-
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. It is well known in Europe, but scarce in Africa and Madagascar. Yet poorly known from northeast Eurasia. About 150 species are recognized. The team…
-
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 enjoyed the beauty of Madera Canyon. First, they moved to Green Valley part time, spending the rest of the year in central Illinois. But the…
-
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 is because of a popular paper by Mora and colleagues (2011). But, many other papers before and after have provided estimates that vary dramatically with,…
-
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 about a snake in the tree, I started scanning the crown, thinking I might see a gopher snake or coachwhip. I could barely make out…
-
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 extirpated – it has not been seen there since the 1970s. This toad is common in the Sonoran Desert. It occurs in various habitats, including…
-
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 from California, and one from Baja California Norte. These spiders are among the most miniature mygalomorph spiders in the world, ranging from 2.5 to 5…
-
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 becoming more frequent across the southwestern United States, and snow is melting earlier in the spring. These climate changes will result in various significant impacts…
-
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 and parked a few places from my Jeep. Exiting her car, she asked me, “how far do I have to walk?” My response was, “for…
-
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 deposits rich in carbonates. The company estimates that approximately 200 million metric tons of acid-leachable resources are present. Sulfuric acid may be brought in by…
-
The Agave Jumping Spider lives its life cycle in agaves and other plants that grow in rosettes.