Latest Biota Stories

The striped polecat (Ictonyx striatus), also known as the zoril, zorilla, zorille, or the African polecat, is a member of the weasel family. It can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, West Africa, and the Congo Basin. It prefers a habitat within open areas and savannahs. This species resembles a skunk, and even releases a foul odor when threatened by predators. It is black in color with four white stripes running down its body. It can reach an average body length of 24 inches, with a tail length...

The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) is a member of the Bovidae family that is native to Southeast Asia. It is also known as the Asiatic buffalo and the Asian buffalo. Its range includes Nepal, India, Cambodia, and Thailand and once included other areas like Laos and Pakistan, but populations there have gone extinct. In India, populations are mainly restricted to protected areas including Manas and Dibru-Saikhowa National Parks and D'Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, among other areas....

The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) is native to the central areas of North America, where it is also known as the prong buck, or pronghorn antelope and antelope, although it only resembles true antelopes. The pronghorn is the only remaining species in the Antilocapridae family, which once held five other species. Its range stretches throughout the United States, and starts in Alberta and southern Saskatchewan in Canada. It holds five subspecies, including the Baja California Pronghorn,...

Franklin’s ground squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii) is native to the northern area of the United States and Canada, inhabiting tall grasses on the American prairie. Joseph Sabine who named it after Sir John Franklin, a British Arctic explorer, first described this squirrel in 1822. Previously, it was classified in the Spermophilus genus, within its own subgenus. However, genetic testing showed that it belonged in a different genus because it was paraphyletic, and so it was placed in...

Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) is native only to the island of Madagascar. It can only be found in habitats that are at an altitude of less than 300 feet in arid deciduous forests. These areas include coastal forests and it mainly resides east and north of the Betsiboka River. Its range extends south to Ambato-Boéni. As is typical with all lemurs, Coquerel's sifaka is a tree dweller, and so has long, muscular legs that allow it to leap and climb trees. It has a body length that...