feed on leaves from many trees, shrubs, forbs, and other plants. Adults have reduced mouthparts and do not feed.

More to notice

• The caterpillars carry urticating spines and have contrasting stripes, a combination that may discourage predators.
• Io moth adults are active at night and do not feed because their mouthparts are reduced; the leaf-feeding stage is the larva.
• Its caterpillars are flexible feeders recorded on plants as varied as willow, blackberry, sassafras, and wisteria.

Look for the raven’s wedge-shaped tail, shaggy throat feathers and heavy bill. Its all-black plumage and robust build help distinguish it from the smaller American Crow.

Range Occurs across most of the Northern Hemisphere, including North America, Europe, Asia and North Africa; it is generally resident rather than a long-distance migrant.

Habitat Occupies varied habitats, from mountains, deserts, forests, tundra and coasts to rural and urban areas, especially where food and nesting sites are available.

Diet An omnivore and mainly a scavenger that eats carrion, live prey, arthropods, grains and fruit; it also stores food for later.

More to notice

• A raven may hide food for later, adding caching to an already flexible diet that includes carrion, live prey, plant foods and arthropods.
• Ravens can soar and glide strongly, an ability suited to a bird that ranges through habitats as different as deserts, coasts, forests and tundra.
• Their problem-solving toolkit includes learning from other animals and exploring unfamiliar opportunities, behaviors that help them use varied environments.
• A raven pair may reuse a long-term partnership while nesting in very different places, including trees, cliff faces and human-built structures.

Its white, heart-shaped facial disc helps funnel sound toward the ears, which sit at slightly different heights. This supports locating prey by sound.

Habitat Open countryside, including farmland, grassland, and inland wetlands; it hunts along field edges, riverbanks, and roadside verges and roosts or nests in sheltered cavities and structures.

Diet Primarily hunts small mammals, especially voles, mice, and shrews; it also takes bats, small birds, amphibians, and invertebrates occasionally.

More to notice

• The barn owl’s rounded head lacks ear tufts. Its long, rounded wings, short tail, and mottled gray-and-buff upperparts over pale underparts are useful identification clues.
• Small mammals make up most of its diet, with voles, mice, and shrews especially important; bats, small birds, amphibians, and invertebrates are occasional prey.
• A nesting site may be surprisingly close to human structures: old farm buildings and nest boxes can serve alongside tree hollows. Eggs are laid on pellets or directly on a sheltered surface.
• It hunts in open landscapes such as farmland, grassland, and inland wetlands, often working along field edges, riverbanks, and roadside verges.

The upper part of each pitcher is marked with reddish-purple veins on a white background and finished with a roundish, wavy-edged hood—key features to look for when identifying the plant.

Range Native to the Southeastern United States, especially along the Gulf Coast and generally west of the Apalachicola River on the Florida Panhandle; also found in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Introduced outside its native range in parts of North Carolina.

Habitat Moist, low-nutrient longleaf pine savannas.

Diet Carnivorous plant.

More to notice

• This species varies dramatically in stature. A dwarf form from Garcon Point in Florida is only 30 cm tall, while plants in some other localities reach almost 1 m.
• Its pitchers can contain a partially digested meal, revealing the plant’s carnivorous way of obtaining nutrients in its low-nutrient habitat.
• Loss of wetland habitat along the Gulf Coast threatens the species; changes in forest structure also matter because natural wildfires historically helped keep succession in check.

It can carry relatively large prey through cluttered forest spaces. Its slow, maneuverable flight and wing shape also help it take off close to the ground.

Range From southern Mexico through Central America and northern South America, extending to central Brazil and Peru; also recorded on Trinidad.

Habitat Associated mainly with tropical rainforests; it may also occur in pastures and orchards. Roosts are usually in hollow trees, though caves are also used.

Diet Exclusively carnivorous; eats birds, rodents, other bats and some insects, including beetles.

More to notice

• Birds are frequent prey, but this bat also takes rodents, other bats and beetles. It carries meals back to its roost, where discarded feathers, wings or rodent tails can reveal what it has eaten.
• A male may bring food back to the roost for the female and young. Both parents help rear and provision the single pup that is usually produced.
• Despite its vampire-like name, the spectral bat does not drink blood. The name reflects an older mistaken belief about its diet.
• Useful field marks include its reddish-brown fur, large rounded ears, elongated skull, lack of a visible tail and small pointed noseleaf. Four upper and four lower incisors help distinguish it from similar large leaf-nosed bats.

Its pointed snout is linked to its underground way of life and helps it gather termites from soil.

Range Endemic to the Western Ghats of India; its known range extends from the Camel's Hump Hill Range in the north to the northernmost Agasthyamalai Hill Range in the south.

Habitat Spends most of its life underground and uses stream banks, temporary rainwater streams and fast-flowing hill streams during the breeding season.

Diet Feeds mainly on termites underground, using its tongue and a specialized buccal groove.

More to notice

• Purple frog tadpoles have oral suckers—mouth structures that let them cling to rocks in torrential streams.
• Males call from beneath a thin layer of soil rather than calling from the open surface, producing a harsh sound likened to chicken clucking.
• The adults appear above ground for only about two weeks during the monsoon, when they gather to breed beside temporary streams.
• After mating, the female carries the male along her back to a suitable egg-laying site in a fast-flowing stream.