| I have 14 legs! I may roll into a ball to protect myself. I live on the forest floor among the leaves as crickets do. I eat dead leaves, leaving behind the “skeleton” of the leaf. Sometimes I eat animal scat (that’s the word biologists use for “poop”!). Harvester ants may catch me, kill me, and carry me down into their burrow. Other small animals may eat me too. We arrived in the U.S. as unplanned cargo in ships from Europe and have spread here, taking over the role crickets had. |
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| I am the biggest frog in North America. I didn’t always live in the Rio Grande Valley. I was brought here because my legs are so good to eat. I live in still waters of marshes or ponds where native frogs once ruled. I eat insects and any animal small enough for me to swallow, including ducklings. I need two summers to grow from an egg to a tadpole and on to a full-grown frog. |
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| Look for me in warm, shallow water with many plants. I am 2 inches (5 centimeters) long and my mate is only 1 inch (2.5 centimeters). I am native in the lower Rio Grande but was introduced to the Middle Rio Grande because I eat mosquito larvae. My babies are born alive. I also eat other insect larvae, algae, crustaceans, and fish fry (baby fish). Because I eat fish fry, I sometimes kill off the fish that were in the streams and rivers before I came. |
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| I am a fish that people in the United States do not usually eat. I came to New Mexico in 1883. I enjoy quiet, warm water but I can live in almost any kind of water. I often change the habitat by uprooting plants, making the water muddy, and eating the eggs of other fish. I spoil the habitat for native fish. I have barbels that look like whiskers. Some people think I am a pest. |
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| I am a small brown bird with a short, cone-shaped bill. My European relatives were brought to New York in 1850 and by 1940 were in the Rio Grande Valley. I have successfully colonized here because I strongly claim cavities for my nests very early in the year, before other birds arrive. I am common around houses and buildings but not very common in the bosque itself. I eat food on the ground, mostly insects, worms, garbage and seeds. |
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| In the fall my black feathers are tipped with white and tan, but in the breeding season my plumage is iridescent black. I have a stocky body and a short, square tail. I can make lots of different sounds and imitate the songs of other species. I eat insects and other invertebrates, fruits and seeds. My ancestors came from Europe, but people took some of them to New York in 1890-91. Soon we spread across the U.S. We can live in many places. We nest in holes and often out-compete native species for nesting sites because we are aggressive and there are many of us. |
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| I have gray-brown fur, top and bottom. My scaly tail has little hair on it. My ancestors probably arrived in North America with the first colonists. I do well in areas near humans. I move inside buildings when it gets cold. I usually have four or five young in a litter and they, in turn, can have young six weeks later. I have several litters a year. I eat vegetable matter and bugs. |
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| I should be a pet, but I am wild. Since I was abandoned by humans I try to survive on my own. I find lizards and mice to eat. I usually find the native mice are slow and easy to catch. Birds like ducks and quail that nest on the ground can also provide a good meal. I have become afraid of humans so I roam at night looking for food. |
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| I have a dark back, polished silvery sides, a red band along the lateral line, shimmers of green and blue in the sunlight and black specks from head to tail. I am almost every color of the rainbow! I have been transplanted from my home waters in the Pacific Northwest. I prefer clear, cold water with plenty of dissolved oxygen and many places to hide. In New Mexico I live in the tributaries of the Rio Grande as well as in several cold mountain lakes. I catch insects in the water or near the surface. |
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| I have a sleek and colorful olive-brown body that sparkles with gold. My upper sides are dotted with black and sprinkled with blue-haloed red and orange spots, although my tail has no spots. I live in coldwater streams and lakes, but I prefer deeper, slower and warmer streams than other species like me. I eat minnows and aquatic insects. My species was introduced to North America in 1883. Now I am commonly found throughout the USA, including some tributaries of the Rio Grande. I am wary and difficult to catch. I hide under a log or in a rock crevice when startled. |
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