Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States.
Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States.
The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It is featured in some stories of the indigenous peoples of North and Central America and in the folklore of European-descended inhabitants of the Americas.
The groundhog (Marmota monax) is a lowland rodent of North America. It was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. These adorable animals play an important role maintaining healthy soil in woodland and plain areas. They are...
The Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is a species of large freshwater turtle. It is noted for its combative disposition when out of the water with its powerful beak-like jaws, and highly mobile head and neck (hence the specific epithet...
The copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) is a venomous pit viper endemic to eastern North America; it is a member of the subfamily Crotalinae in the family Viperidae. As a common species within its range, it may be encountered by humans. Unlike other...
The White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a medium-sized deer native to the Americas where it is the most widely distributed wild ungulate. Texas is home to the most White-tailed deer of any U.S. state or Canadian province, with an estimated...
The Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is the most widespread native turtle of North America. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. In the traditional tales of Algonquian tribes, the colorful turtle played the part of a...
The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) is a semiaquatic mammal that lives along its waterways and coasts. It is the only river otter that is found north of Mexico. These animals live in burrows and like most predators, prey upon the most...
The Eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America. Despite the differences in size and coloration, it is sometimes mistaken for American red squirrels or Eastern gray squirrels in areas where...
The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of three species of tree squirrels currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus, known as the pine squirrels. The American red squirrel is variously known as the Pine squirrel, North...
The Nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is a mammal found in North, Central, and South America. This makes it the most widespread of the armadillos. Its ancestors originated in South America and remained there until the formation of the...
The Smooth green snake (Opheodrys vernalis) is a North American nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. It is small to medium in size and gets its common name from its smooth dorsal scales. A non-aggressive snake, it seldom bites and usually...
The Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is the most common rabbit species in North America.
The Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) is a small stripped rodent found in North America. The name "chipmunk" comes from the Ojibwe word ajidamoo (or possibly ajidamoonh, the same word in the Ottawa dialect of Ojibwe), which translates literally as...
Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) is a semi-aquatic turtle native to North America. It is considered to be an endangered species throughout much of its range. Blanding's turtle is of interest in longevity research, as it shows little to no...
The eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus ) is a medium-sized species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is found along forest edges, rock piles, and rotting logs or stumps in the eastern United States. It is sometimes...
The Swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) is a large cottontail rabbit found in the southern United States. As its name implies it has a strong preference for wet areas, and it will readily take to the water and swim.
The southern flying squirrel or the assapan (Glaucomys volans ) is one of three species of the genus Glaucomys and one of three flying squirrel species found in North America. It is found in deciduous and mixed woods in the eastern half of North...
The spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera ) is a species of softshell turtle, one of the largest freshwater turtle species in North America. Both the common name, spiny softshell, and the specific name, spinifera (spine-bearing), refer to the...
The Thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) is a ground squirrel that is widely distributed over grasslands and prairies of North America. It is well known for standing upright to survey its domain, diving down into its burrow...
The White-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii) is a large hare found in western North America. Whitetails are often seen in urban and suburban parks in Western Canada. People often come across bunnies alone during the day in spring and mistakenly...
The Mud snake (Farancia abacura) is a nonvenomous, semiaquatic snake native to the southeastern United States. This snake spends most of its time in the water but hibernates in cavities in soil or old tree stumps.
The Eastern meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) is a North American rodent. It is active year-round, usually at night. It also digs burrows, where it stores food for the winter and females give birth to their young.
Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen was formerly a venomous pit viper subspecies found in the eastern United States. However, recent taxonomic changes do not recognize the northern copperhead (A. c. mokasen ) as a valid taxon.
Pond sliders (Trachemys scripta) are medium-sized, semiaquatic turtles found in North America. Their name 'slider' comes from the behavior of these turtles when startled. Groups of sliders often bask and sun on logs, branches, and vegetation at or...
The eastern elk (Cervus canadensis canadensis ) is an extinct subspecies or distinct population of elk that inhabited the northern and eastern United States, and southern Canada. The last eastern elk was shot in Pennsylvania on September 1, 1877....
Sternotherus odoratus is a species of small turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is native to southeastern Canada and much of the Eastern United States. It is also known commonly as the common musk turtle, eastern musk turtle, or stinkpot...
The alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) is a euryhaline ray-finned fish in the clade Ginglymodi of the infraclass Holostei, being most closely related to the bowfins. It is the largest species in the gar family (Lepisosteidae), and is among the...
The Common box turtle is a species of a box turtle that lives in the Eastern United States and Mexico. This turtle gets its common name from the structure of its shell which consists of a high domed carapace (upper shell), and a large, hinged...
The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata ), the only species of the genus Clemmys, is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of 8–12 cm (3.1–4.7 in) upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace,...
The white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus ) is a rodent native to North America from Ontario, Quebec, Labrador, and the Maritime Provinces (excluding the island of Newfoundland) to the southwestern United States and Mexico. In the Maritimes, its...
The river cooter (Pseudemys concinna ) is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is native to the central and eastern United States.
The northern map turtle (Graptemys geographica ), also known as the common map turtle, is an aquatic turtle in the family Emydidae. It is endemic to North America.
Diadophis punctatus edwardsii, commonly known as the northern ringneck snake, is a subspecies of Diadophis punctatus, a snake in the family Colubridae. The subspecies is endemic to North America.
The prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster ) is a small vole found in central North America. The vole has long, coarse grayish-brown fur on the upper portion of the body and yellowish fur on the lower portion of the body. It has short ears and a short...
The hoary bat (Aeorestes cinereus ) is a species of bat in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. It lives throughout most of North America (possibly including Hawaii, although this is disputed).
The Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis ) is a medium-sized mouse-eared bat native to North America. It lives primarily in Southern and Midwestern U.S. states and is listed as an endangered species. The Indiana bat is grey, black, or chestnut in color and...
The southern leopard frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus or Rana sphenocephala ) is a medium sized anuran in the family Ranidae (The True Frogs). It is native to eastern North America from Kansas to New York to Florida. It is also an introduced species...
The eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis ) is a species of microbat in the family Vespertilionidae. Eastern red bats are widespread across eastern North America, with additional records in Bermuda.
The western cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma ) was once classified as a subspecies of the cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus ). However, DNA based studies published in 2008 and 2015, revealed no significant genetic difference between...
The Cumberland slider (Trachemys scripta troostii), also called commonly the Cumberland turtle and Troost's turtle, is a subspecies of pond slider, a semiaquatic turtle in the family Emydidae. The subspecies is indigenous to the Southeastern United...
The meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius ) is the most widely distributed mouse in the family Zapodidae. Its range extends from the Atlantic coast in the east to the Great Plains west, and from the arctic tree lines in Canada and Alaska to the...
The Eastern mud turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum) is a small semiaquatic species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. It can be found only in the United States and has two recognized subspecies.
