Amphibians
Virginia is home to 28 species of this amphibian.
What is a frog?
This is not a snake, it is a legless lizard!
What is an Eastern Glass Lizard?
The only living marsupial in North America.
What is the Virginia Opossum?
This species of tree was considered to be the oldest at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, dating back to 1807. It was cut down in 2008 but pieces of it can still be found around town.
What is the Tulip Poplar?
The Big Dipper is made up of seven stars and easily recognizable, but it is really just part of this larger constellation.
What is Ursa Major?
The largest species of frog in North America.
What is an American Bullfrog?
The official reptile of Virginia.
What is the Eastern Garter Snake?
The inspiration for a Virginia based minor league baseball team mascot.
What is the Virginia Flying Squirrel?
Believed to be the earliest known flowering plant, with fossils dating back over 100 million years.
What is a Magnolia Tree?
The outer edge of the bowl of the big dipper points the way to the Northern Star at the tail end of this related constellation.
What is Ursa Minor?
Each individual female lays up to 20,000 eggs every spring.
What is the Eastern American Toad?
Leonardo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is said to be of this native to Virginia species.
What is the Red-Eared Slider?
Excellent climbers and wonderful swimmers it could be hard to escape one of these 300 pound mammals, thankfully they mostly eat a plant based diet.
What is a Black Bear?
This tree, perhaps the most important to our native ecosystem, has a lifespan of 1,000 years.
What is an Oak?
Usually recognized first by his belt, but also the bright glow of the orange star Betelgeuse in his shoulder.
Who is Orion?
Their tail makes up more then 50% of their total body length and is used to store fat, providing them with a source of energy while living underground all winter.
What is the Valley and Ridge Salamander?
This snake does not lay eggs, and when it looses in battle it is rare it will ever fight again.
What is a Northern Copperhead?
Each ear of this flying mammal is a third the size of its total body.
What is a Virginia Big-Eared Bat?
This native fruit tastes like a cross between a banana and a mango.
What is a Dwarf Pawpaw?
This galaxy is best viewed in January and usually recognized by the small perfect V formed by five stars at the base of the horns.
What is Taurus?
These salamanders live at an elevation between 2,950 and 3,600 feet. The ones on the bottom have twice as many babies as the ones on the top.
What is a Peaks of Otter Salamander?
This snake will hiss and growl to scare off predators. If confronted it will coil up, hiding its head, and shake their tail in an attempt to distract the predator.
What is a Bright Red Northern Scarlet Snake?
These small, fast mammals, can live a full life in just one year.
What is an Appalachian Cottontail?
These native woodland flowers can grow up to 4 feet tall and are especially popular with butterflies, moths, and bees.
What is Purple Milkweed?
Sometimes referred to as the backbone of the galaxy and includes the asterism the Northern Cross.
What is Cygnus?