Neuse River Waterdog
External red gills, four toes, and a mottled brown body identify a secretive river salamander that spends its entire life underwater.
North Carolina, United States: places and wildlife — page 4
Browse the published Explore collection for North Carolina, United States. Open a discovery for its field guide, practical details, and background.
Carolina Madtom
This palm-length nocturnal catfish hides among clean riffle rocks and mussel shells, carrying sharp venomous spines despite its small size.
Cape Fear Shiner
A dark side stripe and flashes of yellow mark a small schooling fish whose entire natural range fits within one North Carolina river system.
Venus Flytrap
Snap traps armed with trigger hairs grow naturally only in wet, sunny, fire-maintained coastal plain habitat near the Carolinas’ shared border.
Saint Francis’ Satyr
A small brown butterfly with paired eyespots depends on open sedge wetlands repeatedly renewed by fire, flooding, and beaver activity.
Fraser Fir
Short, soft needles and upright cones identify a Southern Appalachian endemic that forms cool summit forests above the ordinary hardwood world.
Virginia Big-eared Bat
This medium-sized brown bat roosts in a small number of Appalachian caves and forages over forest and field edges, detecting moths with sensitive echolocation.
Diamondback terrapin
Pale spotted skin, a patterned shell, and a life between salt and fresh water distinguish Maryland’s official state reptile.
Baltimore checkerspot
Black wings checked with cream and orange identify a wet-meadow butterfly whose official status contrasts with its rarity in Maryland.
Baltimore oriole
Maryland’s orange-and-black state bird whistles from leafy edges and suspends a woven pouch nest near a branch tip.
Atlantic blue crab
Paddle-shaped rear legs, blue claws, and a life tied to brackish Chesapeake water distinguish Maryland’s state crustacean.
Striped bass
Seven or eight continuous dark stripes mark a silvery predator that uses tidal rivers as nurseries and the coast as a highway.
Black-eyed Susan
Rough-haired stems and golden rays around a raised brown center make Maryland’s state flower a familiar open-ground wildflower.
White oak
Maryland’s state tree supports insects and wildlife; rounded leaf lobes and pale bark reward a slower look in mature woodland.
Brook Trout
Follow this jewel-colored char from shaded headwaters to Adirondack ponds, where water quality shapes its future.
Common Snapping Turtle
A rugged freshwater turtle is easiest to notice when it leaves the water to nest, not while it lies hidden below.
Sugar Maple
Recognize New York's state tree by more than its color: bark, paired buds, and leaf shape tell the whole story.