Tag: Biodiversity150
-
49/150: BEHOLD! The longest migration of any bird, The Arctic Tern
Animalia: Chordata: Aves: Charadriformes: Laridae: Sterna: Sterna paradisaea (Pontoppidan, 1763) The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a winter, sea-faring bird with the longest yearly migration of any known species. They will travel a total of 70,900 km in one year from their breeding site in Northern Canada and Europe to their winter home near Antarctica.
-
44/150: I’ve got black tiger stripes and can be found all over Canada!
animalia: Arthropoda: Insecta: Lepidoptera: Papilionidae: Papilioninae: Papilio: Papilio canadensis (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) Commonly known as the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio canadensis is one of the most well-known butterflies in Canada because of its large size (wingspan of 7-10 cm) and distinctive pattern (yellow with black tiger stripes). They are found in all provinces with…
-
42/150: Nature’s Underwater Architect
Animalia: Arthropoda: Insecta: Trichoptera: Limnephiloidea: Limnephilidae: Philarctus bergrothi (McLachlan, 1880) Philarctus bergrothi is part of the northern caddisfly family Limnephilidae, which are found within higher elevations in the northern hemisphere. Caddisflies are closely related to moths and butterflies. While moths and butterflies have scales on their wings and bear terrestrial larvae, caddisflies have hairs on…
-
35/150: A Purple Sea Urchin for Purple Day!
animalia: Echinodermata: Echinoidea: Echinoida: Strongylocentrotidae: Strongylocentrotus: Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (Stimpson, 1857) Today is Purple Day, a day of support for people with epilepsy. We thought we’d share a very purple creature, the Purple Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus).
-
32/150: Put a spring in your step and celebrate frogs with us!
Animalia: Chordata: Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae: Rana: Rana sylvatica LeConte, 1825 It’s officially the first day of spring (finally!) and it also happens to be World Frog Day! Check out this cool infographic about frogs made by the National Aquarium in Baltimore to learn more about these cool creatures.
-
30/150: Hail Hydra! The immortal cnidarian
animalia: Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Anthoathecata: Hydridae: Hydra: Hydra canadensis (Rowan, 1930) From Marvel movies to Greek mythology, ‘Hydra’ is a familiar word referring to a many headed monster that can regenerate heads for every one cut off. It sounds far-fetched, but in fact, is exactly what the freshwater cnidarian can do. Hydra is a genus containing…
-
28/150: Vampires of the Sea (and your worst nightmare)
animalia: Chordata: Cephalaspidomorphi: Petromyzontiformes: Petromyzontidae: Petromyzon: Petromyzon marinus (Linnaeus, 1758) Sea Lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) look like eels but don’t be fooled! They are jawless and have concentric circles of teeth in their horrifying, suction-cup like mouth. They are a predatory species and they attach on to the side of a fish, tear away its skin,…
-
23/150: And you thought only vertebrates breathe with lungs? Meet the Arctic Pond Snail
Animalia: Mollusca: Gastropoda: Hygrophila: Lymnaeidae: Stagnicola: Stagnicola arctica (Lea, 1864) The Arctic Pond Snail (Stagnicola arctica) is a freshwater gastropod belonging to the family Lymnaeidae. This species occurs across northern Canada from Labrador to the Yukon Territory and are typically found in lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, ditches and muskeg pools.
-
21/150: The Plant That Bites Back
Plantae: Magnoliophyta: Magnoliopsida: Caryophyllales: Droseraceae: Drosera: Drosera linearis (Goldie) The slender leaf sundew (Drosera linearis) is a carnivorous plant that lives in boggy areas with nitrogen-poor soil. Their main diet consists of mosquitoes and other small insects, which they trap using sticky hair-like structures on their leaves. It can take the plant as little as…
-
14/150: Woolly Bear Caterpillars Surviving Winter
Animalia: Arthropoda: Insecta: Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae: Gynaephora: Gynaephora groenlandica (Homeyer., 1874) Tired of winter? Get some tips on winter survival from the Arctic Woolly Bear caterpillar (Gynaephora groenlandica). Did you know this caterpillar lives up to 7 (some suggest 14) years before pupating into a moth?