amphibian
- semi-aquatic
- eggs layed in water
- life stages
- cold blooded
Peregrine Falcon
Barred tiger salamander
- Kansas state amphibian
- largest native Kansas salamander growing to almost a foot in length
- eats insects, slugs, and worms
- can reach over 200 miles per hour while swooping making it the fastest animal
- distinctive black head with moustache over its beak
- nests in an area theu scrape out of cliffs
Bald Eagle
- Vision is at least four times better than that of someone with perfect vision
- Can lift a four pound fish out of the water
- Population declined after WW2 when DDT was used and also shootings
- Population went from 417 breedings pairs to 9,789 breeding pairs
Five lined skink
- prefer moist partially wooded areas
- can detach tail to distract predators while running away
- Bright blue tail fades into brown or black front with five white or yellow lines running down its back
Native Kansas Animals
Birds
Reptiles
- lay and incubate eggs
- hollow bones
- feathers and beaks
- scales
- lay eggs on land
- cold blooded
Redbelly snake
- Has a reddish brown or slate grey dorsal side (top part) with a red-orange or jet-black belly
- Protected by the Kansas endangered species act
- 8-10 in. long
River otter
- Semi-aquatic
- Tail allows to swim up to 7 mph
- On its back has soft oily under furs mixed in with longer glossy hairs that serve as guard hairs
Western ornate box turtle
- Flattened shell
- Kansas state reptile
- Generally live 25-30 years
Wild Horse
- Became extinct but were brought back by spanish explorer hernan cortes
- Nearly 7,000 horses roam in 60,000 acres of privately owned land in the flint hills
- Native horses had three toes and were smaller than today's horses
Arthropods
- multiple sets of legs
- segmented body
- exoskeleton
- lay eggs
Mammals
- Give live birth
- Drink/Produce milk
- Hair/Fur
Longnose gar
Fairy Shrimp
- sharp needle like teeth
- snout is over twice as long as distance from eyes to back of its head
- lifespan of 15-20 years
Walleye
Fish
- Important food source for fish and birds (pintails and mallards)
- Thin Flexible exoskeleton
- swims upside down
- walleye were introduced into Kansas in the 1960's
- spiny gill cover
- golden hues on its flanks
red harvester ant
- lay eggs in water
- no legs or arms
- live and breathe in water using gills for whole life
- leaves hulls of seeds outside thier dens
- Grind seeds into gruel using mandibles
- Queen may produce anywhere from a year to decades worth of eggs