The Preble’s jumping mouse has large back feet and legs and can jump up to 3 ft/1 m in a single leap. However, jumping is reserved for extraordinary circumstances and stress. They generally move about by walking or by taking very small hops. This species can also swim.
The relict leopard frog was thought to be extinct in the 1950’s. It was rediscovered along the Virgin and Muddy Rivers in the 1990’s. This frog has not been seen in Utah along the Virgin River near St. George since 1950 and is thought to be extirpated from the state.
The lowland leopard frog breeds year-round. Tadpoles can take a year or more to reach adulthood.
Northern red-legged frogs come back to the pond where they were tadpoles. Females even lay their eggs in the same location within the breeding pond each year.
Many historians and scientists believe that the California red-legged frog inspired Mark Twain’s short story Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.
Eastern harvest mice breed nearly year-round with peak in spring. They become sexually mature at 2-4 months.
Some tiger salamander larvae become cannibalistic and prey on their own kind for survival. Additionally, not all larvae metamorphose into tiger salamander adults. Instead, they remain aquatic over winter and become capable of producing offspring.
California tiger salamander was historically found across the Central Valley. Recently it was found on San Francisco Peninsula. While it is still found in Sonoma County, this population is geographically separated from the closest populations to the south by 45 mi/72 km.
Tiger salamanders can live up to 14 years and grow 12 in/30cm, double the average size. When too many eggs are laid in a body of water, hatchlings can turn cannibalistic as a method of survival.
The Great Plains white fringed orchid flowers produce a fragrant scent from the evening and into the night to attract pollinators. The species is pollinated exclusively by sphinx moths or hawk moths, whose proboscis length matches the length of the nectar spur of the orchid flower.
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