TARANATULA AND SOME WORMS

A CALIFORNIA TARANTULA

This is the fifth and final part of my series on animals that live (or once lived) in the vicinity of the Placerita Canyon Natural Center, just west of Newhall, Southern California.

Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders. There are about 1,100 described species. They emerged about 120 million years ago [= middle Early Cretaceous time]. It seems that they initially spread from Africa into India. Subsequently, they spread to all the other continents except Antarctica. 

Tarantulas are different from spiders as tarantulas look down, whereas true spiders face each other. Also, tarantulas have two lungs, as opposed to true spiders (which have only one lung).

Tarantulas live in burrows and are nocturnal animals that feed at night. They mainly eat insects (grasshoppers, beetles, small spiders, etc.). Also, taranutlas are canabalistic, therefore, they do not live in colonies.

Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Arthropoda

Class Arachnida

Order Araneae

Family Theraphosidae

Genus Aphonopelma [a genus native to the Americas]

Species eutylenum [the “California Ebony” Tarantula] 

Despite their fearsome appearance, these tarantulas are not harmful to humans. Genus Aphonopelma, whose taxonomy is poorly understood, is comprised of about 90 known species, many of which are hard to identify.

Aphonopelma eutylenum is a burrowing species that lives in a semi-arid climate.

REFERENCES (for the tarantula part of this blog post).

Hogue, C.L. (revised and edited by J.N. Hogue). 2015. Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, 3^rd ed. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 474 pp.

Wikipedia, 2025.

                                                                  "SOME WORMS"

Millipedes

The Latin word mille refers to “thousand,” and the word ped refers to “foot.”

Millipedes have two pairs of legs on most of their body segments.

Millipedes are slow-moving, and they eat mostly decayed plant matter. Some eat fungi or drink plant fluid.

Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Arthropoda

Class Diplopoda

Order (16 of them!)

The fossil record of millipeds is the Silurian Period (about 430 million years ago) to present day.

Millipedes have body length of 1/16 to 14 inches long. There are two pairs of legs on most of their body segments. These animals are mainly burrowers and primarily detritovores although a few are herbivores, and even fewer are carnivores. They have no venom. They have single pair of antennae.

The study of millipedes is known as diplopodology (a good word for the game of Srabble).

Centipides

The Latin word centi refers to “hundreds.” They have 1 pair of legs per body segment. These animals are mainly burrowers and primarily carnivores. Their front legs bear venomous fangs! Do not pick up these animals. All centipides are venomous!

Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Arthropoda

Class Chilopoda

Order (2 of them)

The fossil record of centipedes extends from Late Silurian time (about 430 million years ago) to present day. Centipedes have only a single pair of legs per body segment. antennae. These animals are generalist predators, hence they eat a large variety of prey.

Note: Millipedes and centipedes have more than six legs, thus they are not insects.

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EARTHWORMS

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Annelida

Clades 2 of them

Class Clitellata

Order Opisthopora

Suborder Lumbricina

Earthworms live in moist, compost-rich soil. They east living microoorganisms (e.g., funig, bacteria, detritus, etc.). The earthworm’s digestive system runs the length of its body = a segmented tube.

Earthworms lack a skeleton but have a nervous system. Muscles allow the worm to move.

An earthworm is both male and female.

Suprisingly, earthworms have a fossil record that literally traces back to about 1 billion years ago because these fossils are represented as burrow traces of tubular organisms.  In Cambrian time, there are impressions of earthworms (genus Dannychaeta) that had guts, heads, etc. The earthworm (general concept) has a fossil record that extends back to the Cambrian Period approximately 500 million years ago. True earthworms appeared about 209 million years ago when the Pangaea supercontinent “broke apart.”

Reference

Wikipedia, 2026

 

BOBCAT, MOUNTAIN LION, GRIZZLEY BEAR

note: This is part 4 of five successive posts showing animals displayed at the

 Placerita Canyon Nature Center near Santa Clarita, Southern  California.

The title of this blog post might leave you wondering "how can these three animals be included together in the same blog?" The answer is that not long ago, these animals used to live in the mountains near Santa Clarita, Southern California (where I live).  Today, only the bobcat is still around, and it is a very rare sight.

                                           BOBCAT                                                                                          

Bobcats are one of the four extant species in the cat genus Lynx.

Bobcats are native to the New World and range from North America to Canada, USA, and Mexico.

These cats have distinctive black bars on their forelegs and upper back legs. They also have a “bobbed” (stubby tail), hence the name “bobcat.” 

They also have small black tuffs on the tips of their ears.

The total length of their body can be up to 50 inches.

Their diet consists of a wide range of food: rodents, small game, insects, birds, rodents, and deer. Bobcats prefer to live in woodlands, and these cats are most active at night. 

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Order Carnivora

Family Felidae

Genus Lynx

Type Species Lynx rufus

Bobcats are derived from the European Lynx, which crossed into North America during the Pleistocene (about 2.6 million years ago) via the Bering Land Bridge (see one of my earlier posts). 

The example of the bobcat shown here is a taxidermy rendition of a specimen. It is on display at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center (free admission and free parking).

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MOUNTAIN LION

Puma concolor is known by several other names: mountain lion, cougar, panther, and catamount (and these are just the more common names).

 

The mountain lion is a large cat native to the Americas (North, Central, and South America). Its geographic distribution today is from the Yukon to Patagonia. In fact, it is the most widely distributed wild, terrestrial, carnivore mammal in the Western Hemisphere. They are mainly a solitary animal that preys on deer and rodents.

Adults weight up to 160 pounds (male) and 110 pounds (female). They can run at speeds up to 50 miles per hour. They are unlikely to attack humans, but never mess with them anyway!

They can live up to 19,000 feet in elevation. They are mainly a solitary animal.

Puma probably originated in Asia about 11 mya (early late Miocene). At 8.5 to 8 mya, they migrated across the Bering Land Bridge into North America [see one if my earlier blog posts on this subject). Much later, following the formation of the Isthmus of Panama, about 2 to 4 mya,, they invaded Central and South America as part of the “Great American Interchange” [see another one of my earlier blog posts on this subject].

An excellent taxidermy rendition of a mountain lion. It can be viewed at the Placertia Canyon Nature Center, near Santa Clarita.

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GRIZZLY BEAR

The scientific name of the Grizzly Bear is Ursus arctos horribilis, which most bear experts treat as a subspecies of the North American brown bear. This conclusion is based on modern genetic testing. Furthermore, the “grizzly bear” (males can be up to 858 pounds in weight) is the largest subspecies of the brown bear.

The brown bear originated in Eurasia and migrated to North America 177,000 to 111,000 years ago. These bears can be blond to nearly black in color. They have distinctive hump on the shoulder.

The specimen shown here (about 7 to 8 feet tall) is encased in a glass box with spotlights focused on it; thus the photography and Photoshopping of this specimen posed considerable challenges-because of the reflected light. The image shown here is not perfect, but it shows the necessary information.

The reference I used for all three of the above mammals is Wikipedia. 

RACCOON, SKUNK, AND GOPHER

This is part 3 of several successive posts showing animals displayed at the Placerita Canyon

 Nature Center near Santa Clarita, Southern  California

RACCOON

Their earliest ancestors originated in Europe about 25 mya [million-years ago] during late Oligocene time). Then about 6 mya, some of them migrated to the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge [see one of my earlier posts]. About 3 mya (Pliocene), they also migrated from North America to Central and South America via the Panama area [see another one of my earlier posts] referred to as the “Great American Biotic Interchange.” The true raccoon lineage (genus Procyon) appeared in North America later. 

To sum up this somewhat confusing geologic history: raccoons are found today in North America, Central America, central Europe (e.g., Germany) and Japan)—with different species depending on the locale). 

This blog post concerns the raccoon Procyon lotor and its presence in the United States. This species of raccoon, which has black fur around its eyes (i.e., a bandit’s mask), can swim and climb (including “walking” headfirst down a tree because these mammals can rotate their feet so that they are pointing backward). They have a very versatile diet (can eat invertebrates, vertebates, and plants), and can travel in small packs. They also have a certain level of problem-solving intelligence (i.e., a reasonable memory). Interestingly, they are color blind.

Figure 1. Image of an excellent, taxidermy example of a raccoon, displayed at the “Placerita Canyon Nature Center” just east of Santa Clarita, southern California. 

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STRIPED SKUNK

These insectivores (plus they also eat some plants) occur across much of North America (including southern Canada, the USA, and northern Mexico).  

  Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Order Carnivora

Family Mephitidae

Genus Mephitis

Type species M. mephitis

Geologic Range: Early Pleistocene (approximately 1.8 million years ago) (in Nebraska). By late Pleistocene, they were widespread, especially in the southern USA (Wikipedia, 2025).

They weight up to 12 pounds, and are up to 30 inches in length. Most are about the size of a cat. Their fur is black and white, and the soles of their feet are bare. They have long claws, which are used for digging.

When provoked, they arch their back, raises there tail, and stamps its feet, and shuffles backward: this is when you had better back off and give it some room. Otherwise, you will be wearing the smelly (acrid) fluid from its anal glands. This fluid can also be a blinding liquid. So be very careful and to not let it spray you in the face/eyes.  Also, this animal is a major carrier of rabies! In summary, do not torment it. Just leave them alone!

It lives in forests and is known to browse around campgrounds . Do not leave your trash bags where skunks can reach them at night.

They are nocturnal omnivores and eat insects (especially grasshoppers, beetles), as well as small animals, reptiles, birds, and plants (North American Wildlife, 1982).

References

North American Wildlife. 1982. Reader’s Digest. Pleasantiville, New York. 615 pp. 

Wikipedia, 2025.

Figure 2. Image of an excellent, taxidermy example of a raccoon, displayed at the “Placerita Canyon Nature Center” just east of Santa Clarita, southern California. 

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“POCKET GOPHER”

These burrowing rodents are endemic to North America and Central America. To date, there are 41 known species. They range in size from ½ to 2 pounds. They live mostly solitary lives in an extensive network of tunnels that they dig. These tunnels provide protection and places to store food. These animals are very shy and very hard to catch via traps. They seldom go above ground, and they if they to go elsewhere, they travel at night. They eat the roots of shrubs and roots (especially carrots and radishes). They can quickly devastate a garden! They are solitary animals except during breeding season. Left unchecked, they can easily overrun your garden or lawn. Most of what I have written here is based on personal experience. If you do nothing to stop their burrowing, your garden will suffer significantly!

Their fossil record is known for late Pliocene (about 5 million years ago = mya) to Recent time. They are questionably known in strata as old as the Eocene. Their closest relative is the “kangaroo rat.”  

  Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Order Rodentia

Family Geomyidae

Genus Geomys

If you have the interest and monies available, I found two journal articles about the pocket gopher:

Martin, R.A. and 4 others. Five million years of pocket gopher history in the Meade Basin of southwestern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, v. 31, no. 2011, issue 4. Only the abstract is free.

Jonathan, J. M. and two others. 2019. Locomotory adaptations in entoptychine gophers (Rodentia: Gomyidae) and the mosaic evolution of fossoriality. Journal of Morphology https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.2099. Only the abstract is free.

Figure 3. Image of an excellent, taxidermy example of a "pocket gopher" displayed at the “Placerita Canyon Nature Center” just east of Santa Clarita, southern California. 

SOME MORE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ANIMALS

This is part 2 of several successive posts showing animals displayed at the Placerita Canyon

 Nature Center near Santa Clarita, Southern  California

ROADRUNNER BIRD

The earliest fossil record of roadrunner birds is late Pleistocene (about 35,000 to 33,000 years old). These fossils are found in New Mexico, southern California (La Brea Tar Pits), Arizona, Texas, and northern Mexico. An example is Geococcyx conklingi, a large species. 

Roadrunners belong to the cuckoo family and share ancestry with other birds, some of which have records in the dinosaur era. Roadrunners are ground-dwelling birds that have two toes forward and two toes backward = zgodactyl condition.

   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Cuculiformes = the cuckoo family

Family Cuculidae (also includes cuckoo birds and their relatives)

Genus Geococyx 

There are two living species of roadrunners. One is the “Greater roadrunner” G. californianus (the larger of the two species). It lives in the southwest USA and northern Mexico. The other living species is the “Lesser Roadrunner,” which is smaller in size and lives in southern Mexico and Central America.

Roadrunners are omnivores and 90% of what they east is animal matter. They can kill venomous snakes, scorpions, “black widow” spiders, and centipedes. They also eat small rabbits, bats, hummingbirds, other small birds, frogs, mice, grasshoppers, young ground squirrels, beetles, crickets, and caterpillars.

roadrunner bird

OPOSSUM                                          

They originated in South America about 3 million years ago, and eventually migrated to North America, across the Panamanian land bridge (see of my previous blogs posts about this land bridge). Opussums are endemic to the Americas (i.e., occur on no other continents).

They are not rodents; rather they are marsupials (2-3 feet long—tail included) and weigh up to 15 pounds). Interestingly, because of special protein in their blood, they are nearly immune to rattlesnake venom and other viper toxins. Their blood is used in making anti-venom.

  Classification:

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Order Didelphimorphic [=the largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere,            with 18 genera and 126 species.]

Family Didelphidae

Genus Didephis

They live 1 to 2 years in the wild and 3 to 8 years in captivity. They are preyed upon by coyotes, foxes, bobcats, large owls, and hawks.

Opossums have very long tails, thereby allowing them to hang from tree branches.

opossum

                                          MULE DEER

They are indigenous to western North America: from Canada to Mexico. This deer is named for its ears, which are large like those of a mule.

Mule deers can be up to 330 pounds and up to 42 inches at the shoulder.

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Order

Family Cervidae

Genus Odocoileus

Type species O. hemionus

Mule deer represent a geologically “young” species as they apparently evolved from Whitetail deer about 10,000 years ago during Pleistocene time. Whitetail deep evolved much earlier, about 1.5-2.5 million years ago. 

mule deer

REFERENCE

Wikipedia, 2025.

GAMEBEL'S QUAIL BIRD

Callipepla gambelli was named in honor of William Gambell, a 19^th century naturalist who explored the southwestern United States. This bird is found toay in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and the Sonora, Mexico.

Both males and females of this bird have a distinctive black “top-knot” on their heads, but males also have a copper-colored head and a white strip around their eyes. Both sexes have blue-gray plumage on their undersides but featherless legs. 

The term “quail” is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds that mainly walk around in groups (flocks). They can have, nevertheless, short flights (but rarely do). They are non-migratory. Their wingspan is 14-16 inches. These birds are omnivores that eat plant matter (seeds, some greens) and some insects.

                                                                             Gambel's Quail (about the size of a chicken).

   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Galliformes [also includes chickens and turkeys)

Family Odontophoridae

Genus Callipepla

Type species: C. gambelii 

The earliest known fossil record of an ancient relative of quail is middle Eocene (44 mya) in Utah. The earliest known fossil record of Callipepla is late Oligocene (28.5-23.8 mya) in California (Quinn, 2005). 

Callipepla is an omnivore that primarily eats plant-based food (e.g., seeds, grains, greens) and insects.

References

Quinn, A. 2005. Earliest record of a New World Quail from the East Lake Local Fauna, Otay Formation (late Oligocene) of San Diego County, California. Georgia College and State University, Master’s thesis, 58 pp. [PDF available, free, online]. 

Wikipedia. 2025.

Note: The “stuffed” quail used for this blog post is part of a taxidermy display of the kinds of wildlife that live in the mountains in the area surrounding the Placerita Canyon Nature Center, just east of the Newhall and southeast of Santa Clarita, Southern California. Parking and admission are free, but the facility is closed on Mondays. There is also a flowing stream, as well as hiking trails. Just a short distance westward (near the entrance to the Nature Center) is the site of the first discovery of gold in California, in 1842—-seven years before gold was found at Sutters Mill on the bank of the South Fork American River, near Coloma in northern California. That discovery led to the famous 1849 Gold Rush.

WESTERN ALLIGATOR LIZARD

These lizards are represented by seven species in genus Elgaria, a New World lizard that lives in the western USA and Mexico. These lizards have slim bodies, short limbs, and a long tail.  These animals can be up to 12 inches (30 cm long) and their tail is approximately one-half of that length! The tail, which is somewhat prehensile and used for climbing, can break off on its own if a predator attacks the lizard. These lizards are somewhat aggressive and will bite when threatened (Wikipedia). 

Alligator lizards eat beetles, ants, wasps, aphids, grasshoppers, and other lizards. In my yard, these lizards are a rare occurrence.

Figure 1. Adult Elgaria multicarinata (length approximately 7 inches) from northern Los Angeles County, southern California.

Figure 2. Juvenile Elargia mutlicarinata (length approximately 4 inches) from northern Los Angeles County, southern California.

Classification:

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Reptilia

Order Squamata

Family Anguidae

Genus Elgaria

Species [illustrated here] E. multicarinata subsp.

There are five recognized subspecies, all native to the Pacific Coast of North America. They occur variously from Washington to Baja California, Mexico and occur in a variety of habitats. These lizards have considerable variation in their coloration.

References

https://nathistoc.bio.uci

wikipedia: 2025