Organism Data from Worldwide Collection Trip
Common name: Cheetah
Scientific name: Acinonyx jubatus
Appendages/locomotion: quadruped (four limbs)
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Gazelles, Impalas, and other types of antelope
Lifespan: 10-12 years
Size: 3.5 to 4.5 feet long, plus a 25.5 to 31.5 inch tail
Weight: 45 to 155 pounds
Range: Eastern and Southwestern Africa
Interesting info: Cheetahs can accelerate from 0 to 65 mph in 3 seconds making them the
world’s fastest land mammal; they only need to drink every 3 to 4 days, and are perfectly
camouflaged for the African grassland; only up to 10,000 remaining.
Common name: Sargassum Weed
Scientific name: Sargassum bacciferum
Appendages/locomotion: none
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: none
Diet: Photosynthetic
Lifespan: 3-4 years
Size: Up to 53 feet long
Weight: Unknown
Range: Tropical Atlantic waters
Interesting info: Forms floating mats at the surface of the water; forms air bladders to help keep
it afloat; very invasive species outside its native range.
Common name: Broad-headed Skink
Scientific name: Eumeces laticeps
Appendages/locomotion: quadruped (four limbs)
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Insects, spiders, and other invertebrates
Lifespan: Up to 6 years
Size: 6 to 13 inches long
Weight: Unknown
Range: Southern coastal plain including Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama
Interesting info: Largest skink in the Southeast U.S.
Common name: Leatherback Sea Turtle
Scientific name: Renato rinaldi
Appendages/locomotion: quadruped (four limbs)
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Jellyfish
Lifespan: Estimated 45 years
Size: 4 to 6 feet long
Weight: 660 to 1,100 pounds
Range: Worldwide
Interesting info: Females return every 2 to 3 years to the same beaches they were born on to lay
their eggs. The Leatherback is the only sea turtle that lacks a hard shell, but instead has thick,
rubbery skin.
Common name: Eastern Gorilla
Scientific name: Gorilla beringei
Appendages/locomotion: quadruped (four limbs)
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Fruit and vegetation
Lifespan: 30 to 40 years
Size: 4.5 to 5.8 feet long
Weight: 220 to 440 pounds
Range: Rwanda, Uganda, and eastern DR Congo
Interesting info: Largest of all the primates; Eastern gorillas live in groups with up to 35
individuals with a mature male “silverback” leading the group. Critically endangered with less
than 3,000 individuals left in the wild.
Common name: Pantropical Spotted Dolphin
Scientific name: Stenella attenuate
Appendages/locomotion: quadruped (four limbs)
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Squid and fish
Lifespan: 46 years
Size: 6 to 7 feet long
Weight: Approximately 250 pounds
Range: Tropical oceans worldwide
Interesting info: They are born without any spots and accumulate them as they age; they occur
in very large groups with up to 1,000 individuals.
Common name: Florida Torreya Tree
Scientific name: Torreya taxifolia
Appendages/locomotion: no limbs
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Photosynthetic
Lifespan: 150 to 250 years
Size: Up to 60 feet tall
Weight: Unknown
Range: Limestone bluffs along the Apalachicola River in Northern Florida and Southern
Georgia
Interesting info: Critically endangered; one of the oldest tree species still living today.
Common name: Green Peafowl
Scientific name: Pavo muticus
Appendages/locomotion: bipedal when not utilizing wings for locomotion
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Vegetation, fruit, seeds, small insects, frogs, and lizards
Lifespan: 15 to 20 years
Size: 27 to 51 inches tall
Weight: 2.6 to 13 pounds
Range: Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Laso, Indonesia, India, and Bangladesh
Interesting info: Peafowl have 11 different calls they use to communicate with each other; the
train feathers of a peacock are longer than his body.
Common name: Florida Panther
Scientific name: Puma concolor coryi
Appendages/locomotion: quadruped (four limbs)
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Deer, squirrels, wild hog
Lifespan: 8 to 15 years
Size: 6 to 8 feet long
Weight: Up to 130 pounds
Range: Southwestern Florida
Interesting info: Only 30 panthers remained in 1990, but numbers have increased to about 100
recently; a male panther needs approximately 200 square miles of habitat for its territory and
does not allow his territory to overlap with other male panther’s territories.
Common name: Pacific Giant Glass Frog
Scientific name: Centrolene geckoideum
Appendages/locomotion: quadruped (four limbs)
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Insects, fish, and other frogs
Lifespan: Unknown
Size: 2.4 to 3.2 inches long
Weight: Unknown
Range: Found only in the Andes mountain range in Tandayapa, Ecuador and La Planda,
Columbia
Interesting info: Prefers to live in forests close to waterfalls and rapids; the pacific giant glass
frog is green because its skeleton is green.
Common name: Irukandji Jellyfish
Scientific name: Carukia barnesi
Appendages/locomotion: free swimming hydroskeleton
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: invertebrate
Diet: Fish, worms, and crustaceans
Lifespan: Unknown
Size: No bigger than 0.75 inches; approximately the size of your thumbnail
Weight: Unknown
Range: Northern Australian coast, Cairns regions, and the Great Barrier Reef
Interesting info: Sting causes pain in the stomach, back, limbs, and head, sweating, vomiting,
coughing, and difficulty breathing; unusually strong swimmer for being a jellyfish.
Common name: Ornate Eagle Ray
Scientific name: Aetomylaeus vespertilio
Appendages/locomotion: free swimming rhomboidal body
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Unknown
Lifespan: Unknown
Size: Up to 12.5 feet wide
Weight: Unknown
Range: Sporadic distribution through Indian and Western Pacific ocean
Interesting info: Very little is known about this species because it is rarely observed; susceptible
to fishing practices in its native range.
Common name: Mediterranean Slipper Lobster
Scientific name: Scyllaridae latus
Appendages/locomotion: decapod (eight legs, four pairs)
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: invertebrate
Diet: Bivalves and gastropods
Lifespan: Up to 100 years
Size: Up to 17.7 inches long
Weight: Up to 2.2 pounds
Range: Mediterranean Sea, except northern and central Adriatic Sea
Interesting info: Found in up to 1,315 feet of water.
Common name: Red Wolf
Scientific name: Canis rufus
Appendages/locomotion: quadraped (four limbs)
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: vertebrate
Diet: Raccoons, white-tailed deer, rabbits, and other mammals
Lifespan: Approximately 4 years
Size: 39 to 50 inches long and 25 to 31 inches tall
Weight: 44 to 88 pounds
Range: Historic range included entire Southeastern United States, but it now confined to small
protected areas throughout that range
Interesting info: Oldest recorded Red Wolf lived to be 14 years old; the alpha male and alpha
female in a pack are the only ones that will reproduce, while the other members of the pack help
raise their offspring.
Common name: American Horseshoe Crab
Scientific name: Limulus polyphemus
Appendages/locomotion: decapod (ten legs, five pairs)
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: invertebrate
Diet: Small bivalves, mollusks, worms, dead fish, and algae
Lifespan: Up to 25 years
Size: Up to 2 feet long
Weight: 11 pounds
Range: Atlantic Ocean
Interesting info: More closely related to arachnids than crabs; horseshoe crabs have no natural
predators; blood is copper-based instead of iron-based.
Common name: Oriental Rat Flea
Scientific name: Xenopsylla cheopis
Appendages/locomotion: eight legs, four pairs
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: invertebrate
Diet: Blood of their host
Lifespan: Just over 1 year
Size: Less than 0.5 inches long
Weight: Miniscule
Range: Worldwide tropical and subtropical areas
Interesting info: Responsible for transmitting the bubonic plague; fleas do not survive well in
high or low temperatures.
Common name: Penicillin
Scientific name: Penicillium chrysogenum
Appendages/locomotion: none
Vertebrate/Invertebrate: none
Diet: Absorbs nutrients from environment
Size: Microscopic
Weight: Miniscule
Range: Human environments; decaying fruits and ripening cheese
Interesting info: The world’s first antibiotic; discovered by accident in 1928.