Welcome to Virginia Wildlife Mapping!
Virginia Wildlife Mapping is a project of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game & Inland Fisheries). We are Virginia's lead state agency for the conservation of Virginia's wildlife and wildlife habitats.
If you observe a rare species of Virginia wildlife, especially an amphibian or a reptile, and are able to photograph it or record its call (from a respectful and safe distance), please share your observation with us! For more information on this project and what constitutes a "rare species," please refer to the "About" section.
Comments
It looks like there are two great resources to identify rare species, which could really benefit from purely-observational citizen science.
First, I was really intrigued by the location-based guide here: https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/WAP2/
Second, the official species of concern can be found here:
http://www.bewildvirginia.org/species/
I don't find the PDFs to be very user friendly, so in the next comment I'll try to reorg the lists for mammals, reptiles and amphibians in a more digestible format. (There are also lots of birds and fish and invertebrates, which are more than I can handle just yet.)
MAMMALS
Rodents (some that fly): Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister), Cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus gossypinus), Delmarva fox squirrel (Sciurus niger cinereus), Southeastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger niger), Long-tailed shrew (Sorex dispar dispar), Pungo white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus easti), Southern rock vole (Microtus chrotorrhinus), Southern water shrew (Sorex palustris), Carolina northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus), Virginia northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus)
Bats specifically: Eastern small-footed myotis (Myotis leibii), Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis), Gray bat (Myotis grisescens), Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus), Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus), Northern Long-Eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), Rafinesque's eastern bigeared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii macrotis), Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis), Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), Southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius), Tri-colored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus), Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus)
Midsized mammals: Eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius putorius), Appalachian cottontail (Sylvilagus obscurus), Marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris palustris), Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus virginianus), Fisher (Martes pennanti pennanti)
Aquatic mammals: Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), Harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), Humpback whale (Megaptera novaengliane), Northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
REPTILES
Lizards: Eastern glass lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis), Eastern slender glass lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus longicaudus)
Snakes: Canebrake rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), Common ribbonsnake (Thamnophis sauritus sauritus), Eastern black kingsnake (Lampropeltis nigra), Eastern hog-nosed snake (Heterodon platirhinos), Glossy crayfish snake (Regina rigida rigida), Mountain earthsnake (Virginia valeriae pulchra), Mudsnake (Farancia abacura abacura), Northern pinesnake (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus), Queen snake (Regina septemvittata), Rainbow snake (Farancia erytrogramma erytrogramma), Scarlet kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides), Scarletsnake (Cemophora coccinea copei), Smooth greensnake (Opheodrys vernalis), Southeastern crowned snake (Tantilla coronata), Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Turtles: Bog turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergii), Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), Cumberland slider (Trachemys scripta troostii), Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina), Eastern chicken turtle (Deirochelys reticularia reticularia), Northern diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin), Northern map turtle (Graptemys geographica), Spiny softshell (Apalone spinifera spinifera), Spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), Stripe-necked musk turtle (Sternotherus minor peltifer), Wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta), Yellow-bellied slider (Trachemys scripta scripta)
Sea Turtles: Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)
AMPHIBIANS:
Frogs: Barking treefrog (Hyla gratiosa), Carpenter frog (Lithobates virgatipes), Eastern spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii), Little grass frog (Pseudacris ocularis), Mountain chorus frog (Pseudacris brachyphona), New Jersey chorus frog (Pseudacris kalmi), Oak toad (Anaxyrus quercicus), Southern chorus frog (Pseudacris nigrita)
Salamanders: Blue Ridge dusky salamander (Desmognathus orestes), Blue Ridge two-lined salamander (Eurycea wilderae), Common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus maculosus), Cow Knob salamander (Plethodon punctatus), Cumberland Plateau salamander (Plethodon kentucki), Dwarf waterdog (Necturus punctatus), Eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis), Eastern mud salamander (Pseudotriton montanus montanus), Eastern tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum), Greater siren (Siren lacertina), Green salamander (Aneides aeneus), Jefferson salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum), Lesser siren (Siren intermedia intermedia), Mabee's salamander (Ambystoma mabeei), Many-lined salamander (Stereochilus marginatus), Mole salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum), Northern Pygmy salamander (Desmognathus organi), Peaks of Otter salamander (Plethodon hubrichti), Shenandoah Mountain salamander (Plethodon virginia), Shenandoah salamander (Plethodon shenandoah), Shovel-nosed salamander (Desmognathus marmoratus), Southern zigzag salamander (Plethodon ventralis), Weller's salamander (Plethodon welleri), Yonahlossee salamander (Plethodon yonahlossee)
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