Photos / Sounds

What

Eccentric Sand Dollar (Dendraster excentricus)

Observer

jaleja

Date

May 22, 2024 09:52 AM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Brandt's Cormorant (Urile penicillatus)

Observer

jaleja

Date

May 16, 2024 02:27 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Fiery Searcher (Calosoma scrutator)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

April 8, 2024 05:56 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

March 2024

Photos / Sounds

What

Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

February 27, 2024 02:01 AM CST

Photos / Sounds

What

Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

February 10, 2024 04:44 PM CST

Photos / Sounds

What

Salt Marsh Moth (Estigmene acrea)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

February 11, 2024 11:31 AM CST

Photos / Sounds

What

White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

January 20, 2024 01:37 PM CST

Description

Holding a small rodent in its talons

Photos / Sounds

What

American Black Bear (Ursus americanus)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

November 2023

Photos / Sounds

What

Barred Owl (Strix varia)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

September 16, 2023 02:08 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Insect-egg Slime (Leocarpus fragilis)

Observer

jaleja

Date

August 8, 2023 10:25 AM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Foraminifers (Phylum Foraminifera)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

August 5, 2023 06:05 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Opalescent Inshore Squid (Doryteuthis opalescens)

Observer

jaleja

Date

August 2, 2023 12:07 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Red-banded Leafhopper (Graphocephala coccinea)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

July 15, 2023 11:14 AM CDT
Chromista

Photos / Sounds

What

Kelp, Diatoms, and Allies (Kingdom Chromista)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

July 8, 2023 03:00 PM CDT

Description

Quick manual focus stack of a few images. Seems like it is composed of equilateral triangles, kind of resembling a regular icosahedron.
Putting ID as Chromista for now to include radiolarians, centric diatoms, dinoflagellate cysts, etc.

Photos / Sounds

What

Horned Nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis)

Observer

jaleja

Date

June 18, 2022 03:38 PM PDT

Description

About 1/2”

Photos / Sounds

What

Rough Greensnake (Opheodrys aestivus)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

June 10, 2023 12:05 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Orange Sea Pen (Ptilosarcus gurneyi)

Observer

jaleja

Date

June 8, 2023 02:43 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Leather Star (Dermasterias imbricata)

Observer

jaleja

Date

June 8, 2023 02:41 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

Observer

sarge45

Date

August 24, 2022 08:25 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

Observer

oddfitz

Date

June 5, 2023 07:51 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

May 2023

Photos / Sounds

What

Large White-headed Gulls (Genus Larus)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

May 7, 2023 09:16 AM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

April 3, 2023 08:01 AM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

April 8, 2023 01:30 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Atlantic Common Seal (Phoca vitulina ssp. vitulina)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

June 1, 2022 08:07 AM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

June 2022

Place

Maine, US (Google, OSM)

Photos / Sounds

What

Razorbill (Alca torda)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

June 2022

Place

Maine, US (Google, OSM)

Photos / Sounds

What

Broad-leaved Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium)

Observer

jaleja

Date

May 20, 2022 06:47 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Eelgrass Isopod (Pentidotea resecata)

Observer

jaleja

Date

May 19, 2022 01:00 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Sora (Porzana carolina)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

April 22, 2022 02:38 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

April 22, 2022 02:36 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Magnificent Bryozoan (Pectinatella magnifica)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

April 22, 2022 02:07 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

Observer

brettjackson

Date

April 8, 2022 05:48 PM CDT

Description

Hypophyllous on Magnolia, conidiophores growing from shared stolon-like hyphae. Conidia largely broken off, but seem to grow in chains. Conidia consistently verrucose.

Photos / Sounds

What

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

March 12, 2022 09:56 AM CST

Description

Was on top of a very recently dead cow on the side of the road, then went and bothered some ravens. Enormous bird

Photos / Sounds

Observer

brettjackson

Date

January 21, 2022 03:31 PM CST

Description

Hypophyllous on Celtis laevigata. Similar to Erysiphe macrospora, however the ascospores are around 8-10 μm shorter (about 1/3 shorter). Documentation for E. parvula is lacking, so I assume that the name parvula might refer to the small spores. While I can't find a description of the ascospores, the chasmothecial measurements and ascus count are a good fit, along with the host species.

Measurements
Chasmothecia
90–112 μm (briefly mentioned as 90–100 μm in older literature)
Asci
50–55 × 33–38 μm; ~5–6 per chasmothecium
Ascospores
18–19.5(–21.5) × 10.5–12(–13.3) μm; Q=1.5–1.8; ~6 per ascus

Images
Slides dyed with LPCB, scale bars 10 μm
1,2: Chasmothecia with numerous curled Erysiphe-type appendages
3: Erumpent asci
4,5: Habit

Photos / Sounds

What

Dekay's Brownsnake (Storeria dekayi)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

February 15, 2022 03:03 PM CST

Photos / Sounds

What

Stanford's Whitefly (Tetraleurodes perileuca)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

January 18, 2022 02:36 PM CST

Description

On Quercus virginiana.

Photos / Sounds

Observer

brettjackson

Date

November 2021

Place

Texas, US (Google, OSM)

Description

Hypophyllous on Modiola caroliniana. Not easily confusable due to the host; microscopy matches literature anyway. Both teliospores and basidiospores highly variable in size and shape.

Measurements
Teliospores
37–80 × 10–21 μm
Teliospores in literature
45–87.5 × 8.0–17.0 µm (Albu et al. 2019)
31–81(–95) × 10.5–20 (–25) µm (Aime & Abbasi 2018)
Basidiospores
9–12.5(–17.8) × 6–9(–10.5) μm

Images
All slides in LPCB, scale bar 100 μm for image 1, 50 μm for image 3, 10 μm otherwise.
1: Cross section of telium, teliospores visible on lower surface
2: Epiphyllous habit
3: Various teliospores
4: Sterigmata, two with attached basidiospores
5: Spent sterigmata
6: Promycelia/metabasidia in various stages of growth from teliospores
7: Basidiospores
8: Notched teliospore apex
9: Hypophyllous spermogonium
10: Early or broken teliospore germ tube
11: Additional habit

Photos / Sounds

Observer

brettjackson

Date

December 2021

Place

Texas, US (Google, OSM)

Description

Keys out to Rhytidhysteron guaraniticum on two separate keys, can't find much information on the species apart from that however. At the very least exists in Paraguay.
On Citrus bark.
Mature ascocarps often exceed 2 mm in length. Width is variable with opening/closing, but closes to 0.4-1 mm.
Ascospores
23.3–33.5 × (8.4–)10.7–13.8 μm; Q: 1.94–2.92(–3.67)
Mostly 3-septate, often 1-septate, very rarely 2-septate.

Image Notes
All microscopy with 10 μm scale bars, mounted in KOH or LPCB
2: Open ascocarps revealing epithecia after sitting in water droplets for 30 minutes
4: Ascospores
5: Asci with ascospores in cross section
6: Exciple
7: Paraphysis
8: Cross section at low magnification

Photos / Sounds

What

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

November 30, 2021 11:18 AM CST

Description

And fish

Photos / Sounds

Observer

brettjackson

Date

November 9, 2021 03:03 PM CST

Description

Beautiful, dichotomously branched chasmothecial appendages. Took 20+ hours to stitch together the focus stacks manually.
Mycelium and fruiting bodies are strictly hypophyllous on Quercus pagoda leaves, as shown in habitus pictures 5 and 6.
Literature

The most often described Erysiphe sp. from oak leaves is E. alphitoides; however, the chasmothecial appendage lengths range from 0.75 to 2 times the diameter of the chasmothecium. The appendages in this observation consistently only measure 0.5 to 0.75 times the chasmothecial diameter.
E. quercicola is similar to E. alphitoides, but with shorter appendages that match the range of this observation. E. quercicola would be a good candidate apart from the ascospore dimensions, which are smaller than this observation's ascospore dimensions by ~30%. Additionally, both E. alphitoides and quercicola are only dubiously present in North America, and may be limited to Europe and/or South America.
Identification
Erysiphe abbreviata is a North American species that has been collected from Quercus pagoda. It has notably larger ascospores than the other Erysiphe spp. mentioned, and shares the short appendages of E. quercicola; Braun et al. 2007.
Image annotations
1) Chasmothecium with appendages – lactophenol cotton blue (LPCB)
2) Chasmothecial appendage, dichotomously branched ~5x – LPCB
3) Erumpent ascus with ascospores – Melzer's reagent (MLZ)
4) Ascospores – MLZ
5) Habitus with chasmothecia visible on underside of Q. pagoda leaf
6) Close view of habitus
7) Conidium with initial appressorium growth – LPCB
8) Lobed appressorium – LPCB
9) Chasmothecium detail with early, unbranched appendages – LPCB
10) Uncropped view of all appendages – LPCB
11) Chasmothecia among stellate trichomes – MLZ
12) Ruptured chasmothecia detail – Water

All scale bars are 10 μm.
Average measurements vs. literature range
Ascospores:
24.14 × 14.13 μm || 20–32 × 12–21 μm
Asci:
55.62 × 38.29 μm || 50–70 × 35–55 μm
Chasmothecial diameter:
82–124; x̄:108 μm || 70–125(–130) μm
Conidia:
32.21 × 14.41 μm || 25–45 × 10–20 μm
Hyphal width:
4.42 μm || 2–6 μm

Literature measurements from:
Braun, Uwe & Shi, Ainong & Mmbaga, M. & Takamatsu, Susumu & Divarangkoon, Rangsi & Chen, P.. (2007). Erysiphe abbreviata on cherry bark oak - Morphology, phylogeny and taxonomy. Mycologia. 99. 655-63. 10.3852/mycologia.99.5.655.

Photos / Sounds

What

Fly Death Fungi (Complex Entomophthora muscae)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

November 1, 2021 06:20 PM CDT

Description

I've wanted to find this one for a while. I doubt much can be gleaned from my amateur microscopy, but I believe I found a condiophore and some hyphal bodies. The fungus has spread throughout the entire body, even emerging from the face between the antennae. It also seems that the fungus has "sewn" the body to the leaf with strands of hyphae, as shown in picture 9.

Photos / Sounds

What

Jade Clubtail (Arigomphus submedianus)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

May 13, 2021 06:31 PM CDT

Description

Best match for the thoracic striping I believe.

Photos / Sounds

What

Barred Owl (Strix varia)

Observer

jaleja

Date

April 25, 2021 12:16 PM CDT

Photos / Sounds

Observer

brettjackson

Date

March 2021

Place

Texas, US (Google, OSM)

Description

Pretty certain this is Pinophilus latipes, but bafflingly enough, it is missing both of its front two tarsi. The front tarsi are the key trait that give it the name latipes – "wide foot".

Photos / Sounds

What

Baird's Pocket Gopher (Geomys breviceps)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

March 12, 2021 04:15 PM CST

Description

Based on incisor shape and molar position.

Photos / Sounds

What

Pink Sundew (Drosera capillaris)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

March 13, 2021 10:48 AM CST

Description

I believe the topmost leaf may have captured something.

I'm more accustomed to Drosera brevifolia, but they would have more triangular, gradually broadening leaves.

Photos / Sounds

What

North American Luna Moth (Actias luna)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

March 13, 2021 11:07 PM CST

Description

Was stuck among some pine needles. Decided to help.

Photos / Sounds

What

Signate Melanolophia Moth (Melanolophia signataria)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

March 12, 2021 09:49 PM CST

Photos / Sounds

Observer

brettjackson

Date

February 20, 2021 04:12 PM CST

Description

From Riddle's description:

  • "On dead leaves of Celtis, Cornus, Ulmus, etc.; 0.7-1.5mm. in
    height, stipitate, honey-yellow to russet. Apparently confined to the warmer portion of the United States: specimens examined from New Jersey, North and South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas; and recorded from Alabama."

  • Riddle, Lincoln W. “Observations on the Genus Acrospermum.” Mycologia, vol. 12, no. 4, 1920, p. 178

Characteristics supporting Riddle's variety from this observation:

  • Found on dead, fallen Ulmus sp. leaves
  • Found in Texas
  • Honey-colored
  • Tapered section of fruiting body alone is already 0.66 mm long; likely ~0.9 mm when the base is included

Notes:

  • Fruiting bodies were present on both sides of the leaf
  • I have accidentally observed this species/variety in the background of this observation

Photos / Sounds

What

Broad-banded Watersnake (Nerodia fasciata ssp. confluens)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

February 20, 2021 02:30 PM CST

Description

My naturalist partner almost stepped on this friend; we both involuntarily shrieked before realizing it was a banded watersnake doing the "head-flattening" thing to look more like a pit viper.

Photos / Sounds

What

Typical Sculpins (Family Cottidae)

Observer

jaleja

Date

February 10, 2021 01:03 PM CST

Photos / Sounds

Observer

brettjackson

Date

January 10, 2021 03:23 PM CST

Description

Spore dimensions are well within range. KOH in last picture.

Photos / Sounds

Observer

brettjackson

Date

January 1, 2021 10:46 PM CST

Photos / Sounds

What

Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio)

Observer

brettjackson

Date

January 14, 2021 08:35 PM CST

Description

Unfortunately only had my phone.