A new species of moss from the arid southwest; an addition to the biodiversity of Madera Canyon
Schistidium is a genus of plants in the moss family. While most of the species seem to be Holarctic, there are Middle American and southern Neotropical records of the family.…
Quest for the Trogon, Chapter 1
Quest for the Trogon The Board of Directors of the Friends of Madera Canyon received the following letter from a member. For almost 20 years, Doug and Marcia Jurgens…
Have you ever seen a toothpick grasshopper? Species described from Madera Canyon & the Santa Rita’s
Have you ever seen a toothpick grasshopper? John C. Murphy Ask this relatively simple question: how many species are there? And the answer often given is 8.7 million species. This…
Great Horned Owl and a Copper’s Hawk.
A week or so ago. I walked across the street to get mail. A Cooper’s Hawk made a lot of racket in my neighbor’s yard. Thinking it might be upset…
Sonoran Desert Toad, Incilius alvarius
Sonoran Desert Toad, Incilius alvarius The short account. It occurs from Arizona and New Mexico southward to Central Arizona; only recently did it invade southeastern California, but it may have…
Dwarf funnel web spider Systematics
Dwarf funnel web spiders in the genus Hexurella are rare and poorly understood. In 1979, Gertsch and Platnick described four new species within this genus, including two from Arizona, one…
The Western Bumble Bee & Climate Change
The climate in Arizona is transforming, with the state experiencing a temperature rise of approximately two degrees Fahrenheit over the past century. Across the southwestern United States, heat waves are…
The Elegant Trogon in Arizona
After an early morning hike into the canyon, I (JCM) returned to the parking lot and waited for a couple of friends to come-off the trail. A woman pulled in…
The Santa Rita Mountain Range and Copper World
Hudbay plans to heap leach minerals on the west side using sulfuric acid in the old Helvetia mining district. Large quantities of sulfuric acid will be used to process oxide…
Agave Jumping Spider natural history
The Agave Jumping Spider lives its life cycle in agaves and other plants that grow in rosettes.