The Poeciliidae are a family of freshwater fishes of the order Cyprinodontiformes, the tooth-carps, and include well-known live-bearing aquarium fish, such as the guppy, molly, platy, and swordtail. The original distribution of the family was the Southeastern United States to north of Río de la Plata, Argentina, and Africa, including Madagascar. Due to release of aquarium specimens and the widespread use of species of the genera Poecilia and Gambusia for mosquito control, though, poeciliids can today be found in all tropical and subtropical areas of the world. In addition, Poecilia and Gambusia specimens have been identified in hot springs pools as far north as Banff, Alberta.
The family Psittacidae is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the roughly 10 species of subfamily Psittacinae and 157 of subfamily Arinae, as well as several species that have gone extinct in recent centuries. Some of the most iconic birds in the world are represented here, such as the blue-and-gold macaw among the New World parrots and the grey parrot among the Old World parrots.
Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat families, specialised in many forms to occupy a range of habitats and ecological circumstances, and it is frequently observed or the subject of research. The facial features of the species are often simple, as they mainly rely on vocally emitted echolocation. The tails of the species are enclosed by the lower flight membranes between the legs. Over 300 species are distributed all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica. It owes its name to the genus Vespertilio, which takes its name from a word for bat, vespertilio, derived from the Latin term vesper meaning 'evening'; they are termed as evening bats and once referred to as 'evening birds'.
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like".
Anseriformes is an order of birds that comprise about 180 living species in three families: Anhimidae, Anseranatidae, and Anatidae, the largest family, which includes over 170 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans. Most modern species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at the water surface. With the exception of screamers, males have penises, a trait that has been lost in the Neoaves. Due to their aquatic nature, most species are web-footed.
The Amiiformes order of fish has only one extant species, the bowfin. These Amiiformes are found in the freshwater systems throughout North America and parts of southern Canada. They live in freshwater streams, rivers, and swamps. These bowfin fish are not on the endangered list. They have the ability to go to the surface to breathe if the water level is too low. The extinct species of the Amiiformes can be found fossilized in Asia and Europe, but the bowfin is the last living species in the order.
The chachalacas, guans and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae. These are species of tropical and subtropical Central and South America. The range of one species, the plain chachalaca, just reaches southernmost parts of Texas in the United States. Two species, the Trinidad piping guan and the rufous-vented chachalaca occur on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago respectively.
Suidae is a family of artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs or boars. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 extant species are currently recognized, classified into between four and eight genera. Within this family, the genus Sus includes the domestic pig, Sus scrofa domesticus or Sus domesticus, and many species of wild pig from Europe to the Pacific. Other genera include babirusas and warthogs. All suids, or swine, are native to the Old World, ranging from Asia to Europe and Africa.
The subfamily Talpinae, sometimes called "Old World moles" or "Old World moles and relatives", is one of three subfamilies of the mole family Talpidae, the others being the Scalopinae, or New World moles, and the Uropsilinae, or shrew-like moles.
The Polyceridae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks within the superfamily Polyceroidea.
Blythipicus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae that are found in Southeast Asia.
Mulleripicus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. They are found in South and Southeast Asia. The genus forms part of the woodpecker subfamily Picinae and has a sister relationship to the genus Dryocopus whose species are widely distributed in Eurasia and the Americas.
The Pyxicephalidae are a family of frogs found in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Scalopinae, or New World moles, are one of three subfamilies of the family Talpidae, which consists of moles and mole-like animals; the other two subfamilies being the Old World talpids and the Chinese shrew-like moles (Uropsilinae). The Scalopinae are the only Talpidae subfamily to consist entirely of undisputed moles and no mole-like close relatives such as shrew-moles or desmans. They are found virtually everywhere soil conditions permit in North America, except northern Canada and those areas of northeastern Mexico where the soil is too sandy. There is also one species in China.
The Leuctridae are a family of stoneflies. They are known commonly as rolled-winged stoneflies and needleflies. This family contains at least 390 species.
Colubroidea is a superfamily of snakes in the clade Colubroides that include Colubridae and a few other related families. Historically, Colubroidea also included other caenophidian snakes such as cobras and vipers, as these snakes form a clade. However these groups are now divided into several distinct, but related, families. Zaher et al. (2009) proposed to redefine Colubroidea for colubrids and related families, while designating Colubroides as the group containing vipers and cobras as well as colubroids.
Poeciliinae is a subfamily of killifish from the family Poeciliidae which contains species from the Americas which are collectively known as the livebearers because many, but not all, of the species within the subfamily are ovoviviparous.
Lampornithini is one of the three tribes that make up the subfamily Trochilinae in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The other two tribes in the subfamily are Mellisugini (bees) and Trochilini (emeralds).
