Texas State AnimalsBy: Heather Galindo

What is Texas’s State Animal?

Zebra Nine-banded Armadillo

Giraffe Rhinoceros

Nine-banded Armadillo

• Adopted in 1995-Official small animal of Texas

• Only edentate (toothless) in North America

• The flexible bands around the middle of it’s body allow it to twist and turn.

• Feeds chiefly on insects, crayfish, frogs, bird eggs, and berries.

• Can build up to 12 burrows on it’s range.

• Are helpful by providing homes for skunks, cotton rats, burrowing owls, and rattlesnakes, which can be found living in abandoned armadillo burrows.

Which are the Texas’s State Mammals?

(Hint: There are 2)

Mexican Freetail Bat

Bear

Tiger

Longhorn

Mexican Freetail Bat

Adopted in 1995-Official flying mammal of Texas

They are 3.5 in in length and 0.43 oz. in weight.

Has a tail extending well beyond the edge of the tail membrane.

A population of over 100 million

Can travel up to 150 miles away to feed on moths and other insects.

A colony under the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, TX is the largest in North America with an estimated 1,500,000 bats.

Longhorn

Is the Texas state large mammal

A breed of cattle that is known for it’s characteristics horns.

It is known for it’s lean beef.

It is the name used for sports teams at the University of Texas at Austin.

With elite genetics, the Longhorns can often fetch 40,000 or more at an auction where 170,000 was the record for one of them.

Have a strong survival instinct and can find food and shelter during the times of rough weather.

What is Texas’s State Dog?

Great Dane

Chihuahua

Blue Lacy

German Shepherd

Pitbull

Blue Lacy

Adopted officially on June 18, 2005 where Governor Rick Perry signed the legislation make it “the official State Dog Bread of Texas.”

The Lacy dog was named after the Lacy brothers frank, George, Ewin, and Harry Lacy who moved from Kentucky to Texas.

According to the Lacy brothers, the Blue Lacy is a mixture of English Shepherd, greyhound, and wolf.

The Blue Lacy is between 18-25 in in height and 30-35 lbs. in weight.

Is a bread of working dog who are strong and fast and are developed to be both hunting and herding dogs.

What is Texas’s State Bird?

Crow

Dove

Mockingbird

Cardinal

Mockingbird

Officially adopted in 1927

They are a group of New World passerine birds that belong to the mimidae family.

Best known for mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians.

They can be found in towns, suburbs, backyards, parks, forest edges, and open land at low elevations.

The consistently harass birds who intrude in their territories.

Plantings of multiflora rose and other berry-bearing shrubs is what makes these birds survive in the winter.

What is Texas’s State Reptile?

Horned Lizard

Tortoise

AlligatorRattlesnake

Texas-Horned Lizard

Other nicknames for the horned lizard are the horned toad, horny toad, or horned frog but it is neither a frog or toad.

The lizard’s horns are extensions of it’s cranium and contain real bone.

If threatened by a predator, the lizard will puff up it’s horns which would make it hard for predators to swallow.

Squirts a stream of blood from the corner of it’s eyes as far as 5 feet.

The blood that is shot out, is mixed with a chemical that is foul tasting to canine predators.

Is a protected species meaning it’s illegal to take, own, or sell without a special permit.

What is Texas’s State Insect?

Grasshopper

Ladybug

Monarch Butterfly

Bumblebee

Dragonfly

Monarch Butterfly

• The Monarch Butterfly is also the state insect for Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, and Vermont.

• Monarchs are foul tasting and poisonous in when they get as a caterpillar by feeding on milkweed.

• A male monarch attract a female by showing it’s wings.

• Eggs are laid by females on the leaves of milkweed plants during the spring and summer breading seasons.

• The Monarch Butterfly can be found in a range of locations including fields, meadows, gardens, prairie remnants, and roadsides.

What is Texas’s State Fish?

Guadalupe Bass

Catfish

Barracuda

Clownfish

Guadalupe Bass

Is a rare species of fish endemic to the US. state of Texas.

The fish is only found in Edward's Plateau in central Texas which includes San Marcos, Colorado, and Guadalupe River. (Hence the name Guadalupe Bass).

The biggest record size of one being caught was 3 lbs. 11 oz.

The smaller and older bass feed on insects but at their predatory peak, prefer large bait fish such as shad, small bass, and bluegill.

Very popular fish among fisherman in Central Texas since they are known for their long, tough fights, which makes it a challenge for fisherman.

Thank You!

http://www.stateanimals.com/states/texas/index.html

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