Desert tortoiseThe desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and to the Sinaloan thornscrub of northwestern Mexico. G. agassizii is distributed in western Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah. The specific name agassizii is in honor of Swiss-American zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz. The desert tortoise is the official state reptile in California and Nevada.
OpuntiaOpuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Prickly pear alone is more commonly used to refer exclusively to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include tuna (fruit), sabra, nopal (pads, plural nopales) from the Nahuatl word nōpalli, nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nōchtli, and paddle cactus.
Red wolfThe red wolf (Canis rufus) is a canine native to the southeastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the coyote (Canis latrans) and gray wolf (Canis lupus). The red wolf's taxonomic classification as being a separate species has been contentious for nearly a century, being classified either as a subspecies of the gray wolf Canis lupus rufus, or a coywolf (a genetic admixture of wolf and coyote). Because of this, it is sometimes excluded from endangered species lists, despite its critically low numbers.
AmuzgosThe Amuzgos are an indigenous people of Mexico. They primarily live in a region along the Guerrero/Oaxaca border, chiefly in and around four municipalities: Xochistlahuaca, Tlacoachistlahuaca and Ometepec in Guerrero, and San Pedro Amuzgos in Oaxaca. Their languages are similar to those of the Mixtec, and their territories overlap. They once dominated a larger area, from La Montaña down to the Costa Chica of Guerrero and Oaxaca, but Mixtec expansion, rule and later Spanish colonization has pushed them into the more inaccessible mountain regions and away from the coast.
Brown ratThe brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown or grey rodent with a head and body length of up to long, and a tail slightly shorter than that. It weighs between . Thought to have originated in northern China and neighbouring areas, this rodent has now spread to all continents except Antarctica, and is the dominant rat in Europe and much of North America.
Canine reproductionCanine reproduction is the process of sexual reproduction in domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes and other canine species. As with all mammals, a dog's penis is made up of three pieces of erectile tissue. These are the two corpora cavernosa and the singular corpus spongiosum which continues in the glans. A notable difference from the human penis is that the visible part during an erection consists entirely of the glans. The Retractor muscle is attached at the shaft of the penis.
Feral catA feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (Felis catus) that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens of generations and become an aggressive local apex predator in urban, savannah and bushland environments. Some feral cats may become more comfortable with people who regularly feed them, but even with long-term attempts at socialization, they usually remain aloof and are most active after dusk.
GroundhogThe groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through much of the Eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska. It was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The groundhog is also referred to as a chuck, wood-shock, groundpig, whistlepig, whistler, thickwood badger, Canada marmot, monax, moonack, weenusk, red monk, land beaver, and, among French Canadians in eastern Canada, siffleux.
Ancylostoma caninumAncylostoma caninum is a species of nematode known as a hookworm, which principally infects the small intestine of dogs. The result of A. caninum infection ranges from asymptomatic cases to death of the dog; better nourishment, increasing age, prior A. caninum exposure, or vaccination are all linked to improved survival. Other hosts include carnivores such as wolves, foxes, and cats, with a small number of cases having been reported in humans. Warm and moist conditions are important to allow survival of A.
Fur clothingFur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing, and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific item of clothing such as a coat, wrap, or shawl made from the fur of animals. Humans wear fur garments to protect them from cold climates and wind chill, but documented evidence of fur as a marker of social status as far back as 2,000-years ago with ancient Egyptian emperors and high priests wearing the skins of leopards.
