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We did more than lie around like "gators" (Alligator mississippiensis). There were many opportunities for exploring the "low country" and look for birds and other creatures. (Below, left) A large snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) searches for soft ground to dig a nest. (Below) To fly, cormorants (Phalacrocorax) need to dry their wings after diving for fishes. |
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| (Right) At Ripley's Aquarium we were introduced to many new fishes, including the great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), the sawfish (Pristis) and the lookdown (Selene) |
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Spring comes early in South Carolina and the laughing gulls (Larus atricilla) already have their dark heads and breeding plumage. (Below) Migrating songbirds fly at night and appear tame but are actually exhausted The chameleon (Anole) is tame and will hop on to your hand to chase an insect. |
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| Swamps are exploited for their valuable timber, especially bald cypress (Taxodium). Although coastal wetlands comprise 30% of the wetlands types in the contiguous United States (about 27 million acres) they are not distributed evenly. Eighty-one percent are found in the Southeast, with more than half (51%) concentrated on the Gulf coast, and the remainder (30%) in the Southern Atlantic region. Nationally, the states with the most coastal wetland acreage are (in order of acreage): Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and New Jersey. To learn more about wetlands and threats to them, click here. |
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