I found this caterpillar a few minutes ago. Its filaments lead me to believe that it is likely a caterpillar that will become a horned spanworm moth.

Southern Two-Lined Salamander (above) and a Red-Back Salamander. Noticeable differences include head shape, coloration, shape of tail, and length, specifically tail length. The tail of the Red-Back Salamander is at least as long, if not longer, than the rest of its body. Also, the tail of the Southern Two-Lined Salamander is paddle-like and flattened suggesting that it spends most of its life in water. The tail of the Red-Back Salamander is rounded rather than flattened, suggesting a more terrestrial lifestyle.

Red-Back Salamander inside of a rotting log in Blue Ash, Ohio

The little guy is doing a lot better after the steroid injection!

I found this little bird flopping on the road on my way into work this morning. I had the vet check it out and she thought that the bird was given vestibular disease after being hit by a car. We gave a steroid injection and it seems to be doing a lot better. The vet thinks its possibly a house sparrow or a field sparrow.

I found this common snapping turtle in the middle of the road yesterday on my way to work. I picked it up and released it into a nearby pond before it was run over.

Found this little Southern Two-Lined Salamander under a log while hiking yesterday. I found three others in a nearby creek. They are part of the Plethodontidae family, the lungless salamanders. It is found throughout the state of Ohio.

Colugos are arboreal gliding mammals found in South-east Asia. There are just two extant species, which make up the entire family Cynocephalidae and order Dermoptera. They are the most capable of all gliding mammals, using flaps of extra skin between their legs to glide from higher to lower locations. They are also known as cobegos or flying lemurs, though they are not true lemurs. Their most distinctive feature is the membrane of skin that extends between their limbs and gives them the ability to glide long distances between trees. Of all the gliding mammals, the colugos have the most extensive adaptation to flight. (Wikipedia)

Photo by Peter Loh

The sloth moth is a generic term used to refer to coprophagous moths which have evolved to exclusively inhabit the fur of sloths and to use sloth dung as a substrate for the early stages of reproduction.  Adult female moths leave the fur of the sloth to lay eggs in the sloth droppings when the sloth descends, once a week, to the forest floor to defecate. The larvae live in the dung and newly emerged moths later fly from the dung pile into the forest canopy to find a host sloth. Sloth moths are considered to get nutrients from the secretions of the sloths’ skin and/or the algae present on the fur as well as protection from avian predators. Some three-toed sloths have been recorded carrying more than 120 moths in the fur of an individual sloth. Two-toed sloths are recorded as harbouring lower populations. Several different moth species may coexist on the same animal. (Wikipedia)

Photo by CarmenOhio

This is Shadow, a Canadian Timber Wolf that lives at Butternut Farm Wildcat Sanctuary in Johnstown, Ohio, circa 2009. He was bought by a man for his bride as a wedding present on their honeymoon to Alaska, but he soon grew too big and was moved to the sanctuary, where he lives now.

San Francisco Garter Snake my friend found in Petaluma, California.

Photo by Tamar Ingber

European Garden Spider my friend found in Petaluma, California.

Photo By Tamar Ingber

The European garden spider (Araneus diadematus) is a very common and well-known orb-weaver spider in Europe and parts of North America, in a range extending from New England and the Southeast to California and the northwestern United States and adjacent parts of southern Canada. Individual spiders’ colouring can range from extremely light yellow to very dark grey, but all European garden spiders have mottled markings across the back, with five or more large, white dots forming a cross. Since this tends to be a passive animal, it is difficult to provoke to bite—but if it does, the bite is just slightly unpleasant and completely harmless to humans. (wiki.)

Garter snake I found on my way home from work in Blue Ash, Ohio.

A crab I found on the coast of Islamorada, Florida. I think it might be a European Green Crab, but I’m not positive.