Arapahoe Snowfly candidate for endangered list: What are other contenders?
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo![]()
Level 3
Here are some deets from Wikipedia: "Common folk-names for this bird in the southern United States are Rain Crow and Storm Crow. These likely refer to the bird's habit of calling on hot days, often presaging thunderstorms. ... This bird has a number of calls; the most common is a rapid ka ka ka ka ka kow kow kow. ... These birds forage in dense shrubs and trees, also may catch insects in flight. They mainly eat insects, especially tent caterpillars and cicadas."
Slabside Pearlymussel![]()
USFWS
Level 2
From the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: "The slabside pearlymussel is a moderately sized mussel, with mature individuals reaching lengths of 85 mm. The shell is moderately compressed and generally subtriangular in shape (but may exhibit considerable variability in shell shape), with very solid, heavy valves that are moderately inflated." (Note: I'd be super pissed if anyone ever described me as having "solid, heavy valves that are moderately inflated." Don't even try it.)
Yellow-Faced Bee![]()
Tom Murray
Level 2
There are actually seven species of yellow-faced bees on the list, including the easy yellow-faced bee (he never tells you to buzz off; get it?!), the longhead yellow-faced bee and the Hawaiian yellow-faced bee. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, all seven species are part of a family "known as plasterer bees due to their habit of lining their nests with salival secretions." They must not have many visitors.
Black Pine Snake
Level 3
The above video is a little scary, but it's not as disturbing as some others we found. (Apparently, there's an audience for snake-eating-mouse videos set to weird music. Or porn. We swear there was a TV playing porn in the background of one of the videos.) According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, black pine snakes are non-venomous. "When disturbed, the Black Pine Snake will inflate and rear its forebody off the ground while hissing very loudly. It feeds primarily on pocket gophers, which it pursues by forcing its way into their underground burrows."
Pocket Gopher![]()
Level 3
Speaking of pocket gophers, they're on the candidate list too -- eight species of 'em. Here's the 411 from Wikipedia: "All pocket gophers are burrowers. They are larder hoarders, and their cheek pouches are used for transporting food back to their burrows. ... They also enjoy feeding on vegetables. For this reason, some species are considered agricultural pests. They may also damage trees in forests. Although they will attempt to flee when threatened, they may attack other animals, including cats and humans, and can inflict serious bites with their long, sharp teeth." Ouch.
More from our Environment archive: "Civil unions stalemate: Fallout affects small businesses, poor, others."
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