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Biology 250
Outside of Wind Cave
Great Plains Toad
Anaxyrus cognatus
DESCRIPTION: Adult Great Plains toads measure about 2.2 – 5.0 inches in length. Females average a slightly larger size than males. The cranial
crests atop the head are prominent and join at the snout to form a large, bony boss. Male Great Plains toads have a light colored throat-flap covering the black vocal sac. The inflated vocal sac is distinctly sausage-shaped. Juvenile toads have numerous small brick-red tubercles. Tadpoles grow to about one inch, are dorsally black or dark gray, and have a highly arched tail fin.
HABITAT:
Great Plains toads can often be found in cattle tanks, roadside ditches and canals in agricultural areas, in the floodplains of river and streams, ciénegas, and other wetland types. In Arizona, the species is widespread, except for the higher mountains and lowest and driest portions of the Sonoran Desert.
BEHAVIOR: This largely nocturnal toad is an accomplished burrower, emerging around dusk to forage or breed. Metamorph toads may be active by day, as well. In the lowlands, they emerge from dormancy in February or March and stay active at least through September. Activity periods are shorter at higher elevations.
DIET: This toad feeds opportunistically on a variety of invertebrates. In the San Simon Valley, Cochise County, the predominant food items were ants and termites.
Sylvilagus nuttallii
Mountain Cottontail
DescriptionMountain Cottontails are medium sized rabbits. They are between 35 and 39 cms in length and they weigh between 0.7 and 1.2 kgs.
They are coloured greyish/brown with a pale coloured underside and they have reddish/brown hairs on their hind legs. Their tail is dark in colour on the top and pale coloured underneath. Their ears are short and rounded and they have black tips.
Habitat
Mountain Cottontails are found in Canada and western USA. They usually inhabit wooded or brushy areas with plenty of vegetation.
Diet
Mountain Cottontails mainly feed on grasses, but they will also eat shrubs and fruit.
select the image above to learn more on the Soapweed Yucca in the badlands
Soapweed Yucca
Skunkbush Sumac
Rhus trilobata
Skunkbush sumac is a much-branched, deciduous shrub that generally grows 3 to 8 feet tall. Some ecotypes from Big Horn County, Wyoming, reach a height of 10 feet or more on the most favorable soils. Leaves are trifoliate, 3 to 7 cm long,
consiting of leaflets that are three-lobed, and scallop-toothed on the margins. The end leaflet is fan shaped, the side two are ovate and about one-half as large as the end learlet. The leaves appear after the flowers. Flowers are borne in close clusters near the tips of the branches; are a yellowish-green color, about 3 mm long, and inconspicuous. The fruit is a reddish-orange drupe, 6 to 8 mm long, covered with short hairs. Both fruit and leaves are aromatic and give off a somewhat unpleasant odor when crushed.
The planting stock should be two years old, without prior transplantings, and they should be 12 to 24 inches tall. They should be spaced approximately 6 feet apart for adequate growing room and to provide optimum density for wildlife food and cover. On dry sites supplemental water may be needed for establishment.
Cercocarpus ledifolius
Curlleaf Mountain
Mahogany
Leaves: Alternate, with several borne on short spur-shoots; simple; lanceolate; 1/2" to 1" long; evergreen, leaves persistent for two years; margin entire and edges are rolled under; leathery; shiny dark green above, paler and finely hairy beneath; petiole short.
Twigs/buds: Twigs stout; stiff; early-on pubescent and red-brown; becoming glabrous and brown or silvery; with short spur-shoots that hold leaves and flowers. Buds small, scaly, and hairy.
Flowers/fruit: Flowers are small and inconspicuous, with no petals; solitary or in 2's or 3's. Fruit is a 1/4" long, dry achene with a 2" to 3" long, hairy, corkscrew-twisted tail or plume attached (a persistent style from the flower).