Zoology

Acanthocephalans
aka: Spiny-Headed Worms
aka: Thorny-Headed Worms
These cylindrical metazoan worms, superficially similar to nematode...
Alligator Snapping Turtle
The alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is North America’s largest freshwater turtle. This tu...
American Alligator
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) belongs to the class Reptilia, order Crocodylia, superfami...
American Burying Beetle
aka: Giant Carrion Beetle
The American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus)—which belong...
American Eel
The American eel (Anguilla rostrata) belongs to the order Anguilliformes and family Anguillidae. Common names ...
Ammonites
aka: Ammonoids
Ammonites are an extinct group of marine invertebrates in the Phylu...
Amphibians
Arkansas has within its borders a modest assemblage of salamanders, frogs, and toads, which are taxonomically ...
Amphipods
aka: Scuds
Amphipods belong to the Phylum Arthropoda, Class Crustacea, Subclas...
Annelids
aka: Segmented Worms
The phylum Annelida consists of over 22,000 living species of segme...
Apicomplexans
aka: Sporozoans
The protistan Phylum Apicomplexa (formerly Sporozoa) contains a tre...
Arachnids
Arachnids belong to Chelicerata, one of four groups of living arthropods. The other three groups are Crustacea...
Arkansas Darter
aka: Etheostoma cragini
Arkansas darter (Etheostoma cragini) populations are scattered amon...
Arkansas Entomological Society
The Arkansas Entomological Society (AES) was founded in May 1991 by entomology educators, researchers, and ind...
Arkansas Fatmucket
aka: Lampsilis powellii
The Arkansas fatmucket is a bivalve mollusk belonging to the family...
Asian Longhorned Tick
aka: Bush Tick
The Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) is an ectopar...
Aspidogastreans
aka: Aspidobothrians
aka: Aspidobothreans
An interesting group within the Class Trematodes (flukes) includ...
Atherinopsids
aka: Neotropical Silversides
Atherinopsids, or neotropical silversides, belong to the order Athe...
Audubon Arkansas
Audubon Arkansas was established in 2000 as the twenty-fifth state office of the National Audubon Society thro...
John James Audubon (1785–1851)
John James Audubon, a frontier naturalist and artist, is famous for illustrating and writing The Birds of Amer...
Bachman's Warbler
aka: Vermivora bachmanii
Bachman’s warbler (Vermivora bachmanii) was a small, yellow-and-b...
William J. Baerg (1885–1980)
William J. Baerg was a naturalist, entomologist, and teacher who served as head of the Department of Entomolog...
Bald Eagle Mass Death of the 1990s
During the winters of 1994–95 and 1996–97, unprecedented mass deaths occurred among bald eagles at DeGray ...
Banded Pygmy Sunfish
The banded pygmy sunfish (Elassoma zonatum) belongs to its own family (Elassomatidae) and the Order Perciforme...
Bats
Bats belong to the class Mammalia and the order Chiroptera. There are two suborders: the Yinpterochiroptera (f...
Big Arkie
Big Arkie was a thirteen-foot-long alligator caught in 1952 near Hope (Hempstead County). He was the Little Ro...
Birds
The birdlife of Arkansas (its avifauna) comprises just over 400 species, although that number includes more th...
Birdwatching
aka: Birding
Birdwatching, also commonly called birding, is the hobby of observi...
Black Bears
aka: Ursus americanus
Black bears have a rich and varied history in Arkansas. Once giving...
Bowfin
aka: Grinnell
Bowfin (Amia calva) belong to the primitive North American fish fam...
Branchiobdellidans
aka: Crayfish Worms
Branchiobdellidans, or crayfish worms, are leech-like, clitellate a...
Bryozoans
aka: Ectoprocta
aka: Moss Animals
Bryozoans (commonly called moss animals) are generally sessile, col...
Butterflies and Moths
Arkansas has long been an ideal place to see butterflies and moths, but an increase in public awareness has oc...