Spokepod
Spokepod is a member of the mustard family. The tiny flowers have four petals and are white. The seed pods are flat disks hanging from delicate stems along the stalk. …
Frying Pan Poppy
The Frying Pan Poppy is a member of the poppy family. All members of this family have four petals. The flowers are yellow. The leaves are delicate and fern-like. Frying…
Aquatic Beetles
The most common species of Aquatic Beetles in vernal pools come from two families: The Predaceous Diving Beetles (the Dytiscids) and the Water Scavenger Beetles (the Hydrophilids). The larvae of…
Medusahead
Medusahead is a member of the grass family. Grass flowers are smaller versions of regular flowers but without the petals. In Medusahead, each floret (cluster of flowers) is made up…
Purple Needlegrass
Purple Needlegrass is a member of the grass family. Each grass flower is made up of a pair of tiny bracts and the stamens and pistil. Because grasses are wind-pollinated,…
Water Mites
Several species of Water Mites live in vernal pools. The most obvious one looks like a fat spider with a bright red, round body. It has eight small legs attached…
Botta’s Pocket Gopher
Botta’s Pocket Gopher is tan to medium brown and often the color of the local soil. The gopher uses its short, powerful front legs and neck to “swim” through soil…
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
The Black-tailed Jackrabbit is grayish-brown with large, black-tipped ears and a black streak on the top of its tail. Its long hind legs help it to run 30 to 35…
California Vole
The California Vole is covered with grayish-brown fur. Its ears and legs are short and it has pale feet. It has a cylindrical shape (like a toilet paper roll) with…