Other Critters

Butterflies
 

Tiger Swallowtail
(Papilio glaucus), 3 – 6 ½”.  Male is yellow, tiger striped while the female can be dimorphic.  Hindwing has orange marginal spot.  Tiger swallowtail caterpillar is brown with a pair of green, black-edged oval eyespots.  Caterpillars feed on ash, hop tree, and chokecherry.

Black Swallowtail
(Papilio polxenes), 3 – 4 ½”.  Underside black for both sexes.  Hindwing with black pupil centered in red-orange eyespot.  Abdomen with longitudinal rows of yellow dots.  Black swallowtail caterpillar is green with black bands around middle segment and 5 rows of orange dots.  Caterpillars feed on various herbaceous leaves.

Monarch
(Danaus plexippus), 3 5/8 – 4 7/8”.   Bright orange with a black patch in the middle of the hindwings and thickly scaled black viens.  Monarch catterpilars ringed with yellow-white, head white with black stripes.  Caterpillars feed on milkweed.

Viceroy
(Limenitis archippus), 3 – 4 7/8”.  Considered a mimic, it resembles the monarch except for a dark horizontal stripe that crosses its back wings.  Viceroy caterpillars feed on trees from the willow family.

Other Butterflies

Common Wood Nymph
(Cercyonis pegala)

Little Wood Satyr
(Megisto cymela)

Eastern Tailed Blue
(Everes comyntas)

American Painted Lady
(Vanessa virginiensis)

Mourning Cloak
(Nymphalis antiopa)

Red Admiral
(Vanessa atalanta rubria)

Buckeye
(Junonia coenia)

Little Copper
(Lycaena phlaeas)

Clouded Sulphur
(Colias philodice)

Cloudless Sulphur
(Phoebis sennae eubule)

Glassy Winged Skipper
(Xenophanus tryxus)

Least Skipper
(Ancyloxypha numitor)

Blue Crab
(Callincetes sapidus), Common, 5 - 9”.  Found offshore but more common in brackish water this feisty crab is usually olive or bluish-green above, claws and legs are bright blue, the young are paler.  The last pair of legs is paddle-shaped.  Male abdomen abruptly tapered, female’s broadly rounded.  Blue Crab is commercially fished and crabbing is allowed in designated areas on the refuge.

Ghost Crab
(Ocypode quadrata), Common, 2”.  Found in the intertidal zone of beaches, it has a yellow pale sand color with a squarish body and white claws.    The ghost crab rushes into its burrow when threatened.

Horseshoe Crab
(Limulus polyphemus), Common, Females reach 2’, Males smaller.  Often washed up on the beach, the carapace is the smoothest part of the horseshoe crab’s shell. It has 5 pairs of walking legs, and a tail spike.  Despite this crabs armament and spikes, horseshoe crabs are harmless.

Atlantic Mole Crab
(Emerita talpoida), Common, Famales 1”, Males ½”.  Found on sandy beaches the mole crab burrows into the sand.  It is egg-shaped and sand to light blue colored.  The mole crab is a favorite food item for shorebirds.

Brackish-water Fiddler
(Uca minax), Common, 1 ½”, Major claw of males 2”.  The fiddler crab’s shell is squarish, males have one large claw.  Fiddlers burrow into flats and banks of coastal marshes.  Fiddlers are colonial and feed primarily on plant matter gleaned from the soil.

Long-clawed Hermit Crab
(Pagurus longicarpus), Common, 3/8” wide.  Living in a snail shell the long-clawed hermit is grayish or greenish-gray colored.  Its found sand, mud, rock, or weed bottoms, along open shores and brackish estuaries.  It is the most common hermit crab in Atlantic waters.
 

Atlantic Rock Crab
(Cancer irroratus), Common, 3 ½” wide.  Upper shell fan-shaped with closely dotted riddish or purple spopts.  Found from low tide line to a depth of 2600’ on rock, sand, and gravel bottoms.  Has recently become commercially fished.
 

Lady Crab
(Ovalipes ocellatus), Common, 2 ½” wide.  Upper shell fan-shaped, carapace yellowish-gray with reddish – purple spots.  Pincers are light brown with bluish tips.  The last pair of legs are paddle-shaped.  Found on sand, rock, and mud bottoms from low tide line to a depth of 130’.
 

Common Spider Crab
(Libinia emarginata), Common, 3 ¾” wide.  Grayish-yellow or brown, tips of pincers white, carapace globular.  Legs and pincers very long.  Found from low tide line to a depth of 410’.
 

Southern Quahog
(Mercenaria campechiensis), Common, 6” long, 5” high.  Dull gray and oval, it can be found in sand or mud from low tide line to a depth of 50’.  The Southern quahog is commercially harvested.
 

Ribbed Mussel
(Ischadium demissum), Common, 4” long, 1 ¾” high.  Yellowish-brown and oblong oval, it can be found in salt marshes, brackish muddy estuaries between low and high tide line.
 

Eastern Oyster
(Crassostrea virginica), Abundant, 10” long, 4” wide.  Grayish-white, irregularly oval with wrinkles.  Found on soft and hard bottoms from low tide to a depth of 40’.  This is a very common edible oyster and commercially harvested.  Oysters are grown commercially on leased beds below the low tide mark in Toms Cove and along Assateague Channel.
  

Black Drum
(Pogonias cromis), to 5’7”, 145 lbs.  A popular sport fish, it is silvery to dark gray with 4-5 broad black bars on its sides.  Ten dorsal fin spins.  The black drum feeds on fish, crustaceans, and oysters.

Black Sea Bass
(Centropritis striata), to 2’, 8 lbs.  A popular food fish, it is dark brown to bluish black with a large head and striped dorsal fins.  It can be found in shallow waters around jetties and pilings.

Bluefish
(Pomatomus saltatrix), to 3’ 7”, 32 lbs.  A popular sport and food fish, it is greenish or grayish above and silvery below.  It has a large head and mouth with prominent teeth.  First dorsal fin has 7 – 8 spines, second dorsal fin with 2 spines.  Bluefish occur in large schools nearshore to offshore foraging on squids and small fish.

Striped Bass
(Morone saxatilis), to 6’, 125 lbs.  A very popular sport and commercial fish, its back is dark olive green to dark blue, and silvery sides with 6 – 9 dark stripes.  First dorsal fin has 8 – 10 spines, second dorsal fin with 3 spines.  Found inshore and often caught by surf fisherman. 

Southern Kingfish
(Menticirrhus americanus), to 20”, 2 ¼ lbs.  A tasty fish caught by surf fisherman, it is dark above with a white belly.  It has faint bars on its sides and lacks the V-shaped mark on its shoulder that the Northern kingfish has.

Yellow Perch
(Perca flavescens), to 15”, 4 ¼ lbs.  A sport and food fish harvested commercially, it is brassy green to golden yellow with 5 – 8 dark bars on its side.  Yellow perch live in schools and are found in freswater ponds, lakes, streams, reservoirs and impoundments.

For a list of other Fishes of Chinicoteague National Wildlife Refuge click here. 

Other Fish

Atlantic Menhaden
(Brevoorita tyrannus)

White Perch
(Morone americana)

Silver Perch
(Bairdiella chrysoura)

Atlantic Croaker
(Micropogonias undulatus)

Spotted Sea Trout
(Cynoscion nothus)

Threespine Stickleback
(Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Fourspine Stickleback
(Apeltes quadracus)

Weakfish
(Cynoscion regalis)

Alewife
(Alosa pseudoharengus)

Mummichog
(Fundulus heteroclitus)

Atlantic Silverside
(Mendidia menidia)

Sheepshead Minnow
(Cypridinodon variegatus)

Striped Killifish
(Fundulus majalis)

Rainwater Killifish
(Lucania parva)

Marsh Killifish
(Fundulus confluentrus)

Spot
(Leiostomus xanthurus)

Oyster Toadfish
(Opanus tau)

White Mullet
(Mugil curema)

Striped Mullet
(Mugil cephalus)

Amerian Eel
(Anguilla rostrata)

Atlantic Needlefish
(Strongylura marina)

Northern Kingfish
(Menticirrhus saxatilis)

Summer Flounder
(Paralichthys dentatus)

Winter Flounder
(Pleuronectes americanus)

Small Mouth Flounder
(Etropus cyclosquamus)

Pigfish
(Orthopristis chrysoptera)

Tautog
(Tautoga onitis)

Striped Anchovy
(Anchoa hepsetus)

Bay Anchovey
(Anchoa mitchilli)

Northern Puffer
(Spoeroides maculates)

Striped Benny
(Chamasmodes bosquianus)

Spiny Butterfly Ray
(Gymnura altravela)

Striped Burrfish
(Chilomycterus schoepfi)

Permit
(Traqchinotus falcatus)

Silver Jenny
(Eucinostomus gula)

Skilletfish
(Gobiesox strumosus)

Ladyfish
(Elops saurus)