skip to content

Southeastern wildlife

The species profiles below are a one-stop-shop for information about the the Service's Southeast region is responsible for protecting and/or recovering.

  • Fuzzy yellow and purple flowers emerging from a green grass-like stalk.

    American chaffseed

    American chaffseed is generally found in habitats described as open, moist pine flatwoods, fire-maintained savannas, and flowers from April to June in the South, and from June to mid-July in the North. Visit the species profile...

    American chaffseed © Robert Sincliar. Copyright release form S://EA/Photo Permissions/american-chaffseed.pdf

  • A mussel with fringe around its opening partially burried in the sand on the river bottom.

    Appalachian elktoe

    The Appalachian elktoe has a thin, kidney-shaped shell, extending to about 4 inches. Juveniles generally have a yellowish-brown periostracum (outer shell surface), while the periostracum of the adults is usually dark brown to greenish-black in color. Visit the species profile...

    Appalachian elktoe in the Little River Translyvania County NC. Photo by Gary Peeples, USFWS.

  • Seven small brownish-yellow mussels held in open hands by a biologist.

    Atlantic pigtoe

    The Atlantic pigtoe is a small freshwater clam found in Virginia, North Carolina, and historically in South Carolina and Georgia. Visit the species profile...

    Atlantic pigtoes ready for release. Photo by USFWS.

  • A lobster-shaped and colored crayfish with tinges of rust and blue.

    Big Sandy crayfish

    The Big Sandy crayfish is a threatened freshwater crustacean found in streams and rivers in the Appalachian region. Visit the species profile...

    Big Sandy crayfish. Photo by Zachary Loughman, West Liberty University.

  • A light purple salamander with dark spots and tufts above its front legs.

    Black Warrior waterdog

    The Black Warrior waterdog is a large, aquatic, nocturnal salamander that permanently retains a larval form and external gills throughout its life. This species has been proposed for listing as Endangered and is only found in streams within the Black Warrior River Basin in Alabama. Visit the species profile...

    Black Warrior waterdog. Photo by Joseph Jenkins, Alabama Natural Heritage Program.

  • A small, black and white bird flies over ocean waters.

    Black-capped petrel

    Taxon: Bird Range: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and the Caribbean Status: Proposed for listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act The black-capped petrel is a seabird found in North America and the Caribbean, and is known by several common names: “black-capped petrel,” “capped petrel,” and “West Indian petrel” in North America and on English-speaking islands. In the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the bird is known as “diablotín” (little devil). Visit the species profile...

    Black-capped petrel off the coast of Cape Hatteras, NC. Photo © Brian Patteson, seabirding.com, used with permission.

  • A small fish with dark stripes on a yellow tinged back and white belly.

    Blackfin sucker

    A small fish averaging about five and a half inches in length, the blackfin sucker has a body patterned with two dark, brownish-black horizontal lines below the lateral line (a faint line of sense organs extending from the gill cover to the tail) and six or seven additional lines in the back and the side of the body, with intervening olive-gold stripes. Visit the species profile...

    Blackfin sucker. Photo by Matthew Thomas, KDFWR.

Contact Us:

Looking for a media contact? Reach out to a regional spokesperson.

Share this page

Tweet this page on Twitter or follow @USFWSsoutheast

Share this page on Facebook or follow USFWSsoutheast.

LinkedIn

Share this page on LinkedIn