apgarm's Favorites

Epic tracking in a desert wash the morning after a thunderstorm. Special features of this species in one series of photos. Compared to gray fox, the tracks of this species are rounder, with more fur, and slightly smaller than gray fox.

This obs is for the white fungus growing on the Apiosporina morbosa galls.

I'm hoping I'll be able to provide take some micrographs soon, but I don't know how useful they'll be given I don't know what I'm doing.

Skull found near an overpass bridge over a highway. The dental formula of a cat is 2 x (I3/I3, C1/C1, P3/P2, M1/M1). Only some of the upper teeth on the skull can be seen - 3 incisors, 1 canine, and it looks like there are four additional tooth sockets (photo#3). It looks like there might be three premolars and one molar on the upper jaw, although I'm not a 100% sure. A raccoon has a similar dental formula, except they have 3-4 premolars and 2 molars. I don't see how 5-6 teeth could fit in this skull after the canine, so I am leaning towards Domestic cat rather than a raccoon.

I have walked these beaches for over 40 years and have never observed Sandlance Spawning before. I was on my wharf, about 100 feet away when I heard splashing near the beach behind me. I turned around and snapped a couple of photos of the disturbance in the water. I then walked to the location to see that the water had a milky white patch. Sandlance came into view and started circling, I observed them come back to the same location several times, getting into a frenzy that resulted in spawning behavior. Numerous photos, and a video which i have uploaded to: https://youtu.be/H5wLx1Aak_s.

update: i returned to the exact spot on the next day, and was able to find and photograph eggs on the beach sand

Tentative ID; assumed present if this ladybird (105237916) was killed by. Dinocampus coccinellae (105237918).
Improvement welcomed.