Site Title
- Dwarf Wedge Mussel
- Chittenango Ovate Amber Snail
- American Burying Beetle
- Karner Blue Butterfly
- Shortnose Sturgeon
- Silver Chub
- Pugnose Shiner
- Round Whitefish
- Bluebreast Darter
- Spoonhead Sculpin
- Deepwater Sculpin
- Eastern Tiger Salamander
- Northern Cricket Frog
- Eastern Mud Turtle
- Bog Turtle
Dwarf Wedge Mussel
Description
A tiny mussel the size of approximately 38 mm or 1.5 inch. The mussel is brown or yellow-brown.Adult mussels feed on algae and other small suspended particles. These adult mussels are called filter-feeders.
Location
Located in some drainages in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. They are typically found in clay, sand, gravel, and pebble floored rivers and streams. They are usually found in shallow waters to a max of 25 ft deep and spend most of their time there.
Threats
Pollution, sedimentation, acid rain, fertilizers, pesticide, and toxins.
Chittenango Ovate Amber Snail
Description
A snail with a semiopaque shell that is white to yellow-pink. The shell has 3 ½ whorls and is covered with blotches and streaks. The body is is yellow and pale and has a black blotch on the foot.
Location
Chittenango Creek and Waterfall.
Threats
Pollution, fertilizers, pesticides, road salt.
American Burying Beetle
Description
Adults are a range of 1 to 1.4 inches. It is orange-red to black with wings that have red spots and orange tipped antennae. Males have a rectangle marked forehead while a female has a triangular shaped marking.
Location
Block Island and Rhode Island in shrub/pasture areas.
Threats
Carrion based foods are disappearing as the American Burying Beetle is being outcompeted.
Karner Blue Butterfly
Description
A small butterfly with a wingspan of 1 in. The male has a upper wing that is deep indigo with a white fringe. The female has a upper wing that is brown with orange dots. Both sex has an under wing that is white with black, blue, orange. The larvae is half an inch and blue.
Location
Located in Minnesota, New Hampshire, and the Hudson River. They live in sandy areas that have open woods that supports blue lupine (its food source).
Threats
Urbanization, fire suppression, fertilizers, and pesticides.
Shortnose Sturgeon
Description
The shortnose sturgeon is a short fish that rarely exceed 14 pounds and 3.5 ft. As its name implies, it has a short snout with four barbels used for feeling and has five scutes across its body with two on its belly, one on either sides and one on its head. It is olive-yellow to grey-blue with a bottom that is white to yellow.
Location
The shortnose is found along the coasts of the East Atlantic ocean and in New York, occurs at the hudson river from Manhattan to about a hundred and fifty miles up the river.
Threats
Overfishing, pollutants in the river, and lack of dissolved oxygen are the main cause. Overfishing and a dam in the Hudson River is also a problem for the population.
Silver Chub
Description
It is a tiny fish that averages from 4 to 7 inches long with big eyes. It is silver and has a white band on the lower body body. The tail is clear with the exception of the band. The upper jaw overbites the lower jaw in this fish.
Location
Lives in Lake Erie in NY however it exists in lakes and rivers throughout east central United States.
Threats
Lack of water quality, lack of mayfly larvae, and habitat modification.
Pugnose Shiner
Description
The pugnose shiner is no longer than 2 inches. It is small and has silver sides with a dark spine on its back. It has a nearly vertical pointed mouth.
Location
In New York State this minnow is found in Sodus Bay and St. Lawrence River as of now.
Threats
The threat is believed to be increased sediments and pollutants in the water.
Round Whitefish
Description
The Whitefish is a fish usually from 8 inches to a foot. It is shaped like a tube as its name implies. The fish is olive brown shade on top that graduates to silver on the bottom. Juveniles have black spots across its body.
Location
Lakes in the Adirondacks. It exist so far in only nine lakes in these areas.
Threats
Overfishing, Invasive perch, competition, acidification, and poor water quality is a cause.
Bluebreast Darter
Description
The bluebreast darter is a tiny fish no longer than three inches. It is extremely colorful with males who are sexually active. They have orange fins, red spots, and a blue breast. The general population is more drab with olive green color and a light and dark band across its body.
Location
It exists in New York at the Allegheny River basin’s upper reach.
Threats
Poor water quality seems to be its threat as these darters are indicator of water quality.
Spoonhead Sculpin
Description
The spoonheads look somewhat like a spoon with a triangular head and a body shaped like a tube. The fish does has prickles across its body instead of the normal scales. It is speckled and its body is olive brown that graduates to white on the bottom. The sides are light yellow.
Location
In New York it lives in Lake Erie and Ontario, however it is believed to be extinct in those areas.
Threats
Unknown
Deepwater Sculpin
Description
Species of sculpin is a range from about 2.5 to 4.5 inches. The body is tubular and the head is flat and broad. The fish also has four spines on its face and it has prickles instead of scales. It is grey brown in color and has dark marks on its back.
Location
This fish exists in the deep waters in Lake Erie and Ontario.
Threats
Unknown but alewives and rainbow smelt is to blame.
Eastern Tiger Salamander
Description
It is about seven to eight inches long typically. It is dark brown with yellow splotches all across it. It has a long tail and a fat body.
Location
Ponds in Nassau and Suffolk County in Long Island.
Threats
Urban Development, pesticides, and expansion of bullfrogs and predatory fish
Northern Cricket Frog
Description
The Northern Cricket frog is only a mere one inch yet it can jump around 5 to 6 feet long. It is a variety of color from red, black, orange, and yellow with brown and green. The female is typically larger than the male species. The frogs are aquatic and produces pebble like sounds.
Location
Southeast New York in areas that have stagnant ponds and lots of vegetation that are sunny.
Threats
Habitat destruction, DDT, road salts, and predatory fish.
Eastern Mud Turtle
Description
It is small turtle that is a range of 3 to 4 inches long. The shell is smooth and is dark brown to almost black. It only has 11 scutes and has a bottom that is yellow to brown.
Location
They exist in only five areas in LOng Island. They prefer slow to non-moving waters that have lots of vegetation.
Threats
Pet trade, getting ran over during migration, and urban development.
Bog Turtle
Description
A small turtle reaching a max of four and a half inch. The most distinctive feature of this turtle is orange-yellow splotches on its neck and head. It has a dark body with occasionally orange red coloring in the leg. The shell is dark too but might sometimes by chestnut color. The easiest way to distinguish sex is if the turtle’s plastron is concave meaning it is a male.
Location
It exists in environments that are cool and contains muck soil and vegetations. They also generally prefer slow moving waters. This species is most prominent in southeastern New York
Threats
Its biggest threat is illegal collection and habitat loss.