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The Living Encyclopedia
Explore our comprehensive database of reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. Discover detailed care guides, morph varieties, and community setups.
fish
Angelicus Loach
Botia kubotai
The Burmese Border loach, angelicus loach or polka dot loach, Botia kubotai, is a recently described species that has quickly become a popular tropical fish for freshwater aquariums. In 2002, fish collectors working in western Thailand began to expand their search into Myanmar (Burma) area from the Three Pagodas Pass Thai-Myanmar border to look for new fish for the aquarium trade. This is one of several species discovered and explains the origin of the fish's common name: Burmese Border Loach. Its specific epithet honors Katsuma Kubota of an aquarium export company in Thailand who first purchased the catch and sent them out for identification.
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fish
Sumo Loach
Schistura balteata
Schistura balteata is a species of ray-finned fish in the stone loach genus Schistura. It found in hill streams draining from the Myinmoletkat Taung mountain in Tenasserim in southern Myanmar, and has now been recorded in western Thailand too. It is kept in the aquarium trade where it is often referred to as the sumo loach, the specific name derives from the Latin balteatus, which means baldric or shoulder strap, referring to the colour pattern this species.
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P
fish
Panda Loach
Yaoshania pachychilus
Yaoshina is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Gastromyzontidae, commonly called the hillstream loaches, although this also refers to the loaches in the family Balitoridae. The only species in the genus is Yaoshania pachychilus, the panda loach. A loach which is endemic to mountain streams in Jinxiu County, Guangxi in China. This species grows to a length of 5.8 centimetres (2.3 in) SL. This species is monotypic, but it was formerly included in Protomyzon. Juveniles are strikingly coloured in black-and-white, but adults are relatively plain. Y. pachychilus quickly became a popular aquarium fish in the 2010s.
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invertebrate
Swallowtail Butterfly
Papilionidae
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing butterflies of the genus Ornithoptera.
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invertebrate
Blue Morpho
Morpho peleides
Morpho peleides, the Peleides blue morpho, or the common morpho, is an iridescent tropical butterfly.
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invertebrate
Owl Butterfly
Caligo
The owl butterflies are species of the genus Caligo and are known for their huge eyespots, which resemble owls' eyes. They are found in the rainforests and secondary forests of Mexico, Central and South America.
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D
invertebrate
Death's-Head Hawkmoth
Acherontia
Acherontia may refer to:Acherontia (city), a city in ancient Apulia, Italy Acherontia (moth), three species in the genus Acherontia Acherontia atropos Acherontia lachesis Acherontia styx Acherontia (film), a 1972 Mexican film
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invertebrate
Silkworm
Bombyx mori
Bombyx mori, commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a domesticated moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of Bombyx mandarina, the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of particular economic value, being a primary producer of silk. The silkworm's preferred food are the leaves of white mulberry, though they may eat other species of mulberry, and even leaves of other plants. Domestic silk moths are entirely dependent on humans for reproduction, as a result of millennia of selective breeding. Wild silk moths, which are other species of Bombyx, are not as commercially viable in the production of silk.
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invertebrate
Goliath Beetle
Goliathus
The Goliath beetles are any of the six species in the genus Goliathus. Goliath beetles are among the largest insects on Earth, if measured in terms of size, bulk and weight. They are members of subfamily Cetoniinae, within the family Scarabaeidae. Goliath beetles can be found in many of Africa's tropical forests, where they feed primarily on tree sap and fruit. Little appears to be known of the larval cycle in the wild, but in captivity, Goliathus beetles have been successfully reared from egg to adult using protein-rich foods, such as commercial cat and dog food. Goliath beetles measure from 6-11 centimeters for males and 5-8 centimeters for females, as adults, and can reach weights of up to 80–100 grams (2.8–3.5 oz) in the larval stage, though the adults are only about half this weight. The females range from a dark chestnut brown to silky white, but the males are normally brown/white/black or black/white. Goliath beetles, while not currently evaluated on the IUCN Red List, are facing growing conservation challenges across their African range due to habitat loss, over-collection for the international pet trade, and the potential impacts of climate change.
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invertebrate
Elephant Beetle
Megasoma elephas
The elephant beetle is a member of the family Scarabaeidae and the subfamily Dynastinae. Elephant beetles are Neotropical rhinoceros beetles.
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invertebrate
Rhinoceros Beetle
Dynastinae
Dynastinae or rhinoceros beetles are a subfamily of the scarab beetle family (Scarabaeidae), named for their rhinoceros-like horns. Other common names – some for particular groups of rhinoceros beetles – include Hercules beetles, unicorn beetles or horn beetles. Over 1,500 species and 225 genera of rhinoceros beetles are known.
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invertebrate
Jewel Beetle
Buprestidae
Buprestidae is a family of beetles known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. Larvae of this family are known as flatheaded borers. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some 15,500 species known in 775 genera. In addition, almost 100 fossil species have been described.
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invertebrate
Figeater Beetle
Cotinis mutabilis
The figeater beetle is a member of the scarab beetle family in the subfamily Cetoniinae, comprising a group of beetles commonly called flower chafers, since many of them feed on pollen, nectar, or petals. Its habitat is primarily the southwestern United States and Mexico. Figeater beetles are often mistaken for green June beetles and occasionally Japanese beetles, which occur in the Eastern US.
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invertebrate
Green June Beetle
Cotinis nitida
Cotinis nitida, commonly known as the green June beetle, June bug or June beetle, is a beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. It is found in the eastern United States and Canada, where it is most abundant in the South. It is sometimes confused with the related southwestern species figeater beetle Cotinis mutabilis, which is less destructive.
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invertebrate
Japanese Beetle
Popillia japonica
The Japanese beetle is a species of scarab beetle. Due to the presence of natural predators, the Japanese beetle is not considered a pest in its native Japan. In North America and some regions of Europe, it is a noted pest to roughly 300 species of plants. Some of these plants include roses, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others.
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invertebrate
Ladybug
Coccinellidae
Coccinellidae is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles to avoid confusion with true bugs. The more than 6,000 described species have a global distribution and are found in a variety of habitats. They are oval beetles with a domed back and flat underside. Many of the species have conspicuous aposematic (warning) colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential predators that they taste bad.
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invertebrate
Firefly
Lampyridae
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,400 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, starflies or glowworms for their conspicuous production of light, mainly during twilight, to attract mates. The type species is Lampyris noctiluca, the common glow-worm of Europe. Light production in the Lampyridae is thought to have originated as a warning signal that the larvae were distasteful. This ability to create light was then co-opted as a mating signal and, in a further development, adult female fireflies of the genus Photuris mimic the flash pattern of the Photinus beetle to trap their males as prey.
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invertebrate
Click Beetle
Elateridae
Elateridae or click beetles are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spring beetles or skipjacks. This family was defined by William Elford Leach (1790–1836) in 1815. They are a cosmopolitan beetle family characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few other families of Elateroidea in which a few members have the same mechanism, but most elaterid subfamilies can click. A spine on the prosternum can be snapped into a corresponding notch on the mesosternum, producing a violent "click" that can bounce the beetle into the air. The evolutionary purpose of this click is debated: hypotheses include that the clicking noise deters predators or is used for communication, or that the click may allow the beetle to "pop" out of the substrate in which it is pupating. It is unlikely that the click is used for avoiding predators as it does not carry the beetle very far (<50 cm), and in practice click beetles usually play dead or flee normally. There are about 9300 known species worldwide, and 965 valid species in North America.
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invertebrate
Trapdoor Spider
Ctenizidae
Ctenizidae is a small family of mygalomorph spiders that construct burrows with a cork-like trapdoor made of soil, vegetation, and silk. They may be called trapdoor spiders, as are other, similar species, such as those of the families Liphistiidae, Barychelidae, and Cyrtaucheniidae, and some species in the Idiopidae and Nemesiidae. The name comes from the distinctive behavior of the spiders to construct trapdoors, and ambush prey from beneath them.
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invertebrate
Huntsman Spider
Sparassidae
Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae, catch their prey by hunting rather than in webs. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places. In southern Africa, the species of the genus Palystes are known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders. Commonly, they are confused with baboon spiders from the Mygalomorphae infraorder, which are not closely related.
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