Cottage Biology - Flora and Fauna found in or near Crystal Lake, Kosciousko County, Indiana.
This compilation is quite incomplete, but we hope in time to make it more representative. If you live in the area, please do send me your additions (common name or scientific, or just a good description). If you know the scientific names or good sources for them, please do forward them to me. If you have a .gif of one or more of these, I'd appreciate being able to link to a copy.

Robert Grumbine
Last Modified 14 September 1998

Phylum Chordata

Osteichthyes -- Appeared ca. 395 Mya, late Silurian or early Devonian
- Holostei (subclass) - or Neopterygii
  - Gar - Order Lepisosteiformes, Family Lepisosteidae, Genus Lepisosteous. Probably L. osseus, the Long-Nosed Gar
- Teleostei (subclass)
  - Catfish - 31 families! of 2000 species! -- Order Siluriformes
  - Perch - Family Percidae, carnivorous
    - Craig, J.F., Biology of Perch and Related Fish (1987)
    - Haedrich, Richard L., The Stromateoid Fishes: Systematics and a Classification (1967); Nelson, Joseph S., Fishes of the World (1976).
  - Trout-Perch - Family Percopsidae
  - Pike - Family Esocidae (2 species)
    - Esox lucious - Northern Pike
  - Minnow - Family Cyprinidae (technically) 275 Genera and 1600 species -- General name for Cyprinidae is Carp
    - Most North Americans belong to Genus Notropis
  - Sunfish - designates the family including bluegill and bass as well -- Family Centrarchidae (about 30 species)
    - Genus Lepomis
      - L. Macrochirus -- Bluegill
      - also redear, pumpkinseed, longear sunfish
    - Genus Micropterus (Bass)
      - Micropterus Salmoides (Large mouth bass)
      - Micropterus Dolomieui (Small mouth bass)
    - Genus Pomoxis (Crappie)
      - P. nigromaculatus (Black crappie) ?
      - P. annularis (White crappie)?
Class Aves
- Bittern
- Redwinged Blackbird _Agelaius phoeniceus_ [8]
- Great Blue Heron _Ardea herodias_ [1]
- Lesser Blue Heron _Florida caerulea_ [2]
- Blue Jay _Cyanocitta cristata_ [10]
- Canada Goose _Branta canadenis_ [5]
- Cardinal _Richmondena cardinalis_ [4]
- Crow _Corus brachyrhynchos_ [9]
- Hummingbird, Ruby Throated and possibly others
- Mallard _Anas plotyrhynchos_ [6]
- Oriole(s) -- at least two different types
- Owls (only seen once, but heard routinely)
- Pigeon - Genus Columba, many species
- Robin _Turdus migratorius_ [11]
- Turkey Vulture _Cathartes aura_ [7]
- Woodpecker, Red Crested and possibly others
```
Refs
[1] Auduban, J.J. (1967) The Birds of America. Dover Publications, New
York. Vol. 6, p. 122.
[2]  IBID, Vol. 7, p. xxvii
[3]  IBID, Vol. 7, p. xxxi
[4]  IBID, Vol. 7, p. xxii
[5]  IBID, Vol. 7, p. xxv
[6]  IBID, Vol. 7. p. xxix
[7]  IBID, Vol. 1, p. 15
[8]  IBID, Vol. 4, p. 29; Vol. 7, p. xxi
[9]  IBID, Vol. 7, p. xxiii
[10] IBIB, Vol. 7, p. xxvii
[11] IBID, Vol. 3, p. 14
My thanks to Chris Nedin for providing names and references
```
Class Mammalia
- Beaver
- Chipmunk
- Deer
- Fox (seen only once, ca. 1988)
- House Mice
- Muskrat
- Moles
- Opossum
- Cottontail Rabbit
- Racoon
- Skunk
- Squirrel
- Woodchuck
Class Amphibia
- Toad(s)
- Frogs
- Tree-toads
Class Reptilia
- Class Anapsida, Order Testudomorpha, Sub-order Cryptodira, ... or
- Subclass Anapsidae, Order Chelonia - turtles
  - Family Chelydridae -- Snapping Turtles
    - Genus Chelydra (common snapper - Chelydra serpentina)
    - Genus Macroclemys (alligator snapper - Macroclemys temmincki)
  - Family Emydidae
    - Chyrsemys picta -- Painted turtle (carnivorous, feeding on crayfish, insects, and mollusks
  - Family Trionychidae (soft shell turtles)
    - Apalone mutica -- smooth softshell turtle (type locale in Indiana, described in 1800's)
      caught but not landed by R. Grumbine
- Order Squamata, Suborder Serpentes
  - Family Colubridae
    - Genus Thamnophis (Garter snakes)
    - Genus Nerodia (Water snakes)
  - Family Viperidae
    - (Rattle snakes)
- Cottonmouth?

Trees

Apple
Aspen(?)
Birch (paper?) - Genus Betula
Catalpa
Cottonwood
Crabapple
Elm - Genus Ulmus
Hickory - Genus Carya
Maple - Genus Acer
Oak - Genus Quercus
Sycamore
Tulip Tree _Liriodendron tulipifera_ (a magnolia!)
Walnut (?)
Weeping Willow

Other Plants

Cattails
Columbine
Purple coneflowers
Dandelions
Forsythia
Goldenrod
Hosta
Iris
Poison Ivy
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Lily of the Valley
Tiger Lily
Mallows
Milkweed
Mint - Family Monarda
Mock Orange
"Moss"
Myrtle
Pokeberries
Blackeyed susans
Sunflowers
Wild strawberry
Scottish Thistle
Rhubarb
Veronica
Violets
Wisteria
Water weeds - below shallow water
-- Spiky weeds standing above water line

Insects and spiders

Carpenter Ants
Aphids
Bees
- Bumble Bees
- Sweat Bees
- Honey Bees
Beetles
- Rose chafer
- Japanese Beetle
Butterflies
- Monarch Butterfly
- Viceroy
- Swallowtails
Centipedes
Annual Cicada
Dragonflies
Earwigs
Fireflies
'Flies'
- Housefly
- Deerfly
- Horsefly
Gnats
Grasshoppers
Katydids
Ladybugs
Mosquitoes
Moths
- Luna Moth (seen once in summer of 1997)
Spiders (daddy long-legs, and many many others)
Buffalo Treehopper
Walkingsticks
Water Striders
Wasps + close relatives
- Paper wasps
- Yellow Jackets
- Hornets

Other lines of life

Algae Mats
Clams
Crayfish
Mushrooms
Snails
Tree fungi
Worms, incl. night crawlers

Robert Grumbine
Last Modified 14 September 1998
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In setting up the listing of higher order categories, I'm entering in to a minefield. It appears that just what the high order categories should be is a matter of significant debate in the professional community. I'll take the 5 kingdom approach -- Plants, Animals, Fungi, Simple Bacteria, Complex Bacteria -- here. This is largely on the grounds that this way, 3 of the 5 kingdoms are things that I can recognize. The more recent, and apparently more consistent in some respects, approach uses 3 categories -- Prokaryotes (bacteria without internal structure), Archeabacteria (typified as extremophiles -- lovers of extreme environments, such as the geysers at Yellowstone), and Eukaryotes (things with nuclei in their cells, including many kinds of bacteria, and all plants, animals, and fungi). At a future point, I may list them as Empires and stick the former kingdoms under them.

Listing from high order taxonomic categories:

Animal Kingdom
- Phylum Chordata
  - Fish - Class Pisces (Osteicthyes) (ca. 395 Mya)
    - Order Lepisosteiformes - Gar
    - Order Siluriformes - Catfish
  - Amphibians - Class Amphibia (?ca ?)
  - Reptiles - Class Reptilia (?ca ?)
    - Turtles - Order Testudomorpha or Order Chelonia
    - Snakes - Order Squamata, Suborder Serpentes
  - Mammals - Class Mammalia (?ca 250 Mya)
  - Birds - Class Aves (?ca 100 Mya)
- Phylum Arthropoda
  - Insects - Class Insecta
    - Order Diptera (Two winged flies)
    - Order Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies)
    - Order Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Walkingsticks, Katydids)
    - Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps)
    - Order Odonata (Dragonflies)
    - Order Homoptera (Treehoppers, Cicadas, Aphids)
    - Order Hemiptera (Water striders)
    - Order Coleoptera (Fireflies and ladybugs)
  - Spiders - Class Arachnid
  - Class Crustacea
- Phylum Mollusca
  - Snails - Class Gastropoda
  - Clams - Class Lamellibranchia?
- Phylum Annelida - Worms
Plant Kingdom
Fungi Kingdom
Prokarya Kingdom
Eukarya Kingdom