Whitebark pine is a long-lived conifer tree, typically 5-20 m tall with trunks up to 1.5 m in diameter, and a rounded or irregularly spreading crown. The mature bark is smooth, fissured into scales, and white to gray in color. The mature crown is often deformed due to wind and snowpack exposure. Buds are ovoid, …
Willamette navarretia is an annual plant that reaches 3-16 cm tall and wide with the primary head at the tip of the main stem and generally with 1-20 smaller heads at the tips of ascending lateral branches. The stems and branches are puberulent and green to reddish brown. The lower leaves are opposite or alternate …
White fairy poppy is a diminutive annual forb that is 2-16 cm tall with erect to ascending stems. The whorled basal leaves are 3-18 mm long, with a blade that’s linear-spatulate (appearing to have an ~10 mm petiole) and entire margins, while stem leaves are opposite and sessile. The flower receptacle is shorter than broad …
Water howellia is a delicate, glabrous aquatic annual with a flaccid, somewhat fistulose stem. Plants are 10-70 cm long, rooted, naked below, and branched above, the branches spreading or floating. Leaves are narrowly linear, mostly entire or with a few slender teeth, flaccid, and 1-4.5 cm long by up to 1.5 mm wide. Early flowers …
Thin-leaved pea is a perennial forb that is sparsely hairy to practically glabrous. The stems are strongly angled or narrowly winged and 30-100 cm long and have a climbing habit. The leaves are 6-10 cm long, alternate, compound and stipulate. The stipules are large and ovate to ovate-lanceolate with the margins coarsely undulate and the …
Tall western penstemon is perennial forb typical of the genus in that it has opposite leaves, flower clusters born in axils of upper bracts, and tubular flowers (of five fused petals) with four fertile, pollenproducing anthers and a fifth sterile anther modified into a staminode. Stems and axes of the inflorescence are glabrous to pubescent, …
Stansell’s daisy is a perennial plant that grows 7-25 cm tall and is tap-rooted with few-branched caudices. The stems of E. stanselliae are erect to decumbent, glabrous to sparsely strigose, and sometimes minutely glandular. The species has basal leaves that are linear to oblanceolate, 40-120 mm long and 2-5 mm wide, that are gradually or …
Seaside gilia is a densely glandular, annual forb with a faint skunk-like odor. The stems are 8-30 cm, with a short main stem and long-decumbent branches. The 1-2 pinnate-lobed leaves (lobes 2-5 mm) are somewhat fleshy and arranged in a basal rosette; upper leaves are shorter and palmate. Inflorescences are in clusters with 2-6 flowers …
Rough goldenweed is a stout tap-rooted perennial with erect stems, 30-70 cm tall, usually glabrous but sometimes slightly roughened distally. Oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic basal leaves are 7-20 cm long and 6-19 mm wide, with entire margins and variable surface texture from glabrous to with sparse shaggy hairs. Cauline leaves are sessile or petiolate and …
Ochoco lomatium is acaulescent with globose tuberous roots with an irregularly thickened or elongated and slender upper 2-4 cm portion. Caudices are simple or 2-3 branched with basal leaf sheaths from previous years absent or weathering into a thatch of a few loose fibers or chartaceous scales at the base of the pseudoscape. The stems …
Narrow-leaved monardella is a fragrant, 15-30 cm tall subshrub with a woody base. The lorate to very narrowly elliptic leaves are often fascicled (bundled), spreading to reflexed, 10-13 mm long by 1.9-2.5 mm wide, and commonly conduplicate. The pale to grayish green leaves are punctate glandular, puberulent above and below, and sometimes glabrous or nearly …
Mendocino coast paintbrush is a tap rooted perennial herb with few to many, decumbent to ascending branching stems arising 17-65 cm from a woody caudex. Generally covered with shaggy-bristly, nonglandular hairs that give the plant a gray-green hue. The somewhat fleshy leaves are 5-20 mm long, oblong to rounded, cupped, with 0-3 truncate-rounded lobes. Inflorescences …
Lemmon’s milkvetch is a perennial plant with numerous, widely branched and sparsely strigose prostrate stems that are loosely matted and 10-50 cm long. The leaves are 1-4.5 cm with 7-15 leaflets that are narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, 2-11 by 1-2 mm, with obtuse to sub-acute tips. The leaf surface is abaxially strigillose and adaxially glabrate …
Large-flowered woolly meadowfoam is a low growing annual herb 5-15 cm long. Stems and leaves are sparsely pubescent. Leaves are 1-6 cm long with linear to oblanceolate leaflets 4-8 mm long. Sepals are pubescent without at the base and densely wooly pubescent within, from 8-14 mm long. Petals are white and range from 7-10 mm …
Large-flowered goldfields is a perennial herb, often rhizomatous and clump-forming, from 2.5-30 cm tall, frequently with a dwarfed and compact growth form on windswept bluffs. The decumbent, somewhat hairy stems branch near the base and the linear to oblong leaves are 5-40 mm long, 1-5 mm wide, with entire margins and glabrous or somewhat hairy …
Hitchcock’s blue-eyed grass is a rhizomatous perennial herb with 1-3 erect to ascending, mostly unbranched stems. Leaves are shorter than the stems, lax to ascending or strict, and 3-4 mm wide with smooth to finely denticulate margins. Inflorescences are terminal on the stem or pedunculate, with outer bracts longer than inner bracts. There are 2-7 …
Columbia yellowcress is an herbaceous perennial, arising from slender roots or rhizomes and covered in fine pubescence or papillose. The stems are somewhat erect, decumbent, or prostrate, from 1-40 cm long and branching repeatedly. Leaves oblanceolate to oblong with sinuate to pinnatifid entire to dentate margins, sometimes with irregular laciniate lobes. Lower leaves often petioled, …
Bentonite biscuitroot, also known as bentonite lomatium, is a perennial species, acaulescent or very short-stemmed, with round thickened tubers (about 1-4 cm diameter) that abruptly taper to an elongated ( <10 cm long) slender upper portion. This diminutive plant can have an unbranched or 2-7 branched caudex, with fibrous remains of previous years’ leaf sheaths, …
Barren valley collomia is a small annual species measuring only two to six inches tall and branching when developed. The species is glandular and puberulent throughout, and densely so on the peduncles and calyx teeth. Ciliate on petioles and along lower edges of leaf blades and bracts. There are few leaves on C. renacta, and …
A. sitchensis is a small species with the lateral thoracic stripes narrow and so strongly notched and extended that they form a characteristic zigzag shape. The first (most anterior) stripe, in particular, has a distinct zigzag pattern. The two stripes are often broken and may have a spot or streak between them, and the frontal …
The Yuma skipper has a wingspan of less than 1.75 inches in size. Golden, tan-orange in color above, pale tan below. Males with black margin on outer edge of both wings dorsally, a long, narrow stigma on the dorsal forewing, and a bright ventral hindwing. Females look similar but lack the forewing stigma and may …
Wonder caddisflies are winged, moth-like insects with long antennae and with aquatic larvae that construct portable casings and emerge from the water when mature. At less than 0.39 in. (1 cm), the wonder caddisfly is a remarkably small caddisfly. Adults have uniformly colored medium brown forewings about 5 mm long, with the body and appendages …
The general appearance of this species is like a small grasshopper nymph. The body is dark brown dorsally, and lighter in color ventrally. The legs are yellow, darker at joints, and quite long, especially the hind legs, which are more than twice the length of the abdomen. The wings are very small and vestigial (micropterous), …
Adults have a wingspan of 4.5 – 6.3 cm. Forewing length measures 2.3-3 cm in males and 2.5-3 cm in females. Males yellow (rarely orange) dorsally, with black margins and yellow veins. Females usually albinistic or white, sometimes yellowish white or rarely yellow, black borders above are faint or absent. Dorsal forewing discal spot is …
Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee females are 1.8 to 2.3 cm in length. Cuckoo bumble bees,including Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee, do not have a pollen carrying basket (corbicula) on their hind leg, unlike the true bumble bees. Instead, their hind leg tibia is convex and densely covered in hairs. Their hair is short and even. The …
A. subarctica is a medium-sized species, ranging from 63 to 69 mm in length. The lateral thoracic stripes are distinctive: rather narrow and tapering to a constriction or notch in the middle. The male thoracic stripes are bluish at the top transitioning to yellow-green at the bottom. There is a short, thin streak between the …
The striped sun star is a large (up to 58 cm diameter) sea star with 8 to 12 (typically 10) relatively long (up to 23 cm) slender rays. The aboral surface is typically yellow-orange or red, and prominent gray, blue or purple stripes radiate out from the center of the disc to the tip of …
Adults are 1 3/8 – 2 7/8 inches (35 – 47 mm) in length. On the upperside, wings are black and orange, with black marks occurring in a sparse pattern throughout; black margins also enclose pale orange spots. On the underside (visible with wings folded), the forewings are orange with sparse black markings; the chestnut-colored …
Adult caddisflies resemble small moths with hair-covered wings held tent-like over their back when at rest. They have long hair-like antennae but lack the coiled mouthparts that moths and butterflies have. A. scotti males have a forewing length of 7.7-8.1 mm, while females measure 7.7-9.0 mm. They are dark brown in color, with forewings covered …
The pinto abalone is a medium-sized abalone (maximum shell length 150 mm, most individuals are less than 80 mm) with a thin, ear-shaped shell, and an epipodium that is light green-brown with tinges of orange. The shells have a scalloped growing edge, the external surface is typically green-brown (but can also be white and blue), …
The Owyhee upland pyrg is tiny, gill-breathing, operculate, aquatic snail. It can be distinguished by its disjunct inner shell lip, longer and narrower penial filament, more distally positioned ventral gland of its penis, and mitochondrial DNA sequences. It is a small to medium-sized species having an ovate to narrow conic shell with medium to highly …
Pyrgulopsis owyheensis is a tiny, gill-breathing, operculate, aquatic snail endemic to thermal springs. The Owyhee hot springsnail is distinguished by its broad, low-spired, squat shell and large, discshaped, glandular ornament on its penis.
The upperside of the wings is orange with broad brown margins, and lighter markings in the median parts of the wings can be present to almost absent. Males have a thin, black stigma running lengthwise down most of the forewing. On the underside (visible when the butterfly is resting with wings fully folded), the hindwings …
One short hindwing tail on males, long tail on female hindwing; may be missing. Upperside brown-gray. Underside is olive-gray with ashy overlay. Postmedian line white; sometimes faint or absent. Spot near tail is gray-blue. Wingspan 1 – 1.25 inches (2.5 – 3.2 cm)
Morrison bumble bee queens and workers are similar in coloration. The queen is 22 – 26 mm in length, the worker is 12 – 22 mm in length. Their hair is very short and even. The hair of the face is usually black, but the vertex (top of the head) is yellow. The hair on …
Morning sun stars are large sea stars with a wide central disc and 8 to 13 long tapering rays (arms) that reach a maximum span of about 40 cm. The upper (aboral) surface is smooth, and its external color is usually pale brown, tan, grey, reddish, or orange, sometimes mottled with pale patches. They generally …
F. modoci is a small, gill-breathing, freshwater snail. F. modoci can be distinguished by its strongly thickened scar margin and by a derived condition in which the length of the lateral tooth shaft is greater than the height of the tooth face. F. modoci is also one of only three species that have more than …
Adults have a wingspan of 25-35mm. Males and females are brown, often with hints of orange or red-orange, and females may have more brown coloration near the wing margins and tails. Double tails (“hairstreaks”) are present on the hindwings, with inner tails being longer. Note that tails may not always be present for identification, as …
The wingspan is 22–26 mm. The males are a shiny, light gray-blue color above, with a black border on the apical margins breaking into a row of black dots on the hind wing. Females are russet-brown above with blue and sometimes orange highlights and often have white spots across the wings. Both sexes have prominent dorsal forewing and …
A small (less than 3 cm wingspan) tan butterfly. In most, the ventral median light band is distinct and the remainder of the hindwing is uniform in color. Subspecies siris is somewhat darker than the other subspecies but is more easily identified by geography, occurring west of the Cascades crest.
Tawny to orange-brown dorsally, with black markings. Both males and females have black chains along the dorsal wing margins, although the chaining is light in males and heavy in females. The ventral hindwing disc color varies from shades of light brown to brandy-colored with the silver orbs large and ovoid. The silver spots are relatively …
Species is large with subglobular to trochoid shell having strong subsutural angulation or keel on body whorl; penis of medium size, sickle-shaped. In addition to body whorl shape, the frequently incomplete parietal lip, pigmented salivary glands, and position of seminal receptacle entirely lateral to albumen gland are unique to F. fuscus. This species is further …
P. s. littoralis adults are slightly larger than other blue butterflies (Polyommatinae subfamily), and have reduced black spots below with unique white haloes. Individuals from southern coastal colonies may be darker blue and more heavily spotted than those found further north. They have two rows of markings on the underside of the hindwings.
Farula constricta is a small, moth-like insect, uniform dark brown in color, with a forewing length of 5 mm (0.2 in.) in both sexes. Adults are typical for the genus, have the curved and heavily setate internal branches of segment X, and the swollen mesal lobe of the inferior appendages. Farula constricta is distinguished by …
Soupfin shark have slender bodies, a small second dorsal fin, long snouts and a large lobe on the upper part of their caudal fin. They can grow up to six feet five inches and weigh up to 100 pounds. They are dark gray above and white on the underside. They mature slowly. They spawn once …
Pacific sardine are small, blue-green fish that grow quickly and reach lengths of about 12 inches. They have white flanks with one to three sets of dark spots along their sides. While they can live to 13 years, most do not live more than 5 years. They mature at 1 to 2 years of age …
The leatherback sea turtle is the largest turtle in the world. They are the only species of sea turtle that lack scales and a hard shell. They are named for their tough, rubbery skin and have existed in their current form since the age of the dinosaurs. Leatherbacks are highly migratory, some swimming over 10,000 …
Long-nosed leopard lizards are medium sized with round bodies, grey throats and dark spots covering most of their body. Their tails are quite long, more than twice the length of their bodies. During the breeding season females have red or orange spots along their sides
Great Basin collared lizards (formerly Mojave black-collared lizards) are medium sized with prominent rings around their necks, gray to brown bodies with pale bellies. Light spots cover most of the body. At the tail, the spots form a reticulated pattern.
The desert horned lizard is a small, round lizard with large, pointed scales that protrude from the back of their heads, giving them the appearance of having horns. They are well camouflaged in their surroundings with beige, tan, brown, or slightly reddish body color that can match the rocky soils found in the desert
The Yuma myotis is a small, insectivorous bat species found in the western United States, northern Mexico, and parts of Central America. Its fur is darker on the back with a lighter, pale underside. The Yuma myotis has small ears characteristic of myotis bats, which helps it detect and hunt insects using echolocation. This bat …
A small, insectivorous bat, western small-footed myotis range from pale tan to orange-yellow on the back, contrasting with paler fur on the undersides. The black face, ears, and flight membranes contrast strikingly with the paler overall color of the fur.
Western long-eared myotis are small bats with yellowish to darker brown fur, with brown patches on the shoulders and pale undersides. The ears are long with dark membranes that contrast the lighter fur. The flight membranes are also dark.
Sea otters are the smallest marine mammal species and live in the nearshore waters along the Pacific Coast of North America, Russia, and Japan. They are members of the Mustelidae family, which also includes weasels, badgers, and wolverines. Their historic range stretched from Hokkaido, Japan around the North Pacific Rim to Baja, Mexico. The population …
The North American porcupine is a large, short-legged rodent with up to 30,000 barb-tipped quills (modified hairs) covering the upper parts of the body and the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the tail. The quills are scattered among much longer, coarse guard hairs; the underfur is woolly. The quills are arranged in rows across the …
The little brown bat is a small insectivorous bat found throughout Oregon in a variety of habitats types. They have variably-colored, long, glossy fur and small eyes and ears. They are similar in appearance to Yuma myotis. These bats are nocturnal and use echolocation to hunt insects such as mosquitoes and moths.
Humpback whales can grow up to about 60 feet long, weigh about 40 tons, and may live up to 90 years. They have a dorsal fin, very long pectoral fins that can reach about 15 feet long, and their flukes have unique patterns of color and scalloped trailing edges for each individual. The upper jaw …
The canyon bat (known formerly as the as the western pipistrelle) is a small, insectivorous bat that roosts in crevices in rock faces, caves, mines, and possibly cracks or rodent holes found amongst rocks and boulder fields. The species is thought to be non-migratory.
Found only on the west coast of Oregon and California, Wrentits are resident, very sedentary birds with secretive, skulking behavior, only emerging occasionally from cover. The Wrentit has been described as the most sedentary species in North America. The male and female are similar in appearance. Males and females look alike, with olive-brown plumage and …
The Wilson’s Phalarope is the largest and most terrestrial of the three North American phalaropes. As with all phalaropes, females are larger and more brightly-colored than males. During nesting, females have pale blue/gray forehead and crown; white supercilium above the eye, borders black streak that passes from base of the bill, through and below the …
The Willet (Tringa semipalmata) is a large, gray to brownish-gray sandpiper with white lower base of tail and distinctive black-and-white wing stripe pattern. Sexes are similar. Taxonomic split; western population recognized as T. s. inornata (genetic divergence c. 700,000 years ago). Winters on the coast from Mexico to Chile and remain largely separate from the …
The Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) is a large waterbird native to western North America, known for its elaborate and showy courtship rituals. It has black feathers on its back, while its throat and underside are white. Its head features a black cap that covers the eyes and extends down the top of the neck and …
The Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) is a medium-sized seabird in the auk family and is closely related to puffins. During the breeding season, both males and females can be easily recognized by a distinctive vertical pale yellow “horn” (1 to 3 cm long) at the base of the upper bill, which gives the species its …
The Pinyon Jay is a highly social corvid found in the interior western United States. Its overall blue coloration, relatively short tail, pointed bill, and lack of a crest distinguish it from other jay species. The Pinyon Jay is a medium-sized bird; males and females have similar plumage, though males typically have a slightly deeper …
The Golden Eagle is a large raptor that lives in open landscapes and mountainous, undisturbed terrain. It is uniformly dark brown with a golden-colored nape in all plumages. These eagles have large bills, feathered legs, and long, broad wings, with a wingspan that can reach up to 7 feet (2.1 meters). They acquire adult plumage …
Franklin’s Spruce Grouse is a resident bird of the Rocky Mountains, ranging from central British Columbia and southwestern Alberta south to eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, including the Wallowa Mountains. Males have h a black breast marked by white spots along the sides, a black tail with white spots at the base, and a red …
The Cassin’s Auklet is a small seabird with steel-gray coloring on its back and a white belly. It has a white stripe near the eye and a pale, whitish iris. Its coloring helps it blend in with the ocean, making it hard to spot at sea. Cassin’s Auklet is one of the most widespread alcid …
The California Condor is one the largest and one of the most endangered species in N. America which vanished form Oregon more than 120 years ago. Ongoing reintroduction efforts and planning for reintroductions are expected to result in the return of the California Condor to Oregon in the foreseeable future. It has a wingspan of …
The Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, is Oregon’s smallest tern with black head body and gray wings during the breeding season. Sexes are both similar but the males are generally larger. Bill black; legs blackish red.
The Black Rosy-Finch, Leucosticte atrata, is a medium-sized, dark-colored finch. It is one of three types of rosy-finches found in North America and is one of the rarest birds that breeds in Oregon. In the summer, it lives high in the mountains of southeastern Oregon, above the tree line and even above where snow stays …
The American Avocet is a large, striking shorebird with long bluish-gray legs, a long recurved (upturned) bill, and a black-and-white chevron pattern on its back and wings, with cinnamon head and neck (grayish white in winter). Males and females are similar; males are larger. American Avocets specialize in using ephemeral shallow wetland habitats. No subspecies …
The Crater Lake newt is a distinct population of rough-skinned newt which is endemic to Crater Lake in Oregon’s southern Cascade Range. It is considered by some authorities to be a subspecies of rough-skinned newt, and was first formally described in the 1940’s. Crater Lake newts are characterized by a roughened skin surface and relatively …
Taylor’s checkerspot is most notable for the orange, black, and white checkered pattering on its wings. They usually have a wingspan of less than 2.25 inches (5.6 cm). They have stubbier wings and distinctively thicker black lines separating the spots on their wings than other E. editha subspecies.
Adult Fender’s blue butterflies are small, having a wingspan of approximately 25 mm. The upper wings of males are brilliant blue in color with black borders and basal areas, whereas the upper wings of females are completely brown. The undersides of the wings of both sexes are cream-tan with small, black spots surrounded by a …
The Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) is a medium-sized broad-winged hawk of open habitats. They are long distance migrants, and individuals may migrate up to 10,000km to wintering habitat in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. They exhibit polymorphism with distinctive dark and light color morphs also showing intermediate characteristics in between. Dark morph individuals are relatively uncommon, …
Lewis’ Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) is a medium-sized woodpecker with greenish black iridescent head, back, wings, and tail. It also has a notable silvery gray collar and upper breast, dark red face, and pinkish or salmon red lower breast and belly. Both sexes similar but the male is slightly larger. The legs and feet are gray, …
Brown rockfish get their scientific name auriculatus, which means eared in Latin, from the dark blotch found on their gill cover. This “cheek patch” helps distinguish this species from other similar species. They come in various shades of light brown with extensive darker brown mottling. Brown rockfish have prominent spines on their head and heavy …
Sunflower stars are among the largest sea stars in the world, with a typical ray length of about 40 cm and a maximum arm span (diameter) of about 80 to 100 cm. Adults are radially symmetrical and usually have 16 to 24 rays (arms) and a soft loose body that can vary in color from …
Rock scallops are marine bivalves that have their right valve affixed to a hard surface (usually a rock or boulder), where it becomes deformed to fit the contours of the rock. The left valve is roughly circular but irregular in outline, thick and heavy, with deep radial ribs. The shells of rock scallops are generally brown …
Red sea urchins are large (10 to 18 cm diameter), red to dark-burgundy sea urchins with a radially-symmetrical globular outer skeleton (test) that supports numerous long (5 to 8 cm) sharp spines. They typically inhabit rocky areas in the subtidal zone (5 to 90 m) but also occur in intertidal areas and deeper waters to …
Red abalone are large marine snails (maximum shell length 31 cm, the largest abalone in the world) with a heavy domed-shaped oval shell, a black epipodium, and a yellow-white underside of the broad foot. The external surface of red abalone shells is typically dull brick-red and may be covered by barnacles, sponges, or other epifouling …
Pacific razor clams are large (8 to 17 cm), fast digging clams that inhabit some of the stable, sandy surf-swept beaches along the Oregon coast. This species has an elongated, narrow shell with a periostracum that varies from light brown in the young small clams, to yellowish and olive-brown in medium-size clams, and darker brown …
The Olympia oyster is a small (6 to 8 cm) oyster with rounded or elongated shells (valves) that can be white to light purple and sometimes marked by yellow or brown streaks. The shells of Olympia oysters lack a periostracum, which is the thin, outermost organic layer that prevents erosion of the underlying shell. Olympia …
Ochre sea stars are common inhabitants of rocky shelfs, surge channels, cliffs, platforms, tidepools, and other wave-exposed areas along Oregon’s rocky shores. Adults typically have five stout rays that range from 10 to 25 cm in length and individuals can be purple, orange, yellow, reddish, or brown in color. The oral surface of the sea …
Littleneck clams have a chalky brownish-white shell that is marked by numerous strong radial and concentric ridges, and the umbo (hinge) is located anterior to the midline of the shell. The two equal-sized valves are oval or heart-shaped, and the shell seldom exceeds 6 cm in length (maximum shell length 7 cm). Littleneck clams commonly occur …
The flat abalone is a medium-sized abalone (maximum shell length 175 mm, most individuals are 25 to 125 mm) with a flattened oval shell, a red lip, and an epipodium that is mottled yellow and dark-brown. Flat abalone shells are typically dark, brick red with occasional streaks of greenish-blue and white, and they have four …
Dungeness crab are large, sandy-red colored crustaceans that have a lifespan of 8 to 13 years and typically grow up to 180 to 200 mm at their widest point. Adults have four pairs of walking legs, two pincers (claws), and a wide carapace, all of which seasonally become filled with musculature which is a prized source …
California mussels are large (10 to 15 cm) blue-shelled bivalves that occur in expansive aggregations or clusters in the upper intertidal zone of rocky areas located along the open coast (although some mussels inhabit subtidal areas down to a depth of 24 m). Individual mussels are typically attached to rocks and each other with resilient …
Blue mud shrimp are large (up to 11 cm), burrowing shrimp that have an extended broad abdomen and well-developed tail fan, a hairy rostrum with three teeth, and chelipeds that are nearly equal in size. Blue mud shrimp inhabit permanent burrows excavated in mudflats low in the intertidal zone, and the burrows typically have multiple …
The Dalles mountainsnail has a shell that is white basally with light mottling of various pinkish or brownish streaks. It appears light caramel-brown dorsally with white streaks along the ridges of the prominent growth wrinkles, and a white leading edge about 2 mm wide at the aperture, althought the species may be variable in color. …
Vespericola depressus is a terrestrial land snail with a thin, depressed shell that is dull light brown or tan in color with rows of short, fine hairs on its spire. This species measures between 14 and 15 mm wide and between 8.7 and 9 mm high, with 5½ to 6 whorls.
Neothremma andersoni adults are 5 to 6 mm in length, with the body and appendages medium brown in color. Male N. andersoni differ in having enlarged scale-hairs along the major veins (basally on the forewings and centrally on the hindwings). Identification often requires close examination of adult male genitalia or mature male pupae.
Bombus franklini is readily distinguished from other bumble bees in its range by the extended yellow on the anterior dorsal side of the thorax which extends well behind the wing bases and forms an inverted U-shape around the central patch of black, lack of yellow on the abdomen, yellow on the vertex (top of the …
Bombus occidentalis is most easily distinguished based on hair coloration. A total of twelve female and twelve male color forms have been described but the color forms of B. occidentalis that are most likely to be encountered in Oregon and Washington have bright white coloration on the posterior end of the abdomen. The queen is …
Adult monarch butterflies are large and conspicuous, with bright orange wings surrounded by a black border and covered with black veins. The black border has a double row of white spots, present on the upper side of the wings. Adult monarchs are sexually dimorphic, with males having narrower wing venation and scent patches. The bright …
Philotiella leona is tiny (< 2 cm) with large bodies relative to the wings. The dorsal wings of the males are dark, dusky blue in the center, with black wing edges. The female dorsal wings are blackish brown. The ventral wings of both sexes are white with very large black discal and median spots on …
A member of the Carabidae (ground beetle) family, this species is 6.0 – 7.5 mm (0.24 – 0.29 in.) in length with narrow body. This species is metallic in color, typically coppery-bronze, but may reflect green or blue; antennae densely pubescent; elytra striate, punctured, and pubescent
Males have a body length of 4.3 mm; interocular distance of 0.59 mm; forewing length of 5.3 mm; macropterous wings; tergum nine divided by medial membranous area except narrow bridge on anterior margin; two well-developed tergal knobs present along inner margin of the divided tergum nine; epiproct with both upper and lower processes well developed, …
Vespericola sierranus is a pulmonate (air-breathing) land snail. This species is a small, thin-shelled, brown snail with a moderately elevated, rounded spire that is slightly angled at the periphery. With 5.25 to 5.75 whorls, the shell measures 8.4 to 9 mm wide by 5.2 to 5.8 mm high. V. sierranus rarely has a parietal tooth, …
The shell of F. nuttalli is broadly conical, having a wide oval base and a smooth eccentric (off-center) apex. Adult size varies considerably in different-sized streams, but is generally around 10 to 11 mm. The shell color is described as opaque chestnut-brown, cinnamon-red, and rich brown. The shell shape is roundly ovate (elliptical in outline), …
Pomatiopsis binneyi has a moderately high and conical shell, with 4-5 deeply and evenly convex whorls; a complete aperture; shell moderately thick with whitish opaque layer immediately inside and lining aperture. The shell has been described as consisting of four to five very convex whorls; apex somewhat obtuse; aperture ovate or nearly suborbicular, both lips …
Juga newberryi is a medium-sized gilled freshwater snail. Its shell usually contains three yellow bands separated by three very dark colored or tan bands. The shell can also appear without any bands and instead be a yellowish-tan to dark tan color. Juga snails have tall shells that are conic in shape and relatively thick and …
Lanx alta are freshwater, limpet-shaped snails. They have variable (or environmentally plastic) conical shells, roughly 10-20 mm in length. They can be red, yellow, or brown in color with a complete circumferential muscle scar.
The Great Basin Ramshorn (Helisoma newberryi) has what has been described as a stout shell, diameter approximately 13 mm; with whorls that do not increase rapidly in width, but body whorls that are larger, with simple aperture offset downwards at steep angles. H. newberryi is described as medium to large, ultradextral, body whorl angulated; spire …
The shell of P. archimedis is broad- to narrow-conic and medium-large size for the genus (2.48-7.16 mm tall) with 4.0-5.75 whorls. The protoconch has 1.25-1.3 whorls, about 430 mm in diameter, and is smooth to weakly wrinkled at apex. The teleconch whorls are slightly to moderately convex and usually evenly rounded, but sometimes wider above. …
P. californica has a shell that is moderately high, conical, and perforate, with 6-7 deeply and evenly convex whorls; it is 4 mm in length, the aperture is thin, definitely adnate; the umbilicus is open; the shell is rather thin with a chestnut brown color.
H. hertleini is a medium sized snail with a thin and delicate shell. The shell is globose or depressed with a conic or low spire. The shell color is pale golden-brown with a narrow darker band, generally brown or reddish, located well above the periphery. The shell has 5 to 5.5 whorls increasing in size …
Oregon silverspot butterfly belong to a subfamily of medium and large sized butterflies with distinctive black line and dot patterning on bright orange dorsally, and a heavily-patterned ventrum. Males have a forewing length of 24 to 29 mm. The color on the dorsal wings is medium to reddish orange with heavy dark basal suffusion. The …
The Mardon skipper is a small (20-24mm;
Species is small, with a forewing length of ~ 12.5 mm. The dorsal surface (upperside) of the wings is dull grayish brown with an area of tan to orange-tan overscaling in the basal and postbasal areas of the forewing, and may have orangish tan overscaling (males) or pale gray with dark brown overscaling (female) near …
Several species of surfgrass are found in Oregon nearshore waters that are considered to be part of the essential fish habitat for groundfish. Surfgrass are flowering plants. The live in rocky areas with turbulent waters in a narrow depth range from the intertidal to the shallow subtidal. The plants vary in appearance and habitat. Some …
Sea palm is a brown alga that only lives in the middle and upper intertidal zones on wave-exposed rocky shores. It has a tough stem-like hollow stipe that reaches about 50-75 cm tall that keeps it upright even when it is exposed to the air when the tide is low. It is topped with leaf-like …
Native eelgrass is a flowering plant found in estuaries and protected waters in Oregon. It has blades up to about 0.5 inch wide and can grow to lengths of just over 3 feet long. It grows in sandy and muddy substrates within a narrow depth range where it can get adequate light, but is rarely …
Bull kelp is a brown alga that can grow to about 115 feet long. A tough root-like structure called a holdfast anchors it to the rocky bottom of the nearshore. The long, hollow stem-like stipe grows from the bottom up towards the surface buoyed by a single large air bladder bulb from which the leaf-like …
Wolf’s evening primrose is an erect, branching biennial to short-lived perennial, 5-15 dm tall, with greenish or red stems covered with stiff hairs. Plants form a basal rosette with elliptical leaves in the first year, and typically bolt and flower the following year. Flowers are pale yellow to yellow and are usually less than 4 …
Willamette daisy is a tap-rooted perennial species growing from a crown or slightly branched caudex. Stems are decumbent, moderately strigose, 15-70 cm tall, and often purplish at the base. The leaves are numerous, sparsely to moderately strigose, linear or linear-lanceolate, the basal leaves and most of the cauline leaves triple-nerved. Basal leaves are up to …
White-topped aster is a perennial herb from slender creeping rhizomes, with generally unbranched stems topped by terminal clusters of flowering heads. Flowering stems are 10-30 cm tall, non-flowering stems about half as tall. Plants are glabrous except for scabrous-ciliolate leaf margins. Leaves are alternate and evenly distributed along the stem, oblanceolate, tapering to an essentially …
White rock larkspur is a slender perennial species 20-60 cm tall that grows from a cluster of tubers. Leaves are numerous and evenly distributed on the stem, with long petioles and lobed blades. The inflorescence is a narrow raceme bearing 6-30 nonglandular flowers. The sepals are white to cream, sometimes slightly greenish blue on the …
Western lily is a perennial that grows from a rhizomatous bulb, with a slender, unbranched stem 60-170 cm tall. The dark green leaves are narrowly oblanceolate, 622 cm long by 0.5-2.5 cm wide, and mostly scattered, with usually only the central leaves whorled. The showy, nodding flowers number 1-10 (25) on very long pedicels, the …
Wayside aster is an erect perennial mostly 60-120 cm tall, growing from a stout caudex. The lowermost leaves are reduced and scale-like; those above are elliptic or broadly lanceolate, sessile, entire or with a few irregular teeth, 5-9 cm long by 1.5-3 cm wide and gradually reduced toward the inflorescence. Leaves are glabrous to glandular …
Umpqua mariposa lily is a bulbous perennial, 2-3 dm tall with a basal leaf averaging 32 cm in length. Like the closely related C. howellii, C. umpquaensis has hairs in parallel rows along the veins on the underside of the leaf. The one to several broadly cup-shaped flowers are 5.3-10.5 cm in diameter, hairy, and …
Tygh Valley milkvetch is a densely villous-tomentose perennial arising from a thick, woody taproot and shortly forking caudex. Stems are several to numerous, usually 1555 cm long, and prostrate to weakly ascending, forming loose mats or tufted clumps. Leaves are pinnately compound, 5-14 cm long, the uppermost subsessile, with (7) 1525 flat leaflets 0.6-1.7 cm …
Sterile milkvetch is a perennial species 7-15 cm tall, with stiff, wiry stems arising singly or two or three together from creeping rhizomes. Stems are short-strigose and branched, the branches often incurved. Leaves are 2-9 cm long, the rachis elongated well beyond the leaflets. Leaflets are arranged in scattered pairs of 3-5, are linear to …
Spalding’s campion is a perennial with one to many shoots growing from a branched, woody caudex. It is viscid-tomentose throughout, with erect leafy stems, simple or strictly branched, 20-60 cm tall. The nodes are large, with 2 sessile, proximally connate leaves per node. Leaf blades are ovate to lanceolate with an acute apex, 3-7 cm …
South Fork John Day milkvetch is a tap-rooted annual, or possibly short-lived perennial, with several cespitose, spreading, strigose stems 10-40 cm long. Leaves are 3-5 cm long with slender petioles. Leaflets number 9-15, are oblong to obovate, glabrous above and strigose beneath, and 0.5-1.0 cm long. Racemes are short, fewflowered, and are borne on peduncles …
Snake River goldenweed is a perennial species with one to several stems 30-100 cm tall arising from a woody taproot. The plant is essentially glabrous throughout. Basal leaves are tufted, broadly elliptic, usually 15-50 cm long (including the petiole) and 520 cm wide. The numerous cauline leaves are sharply toothed and reduced, becoming sessile above, …
Smooth mentzelia is a low annual, 5-12 cm tall. The dark stem is stout, erect, branching, and puberulent but not scabrous, at least when young, the hairs barbed at the tips. The leaves are crowded below, oblong-lanceolate or oblanceolate, obtuse, sessile or subsessile, and less puberulent than the stem. Leaf margins are entire, slightly wavy, …
Silvery phacelia is a perennial arising from an often much branched and elongated caudex. Stems are stout, decumbent to ascending, and 10-45 cm long, the stems and petioles white hispid to hispidulous with fine, upward-appressed hairs. Leaves are thick, entire or with a pair of leaflets below the main blade, 5-12 cm long by 2-3 …
Shiny-fruited allocarya is a slender, erect annual with a simple, strigose stem 10-30 cm tall. The leaves are linear, 1-2 cm long, glabrous above and hispid below. Flowers are borne on very short pedicels and arranged in one-sided racemes bracted only towards the base. The fruiting calyx is somewhat thickened at the base, with narrowly …
Sexton Mountain mariposa lily is a bulbous perennial with a stout stem and a single basal leaf 2-2.5 dm long. The 2-2.5 cm bulb is ovoid, with a thick, dark coat. Flowers are bright lavender, with hairs in only a small area at the base of the petals above the gland. The two to four …
Point Reyes bird’s-beak is a halophytic annual 10-20 (-30) cm tall, simple or sparingly branched with ascending lateral branches equal to or shorter than the central spike. The herbage is grayish green to glaucous, often purplish tinged, and villous to glabrescent. Leaves are oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 1-2.5 cm long and 0.3-0.7 cm wide, with a …
Rough popcornflower is an herbaceous plant that can grow to be 50-60 cm tall and perennial, or considerably smaller and annual, depending on environmental conditions. The upper stems are distinctly covered with spreading hairs, and the opposite cauline leaves are linear with hairy margins. Flowering stems are spreading, with paired coiled inflorescences containing many 6-10 …
Red-fruited lomatium is a perennial species, acaulescent or very short-stemmed, and glabrous throughout. This is a diminutive plant, growing to only 2-7 cm tall, including the flowering stalk. Stems, petioles, and peduncles are often purplish. There are usually 1-3 olive-green glaucous leaves that are highly divided, the rachis broadly winged, the blade 1.0-3.5 cm long …
McDonald’s rockcress is a mat-forming perennial species usually with several simple stems 5-30 cm high growing from a branched caudex. Basal leaves are arranged in rosettes, are spatulate with an essentially glabrous surface, usually 1-2 cm (-3) long and 0.3-0.7 cm wide, with slightly to strongly repand or toothed margins, teeth sometimes bristle-tipped. Cauline leaves …
Pumice grape-fern is a perennial with a stout, fleshy underground stalk about 10 cm long, usually bearing a single leaf divided into sterile and fertile parts. The sterile portion of the leaf (trophophore) is dull, grayish green, glaucous, sessile or nearly so, the blade up to 4 cm long by 6 cm wide, usually ternately …
Pink sandverbena can be either an annual or occasionally a short-lived perennial. It is a tap-rooted glandular-puberulent forb with few to several prostrate branches up to 1 m (-1.5) long. Leaf blades are fleshy, light green, oval to oblong-ovate with somewhat irregular margins, 2-6 cm long, with slender petioles about as long as the blades. …
Peck’s milkvetch is a prostrate perennial with a deep taproot. The reddish stems reach 1-3 dm long, and leaves are pinnately compound with 8-14 leaflets per leaf. Leaf petioles persist from year to year, giving plants a skeletal look during winter dormancy. (Interestingly, Peck’s milkvetch is the only North American milkvetch to have persistent petioles.) …
Peacock larkspur is a leafy perennial 30-90 cm tall that grows from a cluster of globose tubers. The deeply cleft leaves are mostly cauline, becoming bract-like above, the lowest leaves with petioles up to 22 cm long. Flowers are arranged in a pyramidal raceme, with lower pedicels much longer than the upper ones. The sepals …
Packard’s mentzelia is an erect, sparsely branched annual 10-40 cm tall, with white to pale green stout stems. The basal leaves are linear and entire or with shallow narrow lobes; the upper leaves are linear to ovate-lanceolate, entire, sessile, occasionally somewhat clasping, and densely pubescent. Flowers are either solitary in the stem axils or arranged …
Owyhee clover is a glaucous perennial with one to several spreading stems up to 20 cm long growing from a thick woody taproot, often with numerous rhizomes. Leaves are few on petioles up to 2.5 times the length of the leaflets. Leaflets are thick and broad, green with white crescents, more or less emarginate, and …
Oregon semaphore grass is a perennial arising from slender rhizomes with purplish red scales and long soft internodes. The culms are erect, soft and spongy, and 55-90 cm tall. Sheaths are overlapping and closed for 3/4 their length, the lower sheaths loose, purplish red, and nearly smooth, the upper ones scaberulous and striate. Ligules are …
Northern wormwood is a low-growing (to 30 cm), tap-rooted biennial or perennial. The basal leaves are 2.5–10 cm long, 2-3 times divided into mostly linear divisions, and crowded into rosettes. Leaves and stems are covered with fine, silky hairs. The inflorescence is narrow, with relatively large flower heads. The outer flowers are pistillate and fertile, …
Nelson’s checkermallow is an erect perennial arising from a stout taproot, the stems 40-100 cm tall and glabrous or with short, simple hairs. Leaf blades are glabrous above and sparsely covered with small, stiff hairs beneath. Basal leaves are round and palmately lobed, the lobes toothed; upper leaves are increasingly deeply cleft. The species is …
Mulford’s milkvetch is a perennial species with a long taproot and clustered, slender, wiry, thinly strigose stems, 3–20 cm long, arising from a woody, many-branched caudex. Leaves are 4–10 cm long including the petiole, with a flattened rachis and 1123 linear to elliptic leaflets, 0.3–0.8 cm long and nearly glabrous. Flowers are scattered, 5–20, in …
Malheur wire-lettuce is an annual species, with seeds that germinate in the early spring (usually starting around the first week of April) and subsequently form glabrous-leaved basal rosettes up to 15 cm in diameter. The rosette typically bolts in late May-June, forming a wiry network of flowering branches generally less than 30 cm long. Flower …
Malheur Valley fiddleneck is an erect annual, 10-50 cm tall, glabrous to mostly glaucous below and sparsely bristly above. Leaves are ovate to broadly lanceolate and acute at the tip, with pustuliferous-based hairs on both lower and upper leaf surfaces. Plants produce from one to several flowering stalks which may be branched above. The inflorescence …
Macfarlane’s four o’clock is a stout perennial that forms hemispheric clumps 0.6-1.2 m in diameter, with several freely branched decumbent or ascending stems that are glabrous to sparsely puberulent. The leaves are opposite and fleshy, the lower blades orbicular to ovate-deltoid, the upper narrowly ovate. The petioles of lower leaves are 12.5 cm long; upper …
Lawrence’s milkvetch is a taprooted perennial 20-40 cm high. Stems are clustered, erect or decumbent at the base, and canescent with short crisped pubescence. Leaves are 3-5 cm long, with short petioles. Leaflets number 11-17, are linear to cuneate with obtuse or emarginate apices, 0.6-1.0 cm long, and woolly pubescent. Many-flowered racemes are borne on …
Large-flowered rush lily is a bulbous perennial with a solitary flowering stalk up to a meter in height. The bluish-green leaves are mostly basal, grass-like, 25-55 cm long, and glabrous, with only a few small cauline leaves. Dead and shriveled leaves are often present at the base of the flowering stalk. Flowers are arranged in …
Kincaid’s lupine is a perennial arising from a branched crown, usually with numerous unbranched stems (30) 40-80 (100) cm tall, with whitish or brownish stiff to silky pubescence. Basal leaves are usually persistent until after flowering, with petioles (2) 3-5 times the length of the blades; upper cauline leaves have petioles sometimes shorter than the …
Howell’s spectacular thelypody is an herbacious biennial that grows 3-7 dm tall. During the first growing season, this species typically forms a rosette, with wavy-margined leaves growing 2-5 cm in length. As with many biennials, Howell’s spectacular thelypody usually reproduces in its second year. The flowering stalk’s auriculate cauline leaves have smooth edges and are …
Howell’s microseris is a taprooted perennial 10-50 cm tall, usually with a single, slender, erect stem branched proximally and often distally. Leaves are chiefly basal; linear to narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate; 10-30 cm long; the margins entire, dentate, or pinnately lobed, the lobes slender and often curved downward or backward. Involucres are narrowly ovoid in …
Howell’s mariposa lily is a bulbous perennial, 2-4 dm tall, that bears a single large basal leaf (averaging 30 cm in length). These deep green, somewhat leathery basal leaves are distinctly parallel-veined with rows of hairs on the undersides that correspond to the veins. The broadly cup-shaped, showy flowers have three white to cream-colored petals …
Grimy ivesia is a long-lived perennial with a low, spreading growth form, 5-15 cm long. Most leaves are basal and compound with 5-15 pairs of overlapping leaflets which are further divided into 3 to 5 segments each. Leaves are densely hairy but not glandular. Inflorescences are erect before flowering but then become prostrate. Flowers are …
Greenman’s desert parsley is a dwarf perennial, 3-10 cm tall, with slender stems generally bearing a single more or less reduced leaf. Plants become etiolated and considerably taller when occurring in shaded sites. Leaves are chiefly basal, slightly leathery, glabrous, and pinnately or bipinnately divided with lanceolate–ovate leaflets 3-15 mm long by up to 2.5 …
Golden paintbrush is a perennial with many stems growing from a short branching base. Stems are usually simple, erect, or slightly decumbent at the base, 10-50 cm tall, and softly viscid-villous. Leaves are viscid-villous to hispidulous, 2-4 cm long, closely ascending, the lower leaves linear-lanceolate and entire, the upper leaves oblong-ovate or -obovate with 1-4 …
Golden buckwheat is a low, matted perennial 2-10 cm tall by 5-20 cm in diameter, growing from a woody caudex with matted stems. Stems bear persistent leaf bases and reach up to 1/5 the height of the plant. Leaves are basal and arranged in tight terminal clusters, the petiole 0.2-0.5 (-0.8) cm long and tomentose, …
Gentner’s fritillary is a perennial herb arising from a fleshy bulb, with one to twelve deep red to maroon bell-shaped flowers produced on a single, erect, 40 to 70 centimeter tall flowering stalk. The leaves of reproductive plants occur in whorls along the stalk, while vegetative plants produce a single basal leaf varying in length …
Dwarf meadowfoam is an annual herb with herbage glabrous throughout. Stems are simple or sparingly branched near the base, ranging from 5-10 cm high. Leaves are 1-5 cm long and are pinnately divided with linear to oblanceolate leaflets 38 mm long. Peduncles are stout, glabrous, and 2-4 cm long. Sepals are broadly lanceolate, acute, 6-10 …
Davis’ peppergrass is a deep-rooted perennial that forms low (4-8 cm tall) clumps. Individual plants produce many, mostly unbranched, stems with a pubescence of simple hairs. The sessile, simple leaves are green, but often appear grayish due to a dusting of the white clay in which they grow. Several dozen or more white, four-petaled flowers …
Cusick’s lupine is an erect, caespitose perennial 2-11 cm tall. Stems are sparingly branched at the base, with upper stem internodes 1-3 cm long. Upper stem nodes often bear a lateral branch terminating in an inflorescence. Leaves are mainly basal, the petioles 2-6 cm long, the 5-9 oblanceolate leaflets abundantly hairy on both surfaces, 0.7-1.9 …
Crosby’s buckwheat is a low, matted perennial 0.5-15 (-20) cm tall by (1-) 10-30 cm in diameter, growing from a woody caudex with matted stems. Stems bear persistent leaf bases and reach up to 1/5 the height of the plant. Leaves are basal and arranged in tight terminal clusters, the petiole 0.2-3 (-3.5) cm long …
Cronquist’s stickseed is an erect, taprooted perennial 20-65 cm tall. Stems are glabrous below the middle and sparsely antrorse-strigose above, arising from a compactly branched caudex. Leaves are hirsute or strigose, the basal leaves usually persistent, narrowly elliptic or lance-elliptic, 6-14 (-21) cm long by 0.5-2 (-3.5) cm wide, with long petioles. Cauline leaves are …
Crinite mariposa lily is a bulbous perennial with a single, more or less erect basal leaf up to 30 cm long and 0.3-0.7 cm wide. The outer surface of the leaf is dark green, shiny, and glabrous, the inner surface densely hairy with rows of blunt-ended hairs on raised veins. The flowering stem is erect …
Coast Range fawn lily is a perennial arising from a corm 2-5.5 cm long by 0.8-1.5 cm wide, which produces new cormlets laterally. Leaves are uniformly deep green or faintly mottled with brown or white. Non-flowering plants bear a single leaf, 6-8 cm long by 45 cm wide, the broad ovate-lanceolate blade usually abruptly narrowed …
Cook’s desert parsley is a small, perennial plant that is rarely taller than 30 cm. Unless it is in flower, it is generally quite inconspicuous. The plant has a simple to branched taproot and thin, oblong leaves that are ternately divided into many narrow leaflets. Flowers are generally pale yellow in color and are produced …
Cascade Head catchfly is a taprooted, tufted perennial arising from a branched, subterranean caudex, with numerous decumbent, simple stems (5-) 10-40 (-50) cm tall, the plants finely and densely pubescent. Leaves are fleshy, mostly matted at the base of stems and on new shoots, generally oblanceolate, acute, and 2-5 (-8) cm long by 3-13 mm …
Bradshaw’s desert parsley is a low, more or less erect perennial species that grows from a long slender taproot. It is nearly acaulescent and glabrous or slightly puberulent, with leaves 10-15 cm long on petioles as long to much longer. Leaves are ternate then pinnately dissected, the ultimate segments linear and 0.6-1.2 cm long. The …
Boggs Lake hedge hyssop is a semi-aquatic annual with erect, striate stems 2-10 cm high, stout, tubular, and glabrous below, slender above, and glandular-pubescent in the inflorescence. Leaves are opposite, each pair arranged on the stem at right angles to the pair above and below, the lowermost linear-lanceolate and 1-2 cm long, the upper reduced, …
Arrow-leaf thelypody is a biennial or short-lived perennial arising from a spreading rootstock. Plants are glabrous (except for leaf petioles) glaucous, and often purplish. Stems are 2-10 dm tall, branched distally, and either simple or branched near the base. Basal leaf petioles are (0.9-) 1.4-3 (-4.5) cm long and ciliate, the blades (2.8-) 3.5-8.8 (-11) …
Applegate’s milkvetch is a perennial species with clustered, slender, spreading or procumbent stems 25–40 (-90) cm long. Stems are simple or with few branches and are glabrous or minutely strigose above. Leaves are ascending, 3.5–8 cm long, with a very slender petiole and rachis. Leaflets number 7-13 per leaf, are linear or linear-oblong, 0.8–2 cm …
Yelloweye rockfish are one of the largest rockfish species. They have red-orange to orange-brown bodies and distinctive bright yellow eyes. They are a long-lived species. Roughly half are mature by about 20 years, and they can live to 147 years. This large, colorful species was a prized catch for both commercial and recreational fishermen, with …
Surf smelt are in the smelt family. They are small, elongate fish that are silvery in color with a greenish colored back that are darker for males and brighter for females. The lower sides and belly of the male is yellowish, but the female is white in these areas. Their pelvic fins are located below …
Pacific sand lance are small, silver fish with long, thin bodies and a very long dorsal fin. They are green or blue on their back and silvery below. They have a small, upturned mouth. They can form dense schools. Pacific sand lance bury themselves in bottom sediments and their scientific name, Ammodytes, reflects that, coming …
Northern anchovy are small, silver fish with long, thin bodies. They are green or blue on their back and silvery below. They look somewhat similar to many other forage fish species, but one distinguishing feature of northern anchovy is their mouth. Their lower jaw opens extremely wide which helps them feed on a wide variety …
Longfin smelt are small, silver fish with long, thin bodies. They can be distinguished from other smelt species by their long pectoral fins. They are considered an anadromous species, meaning that they spawn in freshwater then move out to the ocean. However, there are landlocked populations that live entirely in freshwater lakes, such as Lake …
Cabezon are one of the largest members of the cottid family of fishes, a family commonly known as sculpins. Cabezon can be brown, red, or green with dark mottling. They have a long, branched skin flap over each of their eyes. They live on the bottom, mostly in rocky areas, but sometimes in areas where …
Big skate come in a variety of dark colors on their topside, including brown, gray, olive and black, and are whitish on the bottom. They often have both bright dots and dark mottling. Big skate have pointed snouts and two “eye spots”, one on each of their pectoral fins. Their bodies are flattened. They live …
Eulachon are in the smelt family. They are small fish that are silvery-blue on their back and silver below. They have small black dots on their back and sometimes on their tail fin. They also have ridges on their gill plates. Eulachon are one of about 30 species of what are called forage fish, which …
Killer whales have unique black and white marking and dorsal fins on each individual. They can grow up to 32 feet in length and weigh up to approximately 11 tons. They exhibit sexual dimorphism, with males considerably larger than females. They can live somewhere between 30 and 90 years.
Northern elephant seals are the second largest pinniped in the world. Males are usually between 13 and 16 feet long and weigh between 3,300 and 5,100 pounds. Males develop an inflatable nose (proboscis) resembling a trunk that hangs down below their mouth. Females are smaller and are usually 10 to 13 feet in length and …
Harbor porpoise are among the smallest of marine mammals. They have a small robust body that is dark grey on the upper half and white on the bottom half. They have a blunt rounded head with a grey “chinstrap”. The most distinguishing feature of harbor porpoises as they surface, is their short triangular dorsal fin. …
The gray whale is a baleen whale that can reach lengths of 40 to 50 feet, weigh up to 80,000 pounds, and can live up to approximately 80 years. They do not have a dorsal fin, only a dorsal ridge that looks like knuckles on its back. Gray whale bodies are covered with rough patches …
The white-tailed jackrabbit is a species of hare found throughout western North America. White-tailed jackrabbits have a brown to grayish-brown summer coat that, in northern populations, transitions to an almost pure white coat in the winter to provide camouflage in the snow. They are leaner than most other hares and rabbits. Their large ears, which …
The wolverine is the largest terrestrial member of the weasel family (Mustelidae). It is often described as bear-like due to its mostly dark brown coloring, thick body, short ears, and broad head. Wolverines are a sexually dimorphic, mid-size carnivore with males weighing 10 to 18 kg and females 7 to 13 kg. The average length …
The western gray squirrel is the largest native tree squirrel in its range, with adults measuring 500 – 615 mm in length and weighing 520 – 942 g. Tail length ranges from 240 – 309 cm.The dorsal side of body is a silvery-gray with white-tipped hairs, and the ventral side is white. The tail is …
Washington ground squirrels are small squirrels with pale, smokey gray pelage and a black tip to the tail, distinguished from other ground squirrels by their small size and distict white dorsal spotting. The Washington ground squirrel is endemic to the Columbia Plateau in Oregon and Washington.The species’ life cycle is characterized by a relatively short …
Townsend’s big-eared bat is a medium sized bat (5-13g) with large ears joined at their base, and large horseshoe-shaped glands on its muzzle. The dorsal hair color has a grey base, and the tips range from pale cinnamon to blackish brown. The ventral hairs are also grey at the base, but the tips range from …
The spotted bat is one of the most distinctive bats in North America due to its coloration, pelage, and large ears. Their unique fur coloration consists of a striking black and white pattern along with large pinkish-red ears; the white spots are about 15 mm in diameter and are found at the base of each …
The silver-haired bat is a small vespertilionid, with adults ranging from 92-115 mm in length, weighing 8.1 to 11 g with a tragus length of 5-9 mm. Their distinctive fur coloration, consisting of silvery or frosted hairs, makes them unlikely to be confused with other bat species in Oregon. Their interfemoral membrane is furred above …
The Sierra Nevada red fox is a montane subspecies of red fox. Red foxes are small canids with slender bodies, elongated snouts, large, pointed ears, and large, bushy tails with a white tip. There are at least three color morphs: red morph animals have a yellowish-reddish brown upper body and tail, white cheeks, throat, and …
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are the largest-bodied bighorn in North America and one of two subspecies of wild sheep in Oregon. The bighorn sheep is a medium-sized, largely brownish bovid in the Caprinae subfamily with a white rump patch, muzzle, abdomen, and rear portion of the legs. The tail is blackish brown on the exposed …
Ringtails are an elusive, nocturnal mammal in the raccoon (Procyonidae) family that are about the size of a small house cat, weighing 2-2.5 pounds. They are slender with a long body and a tail about head-body length. The tail is ringed with eight dark bands, including the tip, alternating with seven pale bands. Ringtails have …
The red tree vole is a small rodent native to the wet coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest, found in western Oregon and northwestern California. The red tree vole is arboreal, spending nearly its entire life in the forest canopy, where it feeds on the needles and bark of conifer trees, particularly Douglas fir. Red …
The pygmy rabbit is the smallest rabbit species in North America, with adults weighing an average of 400 g. The female is somewhat larger than the male. Fur is color is gray, but lighter in autumn and winter than in spring and summer; hairs are banded with blackish tips, buff-colored mid-shafts, and dark gray at …
The pallid bat is a relatively large bat species found primarily in the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. In Oregon, they are found east of the Cascades, though they are historically known to have occurred in the Willamette Valley. They are gregarious, often found roosting with social groups of 20 or more individuals. …
The long-legged myotis is named for its slightly longer tibia in relation to other myotis species. It is distinguished from other member of its genus by its short, rounded ears, small hind feet, a distinctly keeled calcar, fur on the underwing membranes, and general size. Total length ranges from 83 to 106 mm, tail length …
The kit fox is a small canid native to desert regions of the western United States and parts of northern Mexico. In Oregon, it is at the northernmost part of its range and found in Harney and Malheur counties. Kit foxes have the largest ears relative to body size of any canid in North America. …
The hoary bat is a large, migratory bat species. Their fur is dense and long, with a distinct silver-gray appearance on their backs and a pale, lighter underside, which gives them their “hoary” (frosted) look. These bats are solitary and nocturnal, feeding primarily on insects like moths, beetles, and flies, which they catch in flight. …
Gray wolves are the largest canid species in the world. Only about half of gray wolves are actually grey; the rest can be anywhere from white to jet black. Gray wolves can be distinguished from coyotes by their longer legs, shorter ears, straight tail, larger feet, and wider head and snout. Wolf howls are longer …
The fringed myotis is a long-eared vesper bat or “evening bat,” with long, dark ears, dark brown wings, and a dark muzzle. The dorsal fur ranges from yellow to copper to dark brown and olive, with the base of the hairs being very dark. This species gets its name thanks to its set of small …
The Pacific fisher is a medium-sized carnivorous mammal in the Mustelidae (weasel) family, native to the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest in North America. In Oregon, they are found primarily in southern Oregon in the Klamath and Cascade Mountains. The pelage is long except on the face. The fur is dark brown grading to …
The Columbian white-tailed deer is the smallest member of the cervidae family in Oregon. The most distinguishing feature of this deer is its long, wide tail , brown on top with a white underside, that can easily be seen when the deer is startled. In males, antlers with tines typically arise from a single main …
The California myotis is one of the smallest insectivorous bats in the United States; adults weigh 3-5 grams and a have wingspan of 22-23 cm. The hind feet of California myotis are small with a prominently keeled calcar. Their fur is relatively long and dull, ranging in color from dark brown in the Pacific Northwest …
The American pika is a small lagomorph typically confined to rocky habitats usually in higher elevation areas. The American pika has a discontinuous patchy distribution in mountainous areas of Oregon and western North America, primarily within the Great Basin, Cascade Range, and Rocky Mountain Range. American pikas are overall stout and rounded, with short legs …
The Pacific marten is a medium-sized carnivorous mammal belonging to the weasel family (Mustelidae). Martens are characterized by the long and narrow body type typical of the mustelid family. They have brown fur with distinctive coloration on the throat and upper chest that varies from orange to yellow to cream, large and distinctly triangular ears, …
Once thought to be extirpated from Oregon in the 1940s, Yellow Rails were rediscovered in the state during the 1980s and 1990s. Yellow Rails are small birds, measuring only 5 to 7.5 inches long and weighing just 1.5 to 2 ounces. They are the second smallest rail species native to North America. These birds are …
Willow Flycatchers are a small, slender flycatcher and are one of the larger members of the genus Empidonax. Due to strong similarities in appearance to other Empidonax flycatchers, they can be difficult to identify in the field without vocal cues. They are brownish olive overall with a slight yellow tint to the belly. Willow Flycatchers …
The White-headed Woodpecker (Dryobates albolarvatus) is a medium-sized woodpecker that is easy to recognize by its solid white head and throat. Its body is jet black, with a distinctive white wing patch on each side. Adult males have a small red patch on the back of the crown, while juveniles have a red spot in …
The Snowy Plover (Anarhynchus nivosus nivosus) is a diminutive, pale shorebird of the open beach and salt flats. The world’s smallest plover species, adult Snowy Plovers weigh 34-58 g and measure between 15-17 cm long. They are cryptically colored: their brownish-gray back and wings blend well with the color of sand, making roosting birds difficult …
Purple Martins are the largest swallows of the Americas. They weigh about 56 grams on average, which is twice as much as the second-largest swallow in North America. They are about 20 centimeters long from head to tail. Purple Martins have dark, shiny (iridescent) feathers on their backs, heads, and chests, along with dark feathers …
The Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) is a medium-sized songbird easily detected both visually and by its melodious call during the breeding season. Western Meadowlarks are uncommon to rare, and generally declining in appropriate habitat in western Oregon. In eastern Oregon they are a common species in steep decline: they are still widely distributed throughout the …
The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) is a small, ground-nesting owl that measures 19 to 25 centimeters in length and weighs between 150 and 170 grams. It lives in grassland and shrubland habitats. Its small size, diurnal behavior, and habit of bobbing its head make it easy to recognize and hard to confuse with any …
The Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) is a cavity-nesting thrush is one of three bluebird species found only in North America. Previously abundant in western Oregon, the Western Bluebird suffered a precipitous decline through degradation of habitat and avian competition. The male has a cobalt blue head and throat, blue wings and tail edged with dusky …
The Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) is a widely-distributed pelagic seabird found in the North Pacific Ocean. Tufted Puffin is perhaps the most recognizable seabird in Oregon. They have a large laterally compressed orange bill. They are most commonly observed in their vibrant breeding plumage, which is overall brown-black with a striking white face mask with …
The Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) is the largest native waterfowl in North America, with a mass of up to 30 pounds. Plumage in adults is entirely white, and juveniles are mouse-gray. The bill is black, with a triangular patch of black facial skin between the eyes and the bill. They are an average of 5 …
The Streaked Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris strigata) is a small, ground-nesting songbird found only in the Pacific Northwest. It is a subspecies of the more widespread Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris). This bird is native to the South Puget Lowlands of Washington, as well as the Willamette Valley and Lower Columbia River region in Oregon. Streaked …
The Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) is a medium-sized heron that lives in wetland habitats. Males and females look alike, with pure white plumage throughout the year. During the breeding season, adults of both sexes develop long, delicate plumes along the back of the neck, lower scapulars, and breast. The bill is long, narrow, and mostly …
The White-breasted Nuthatch (Pacific), also called the Slender-billed Nuthatch, is found in western Oregon west of the Cascade Mountain Range crest. The Slender-billed Nuthatch is distinguished from other subspecies by its slender bill of medium length, washed brownish ventrum, and medium blue-gray dorsum. Among the largest of the world’s nuthatches, Slender-billed Nuthatches also are noteworthy …
The Short-eared Owl is one of the world’s most widely distributed owls. Only the nominate subspecies, Asio flammeus flammeus, occurs in Oregon. This open country species breeds throughout the northern United States and Canada. The Short-eared Owl is a medium sized owl with a slender body and a rounded facial disk. As their name suggests, …
The Sagebrush Sparrow is a widespread breeder in shrub-steppe habitats associated with big sage from alkaline basins to high plateaus. It is a medium-sized sparrow (length 12–15 cm, and weighs 15–22 gm). Sexes are similar in appearance, but males are larger. Head is gray, brownish gray above, back and wings are browner. White spot in …
The Rock Sandpiper is a small, stocky shorebird that winters in small numbers along the entire Oregon Coast. They are usually found in rocky intertidal zones, often foraging alongside Black Oystercatchers, Surfbirds, and Sanderlings. Only one subspecies, Calidris ptilocnemis tschuktschorum, is known to winter in Oregon. Rock Sandpipers measure between 180 and 235 millimeters in …
The Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) is a medium-sized, rather shy waterbird. During the breeding season, it is recognized by its bright white cheeks, which contrast with a dark brown crown and a rust-red neck. Its bill is long, straight, and stout, with a yellowish base and a dark tip. In flight, Red-necked Grebes display large, …
The Oregon Vesper Sparrow (Poocetes gramineus affinis) is one of four Vesper Sparrow subspecies recognized in North America. The Oregon Vesper Sparrow breeding population is disjunct, completely separate from all other Vesper Sparrow populations and subspecies. It’s restricted breeding range is recognized as a distinct population segment under the federal ESA (including parts of Georgia …
The Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) is a large flycatcher species. They are grayish-brown dorsally with a large and dark head, a stout bill, a short tail, and pointed wings. These birds are grayish-brown on the back with a large, dark head, a stout bill, a short tail, and pointed wings. Their dusky-colored flanks contrast with …
The Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) is a medium sized, dark brown nocturnal owl with a round face, dark eyes, and no ear tufts. It has a brown facial disk with indistinct concentric circles of darker buff brown around each dark brown/black eye. Adult Northern Spotted Owls average 45 cm long. The plumage is …
The American Goshawk is a raven-sized hawk, and like other hawks in the genus Accipiter is adapted to maneuver through forest landscapes to ambush and capture prey. The American Goshawk is a forest species, occupying a variety of forest types. They predominantly nest in dense stands of mature or late seral conifers, but additionally are …
The Marbled Murrelet is a small seabird found along the Pacific coast. Adults are about 24–25 cm long and weigh between 188 and 269 grams. Although they spend most of their lives at sea, they fly inland to nest—mainly in mature, and old-growth, late- successional, or older coniferous trees. The Marbled Murrelet has a unique …
The Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) is North America’s largest shorebird and the world’s largest sandpiper. They have an extremely long bill and have a loud, ringing call. They have a buff-colored body with cinnamon or pink highlights, upperparts barred with dark brown, a plain crown, ashy gray feet and legs, and a pink base on …
The Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is a medium-sized, thick-bodied songbird, slightly smaller than an American Robin. Both this species and its close relative, the Northern Shrike, are known for a unique hunting behavior where they impale their prey on thorns or barbed wire to store or eat later. Adult Loggerhead Shrikes are about 20 centimeters …
Leach’s Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhoa) is believed to be the most widespread species of its kind (procellariiform) that breeds in the Northern Hemisphere. It nests in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. After the breeding season, these seabirds travel far across the open ocean, often moving into tropical waters and staying well away from land. While …
The Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) fills a unique role among North American waterfowl. It breeds in fast-moving, clear rivers and streams, where it uses its strong swimming skills to navigate whitewater. It dives to the bottom of rivers to feed on larval insect in rocky substrates. After the breeding season, Harlequin Ducks migrate to the …
The Greater Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis tabida) is one of two subspecies of Sandhill Crane found in Oregon. It is distinguished by its red crown and white cheek patches contrasting with a light grey body. This large bird flies characteristically with its long neck extended straight ahead and long legs extended behind. Adults look alike …
Greater sage-grouse are birds that occupy sagebrush habitats within the semi-arid deserts of Eastern Oregon. Sage-grouse feathers are colored to hide the birds among the volcanic scab rock and sagebrush areas they occupy. Males have white showy breast feathers during the breeding season and are larger than females – six and a half pounds and …
The Great Gray Owl, Strix nebulosa, is North America’s tallest owl, standing 60-84 cm. Great Gray Owls have a thick layer of insulative down that gives them a bulky appearance that provides the necessary insulation for the cold environments they live in. Their plumage is overall a muted gray, comprised a mix of gray, brown …
The Grasshopper Sparrow is a small, enigmatic, and inconspicuous grassland bird which can be easily overlooked, but is considered rare in Oregon. Occurrence of the species is often erratic, as small populations may arrive to an area for nesting, move away, then return a few years later. It is difficult to detect due to secretive behavior. …
The Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan) is a small gull that breeds in wetlands including freshwater marshes, lakes, and wet meadows. During the breeding season, it has a jet-black hood, which contrasts sharply with its white neck and breast, gray back, and bright red bill. In Oregon, they are typically seen in this distinctive breeding plumage. …
The Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma furcata) is a seabird that is found only in the North Pacific Ocean. They can spend up to 8 months of the year at sea. In North America, they nest along the Pacific coast from Alaska to northern California. The Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel has pale bluish-gray upperparts and pale, pearly gray underparts, …
The Flammulated Owl (Psiloscops flammeolus) is one of the smallest owl species in North America. It measures about 15 to 17cm in length and weighs between 45 and 60g. Among the small owls found in its range in North America, it is the only owl with dark eyes. Male Flammulated Owls have slightly longer wings …
The Ferruginous Hawk is the largest buteo in North America , with a wingspan of more than 140 cm. Adult males and females weigh on average 1,160 g and 1,700 g respectively. Both sexes are similar in appearance, but dimorphic in size with females being larger. There are two color forms of Ferruginous Hawk, a …
The Dusky Canada Goose (Branta canadensis occidentalis) is one of four subspecies of Canada Geese occurring in Oregon. They are a medium to large goose, with males averaging 3.2kg and are typically 18% heavier than females. Plumage is identical between the sexes. Unlike most other subspecies of Canada Geese, Dusky Canada Geese are characterized by …
Common Nighthawks are mostly active at dusk and dawn, when they hawk for insects. They have long slender wings with white patches visible in flight. When perched on the ground, its cryptic brown gray and black mottling makes the bird virtually invisible. Males have a white throat and white bar on its undertail; females have …
Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse were extirpated from Oregon by the 1970s, but reintroductions have been attempted since. This subspecies is the palest and grayest of all six sharp-tailed grouse subspecies. The back is mottled black and buff white, while the underside is white or white with brown markings. Two middle tail feathers extend beyond the other …
The Chipping sparrow is a small and slender sparrow that has a distinctive sharp ‘chip’ note and a simple, trilling song. Breeding adults display a chestnut crown, a black eye-stripe, and crisp white eyebrow. After nesting season, both male and female lose their distinctive bright cap for a streaky dull brown head pattern that is …
The Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) is the world’s largest tern. It is gull-like in behavior and characteristics. It is distinguished by its massive coral-red bill, large size, and hoarse vocalizations. It occurs on every continent except for Antarctica. In summer plumage the Caspian Tern has pale gray upperparts, white underparts, and white rump and tail. …
The California Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is the only subspecies of Brown Pelican found in Oregon and along the western coast of North America. It is easy to identify by its large size, massive bill, and brownish body feathers. This species is social and often seen in large flocks, either flying over the ocean …
Brewer’s Sparrow (Spizella breweri) is a rather drab, nondescript sparrow species. It has plain brownish upperparts and crown, faint facial markings, and whitish breast. They are well camouflaged in their sagebrush breeding habitat of eastern Oregon. The are migratory, only spending the breeding season in Oregon. They overwinter in southwestern United States and Mexico in …
The Bobolink is a medium-sized songbird that lives in grasslands. It measures between 15.2 and 20.5 cm in length. In all plumages, Bobolinks have rigid, pointed tail feathers, large flat heads, short necks, and long hind toenails that are easy to see. Bobolinks are sexually dimorphic: adults look different depending on their sex. During the …
Black-backed Woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus) are medium-sized woodpeckers, measuring about 9 to 9.5 inches in length and weighing between 2 and 3 ounces. They are easy to recognize by their striking black-and-white coloring: their backs and heads are solid black, while their undersides are white with black bars along the sides. They have a single white …
The Black Swift, Cypseloides niger, is a large Nearctic-neotropical migrant swift. Black Swifts are adept flyers and spend much of their time in flight at high altitudes foraging for insects, with flight altitudes documented up to at least 4300m. They are seldom observed in flight due to their typically high foraging altitude. Adult Black Swifts …
Monotypic and resident, the Black Oystercatcher is a striking shorebird of the ocean shore with a red eye ring, bright yellow eyes, a reddish-orange bill, and pink legs. The Black Oystercatcher is a relatively large bird with a long, thick bill, a thick neck, and long, stocky legs. They have a dark body that is …
Most Brant (Branta bernicla) occurring in Oregon are Black Brant (B. b. nigricans). They area small dark goose that has a black head, neck, and breast, a charcoal colored belly and back, and have a white striated collar (necklace) on the middle of the neck. Males weigh 1-1.8kg and are typically 10% heavier than females. …
The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is a large white bird with black primaries and outer secondaries. It has an enormous bill with distensible ‘gular’ pouch, and webbed feet. It usually occurs in flocks, and flies with its characteristic head withdrawn. In early breeding season, its bill and legs are bright orange, its head with …
The American Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis) is a medium-sized woodpecker with black and white coloring. Unique features include a heavy, chisel-like bill and three toes (two pointing forward and one pointing backward). Adult birds have white underparts with heavy black barring on the sides and flanks. Upperparts are mostly black, with white barring on the …
Western rattlesnakes are heavy-bodied snakes with a slender neck and a broad, triangular head that is noticeably wider than their body. Adults have keeled scales and vertically elliptical pupils. Often, a prominent dark brown stripe below the eye angles to the back of the jaw. Overall, western rattlesnakes are typically light brown to greenish brown …
Western painted turtles are one of Oregon’s two native freshwater turtle species, named for their bright, colorful markings. Their plastron (the underside of their shell) is bright red or orange. Each individual has a unique black pattern on their plastron. Their smooth, relatively flat carapace (upper shell) is dark green, brown, or black overall. The …
The northwestern pond turtle is a mid-sized, semi-aquatic freshwater turtle and is one of Oregon’s two native turtle species. They have a smooth, broad carapace (upper shell) that is drab brown to olive in color and low in profile. The plastron (lower shell) is typically light yellow in color, sometimes with a variable number of …
California mountain kingsnakes are slender-bodied, medium sized snakes with approximately equivalent head and body width. They have a black snout and dark brown eyes. Coloration consists of bold red, black, and white rings, where red is always bordered on both sides by black rings. Although their coloration may resemble some venomous species as a defense …
Western toads are relatively large, stout-bodied amphibians that are well camouflaged. The color of adult western toads is highly variable: individuals can be anywhere from olive green to reddish brown or even black in color overall. On their underside, their skin is a mottled cream to tan with dark blotches. Regardless of body color, western …
Southern torrent salamanders are highly aquatic and closely associated with cool, clear, permanent water. They are a relatively small salamander with short legs and a short, vertically compressed tail. They have a small, broad head with large, protruding eyes, and a short snout. Southern torrent salamanders are olive to brown in color on their backs, …
Siskiyou Mountains Salamanders are members of the lungless Plethodontid salamander family, and are found only in the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California. They have large eyes and glossy speckled skin. They are long and slender with short limbs, slightly webbed toes, and vertical grooves along the sides of the body. Adults are …
There are two species of tailed frog found in Oregon: the Rocky Mountain tailed frog found in the Blue Mountains, and the coastal tailed frog on the west side of the state. Tailed frogs are adapted to mountain streams with flattened bodies, hardened toes on the front feet, and long back legs. Tailed frogs can …
Oregon spotted frogs are the most aquatic frogs in the Pacific Northwest; often if you see one, you’ll only see its eyes peeking up out of the water. This medium-sized frog is named for the black spots that cover its head, back, sides, and legs. These spots have a light bump in the center, with …
The Oregon slender salamander is a small terrestrial salamander species endemic to Oregon found on the west slope of the Cascade Range. They are deep brown to black in color overall, and have a long, thin body, and a long tail. They have large, blueish-white spots on the sides and belly. Their head is small, …
Northern red-legged frogs are primarily diurnal. They are a medium-sized frog that can be found in a variety of aquatic habitat types and in terrestrial habitats. They have a prominent ridges (dorsolateral folds) from the eyes down either side of the back, and the under half of the hind legs are a bright red. They …
The Larch Mountain salamander is a salamander endemic to the Pacific Northwest in Oregon and Washington. It belongs to the Plethodontidae family of lungless salamanders. Larch Mountain salamanders have a fully terrestrial life cycle: young hatch from eggs in their adult form. Larch Mountain salamanders are strikingly marked with a thick, uneven-edged stripe running from …
The foothill yellow-legged frog is a resident of lower elevation mountain streams west of the Cascades, readily identified by the distinct lemon-yellow skin under the legs. The rest of their body is variable in color and often mottled beige, olive, or grayish brown. Some foothill yellow-legged frogs have dark spotting, while others do not. Brick-red …
Del Norte salamanders are a species of fully terrestrial salamander native to a small corner of southwestern Oregon and northwestern California. They do not need standing water to complete any part of their life cycle. These medium-sized salamanders have long, slender bodies with short limbs and short, slightly webbed toes. They spend much of their …
These medium-sized salamanders are unique in that they rarely transform into terrestrial adults: with few documented exceptions, Cope’s giant salamanders remain in a paedomorphic form (sexually mature adults with aquatic, juvenile characteristics), retaining their bushy external gills with wide, laterally compressed tail fins that they use to navigate the water throughout adulthood. Cope’s giant salamanders …
Columbia torrent salamanders are long-lived, highly aquatic amphibians that are closely associated with cool, clear headwater streams. They are slim, mid-sized salamanders with a short tail, a small head, rounded snout, and protruding eyes. They are dark brown with no dark spots on their back, and bright yellow or orange underneath. Adult males are slightly …
Columbia spotted frogs are one of the most highly aquatic frog species native to the Pacific Northwest, and are rarely found out of the water. They are adapted for this aquatic lifestyle, with upward oriented eyes that allow them to see out of the water while mostly submerged, fully webbed feet, and relatively short hind …
Coastal tailed frogs are adapted to mountain streams with flattened bodies, hardened toes on the front feet, and long back legs. They have vertical pupils and lack external ear drums. The coloration of coastal tailed frogs varies from olive, green, or reddish with gray or yellow mottling. There is a pale yellow or greenish triangle …
Clouded salamanders are slim, relatively long-legged amphibians that are both terrestrial and arboreal; they live their lives in damp coastal mature forests, and are often found high above the ground in the forest canopy. They are members of the large family of plethodontid salamanders, which are characterized by reduced lungs and two grooves that extend …
Cascades frogs are a medium-sized montane frog species that can be found near still or slow-moving fresh water. They are brown to olive green in color above, and most individuals have angular or round black spots on the back. Underneath, their skin is nearly translucent, with a mottled throat and a yellow-tan abdomen. Cascades frogs …
Cascade torrent salamanders are long-lived amphibians adapted for life in cold, fast-flowing streams. They are small salamanders with a stocky body, a broad head, and large protruding eyes. Adult Cascade torrent salamanders have highly variable coloration that ranges from brown to olive to tan on their backs. Their bellies are yellowish with some black and …