Featured Species

The Indiana Field Office has the national lead for recovery of the Indiana bat, a federally endangered bat found throughout the state. In fall and winter, these small, insect-eating mammals hibernate in caves and mines in the southern part of the state, gathering in clusters of up to 500 bats per square foot. In spring, they emerge, and females form maternity colonies to raise their young in woodlands throughout the state. Ensuring safe hibernation and summer habitat is key to recovering the Indiana bat.

Indiana supports one of the more robust populations of freshwater mussels in the midwest. The Tippecanoe River is home to the most diverse and healthy populations of mussels, including eight species that are federally endangered or threatened. Mussels are a key component of healthy river systems, providing food for other species, and filtering water. Healthy mussels thrive only in clean water, so their presence is an indicator of water quality.

Migratory tree bats, including hoary, red and silver-haired bats, live in and migrate through the state in tremendous numbers. These bats spend winters in trees or other protected spaces rather than hibernating in caves. Recent studies show that these bats are more likely to be affected by wind turbines, so efforts are underway to explore conservation options before they become endangered.

Gray bats flying under tree canopy outside of Sauta Cave

Long, glossy fur, light brown to brown. Ears dark, usually black; longer than in any other myotis; when laid forward extend 1/4 cm (7 mm) beyond nose. Tragus long and thin. Calcar keeled.

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Cluster of roosting bats.

The Indiana bat is a medium-sized Myotis, closely resembling the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) but differing in coloration. Its fur is a dull grayish chestnut rather than bronze, with the basal portion of the hairs on the back a dull-lead color. This bat's underparts are pinkish to...

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Grey, white and black bird on sand in the foreground

Size: 18 cm (7.25 in) in length. Color: Breeding season: Pale brown above, lighter below; black band across forehead; bill orange with black tip; legs orange; white rump. Male: Complete or incomplete black band encircles the body at the breast. Female: Paler head band; incomplete breast band....

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A group of juvenile and adult red knot forage along the shoreline.

Length: 25-28 cm. Adults in spring: Above finely mottled with grays, black and light ochre, running into stripes on crown; throat, breast and sides of head cinnamon-brown; dark gray line through eye; abdomen and undertail coverts white; uppertail coverts white, barred with black. Adults in...

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Two large white birds with spindly legs and black tips on their wings coming in for a landing in a wetland

The whooping crane occurs only in North America and is North America’s tallest bird, with males approaching 1.5 m (5 ft) when standing erect. The whooping crane adult plumage is snowy white except for black primaries, black or grayish alula (specialized feathers attached to the upper leading end...

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Eastern massasauga rattlesnake

Massasaugas are small snakes with thick bodies, heart-shaped heads and vertical pupils. The average length of an adult is about 2 feet. Adult massasaugas are gray or light brown with large, light-edged chocolate brown blotches on the back and smaller blotches on the sides. The snake's belly is...

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A clubshell mussel in the water

The clubshell is a small to medium size (up to 3 inches long) freshwater mussel that was listed as endangered, without critical habitat, in 1993 (58 FR 5638-5642). Its shell exterior is yellow to brown with bright green blotchy rays and shell interior is typically white. The shell is wedge...

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A group of about ten mussels being held partially out of the water by a pair of cupped hands

The northern riffleshell is a small to medium size (up to 3 inches long) freshwater mussel that was listed as endangered, without critical habitat, in 1993 (58 FR 5638-5642). Its shell exterior is brownish yellow to yellowish green with fine green rays. The shell interior is typically white. The...

The rabbitsfoot is a medium to large mussel, elongate and rectangular, reaching 12 cm (6 inches) in length (Oesch 1984). Parmalee and Bogan (1998) describe the beaks as moderately elevated and raised only slightly above the hinge line. Beak sculpture consists of a few strong ridges or folds...
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The rayed bean is a small mussel, usually less than 1.5 inches (in) (3.8 centimeters (cm)) in length (Cummings and Mayer 1992, p. 142; Parmalee and Bogan 1998, p. 244; West et al. 2000, p. 248). The shell outline is elongate or ovate in males and elliptical in females, and moderately inflated in...
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The round hickorynut mussel is a wide-ranging species, historically known from 12 states, though now occurs in nine, as well as the Canadaian Province of Ontario.  It is currently found in five major basins: Great Lakes, Ohio (where it is most prevalent), Cumberland, Tennessee, and Lower...

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Brown and black striated freshwater mussels sitting a steel truck bed

Shell surface: Many low, wide bumps run in a single file line down the outer shell surface, from the beak (the swelling above the point where the 2 shell halves join) to the opposite shell edge. The rest of the shell surface is smooth (without bumps), and looks slightly pressed-in from the beak...

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Snuffbox

The snuffbox is a small- to medium-sized mussel, with males reaching up to 2.8 in (7.0 cm) in length (Cummings and Mayer 1992, p. 162; Parmalee and Bogan 1998, p. 108). The maximum length of females is about 1.8 in (4.5 cm) (Parmalee and Bogan 1998, p. 108). The shape of the shell is somewhat...

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Small butterfly rests on flower stalk with wings open.

The Karner blue butterfly was first described more than a century ago in Karner, New York. It is a small butterfly, with a wingspan of about one inch. The male's wings are distinctively marked with a silvery or dark blue color. The female is grayish brown, especially on the outer portions of the...

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A monarch butterfly on a yellow flower

Adult monarch butterflies are large and conspicuous, with bright orange wings surrounded by a black border and covered with black veins. The black border has a double row of white spots, present on the upper side of the wings. Adult monarchs are sexually dimorphic, with males having narrower...

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A rusty patched bumble bee visits a wild bergamot flower

Historically, the rusty patched bumble bee was broadly distributed across the eastern United States, Upper Midwest, and southern Quebec and Ontario in Canada. Since 2000, this bumble bee has been reported from only 13 states and 1 Canadian province: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland,...

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This plant is 8 to 40 inches tall and has an upright leafy stem with a flower cluster called an inflorescence. The 3 to 8 inch lance-shaped leaves sheath the stem. Each plant has one single flower spike composed of 5 to 40 white flowers. Each flower has a three-part fringed lip less than 1 inch...
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The Virginia sneezeweed was first discovered in 1936. It is a rare perennial wildflower found only in Virginia. This herbaceous plant has yellow flowers and can reach a height of 3.5 feet.
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