http://nearctica.com/flowers/index.htm

This outstanding website was created by Dr. Robert W. Poole of Nearctica, an organization devoted to connecting the internet public to high-quality natural sciences websites. This website "covers between 1100 and 1200 species of wildflowers from northeastern North America and the east-central United States." Artful illustrations and photographs are provided for each wildflower species as well as short text descriptions including Identification, Habitat, Flowering Period, and more. Links allow users to search for flowers by Family, Genus, and Species, or by Common or Scientific Name. Additionally, site visitors can peruse a wildflower gallery showcasing many beautiful photos. [NL]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/croccaves/

Did you know that some crocodiles live in caves? Secrets of the Crocodile Caves, a PBS-Nova website designed in tandem with a Nova television feature, explores the world of Madagascar's cave-dwelling crocodiles. This site offers a short Slide Show with photos of the beautiful Ankarana region of Madagascar accompanied by cool 360-degree panorama shots with zoom-in / zoom-out features. The site links to interactive features as well including a "clickable map to find out about the 23 species of crocodilians around the world" and an examination of the Nile crocodile anatomy. Also included at this website are links to a Teacher's Guide, a Links and Books page, and the TV Program Transcript and Description. [NL]

http://www.geocities.com/rs_suresh/index.html

This creative website about Indian Birds by systems engineer and bird photographer R.S. Suresh welcomes visitors with the bright sounds of bird song. The homepage contains a brief introduction to the Birds of India, a brief section on Photographing Birds in India, and a link to the Photo Gallery of Indian Birds. The Photo Gallery is the centerpiece of the website and contains three separate galleries featuring images of birds like the Red-wattled Lapwing, Coppersmith, Painted Stork, Yellow-eyed Babbler, Paradise Flychatcher, and many more. Mr. Suresh also provides a well-organized page of links to related Indian and International websites. A nice additional site feature is the What's New section which documents additions and changes to the site over time. [NL]

http://www.orchids.org/ooc/na_orchids/us_orchids_java.shtml

This amazingly comprehensive website from OrchidMania connects site visitors to information about an extensive list of native orchids in the United States. The homepage contains a simple U.S. map and invites site users to click on individual states to bring up state-specific orchid lists. Orchids are listed alphabetically by scientific name and link to individual pages that, depending on the orchid, include varying amounts of information and features. Orchid pages can include information regarding common names, synonyms, bloom-times, habitat, and more. Additional page features include photos, distribution maps, and reference lists. Links are also provided for orchids of Mexico, Greenland, and many Canadian provinces. Some of the orchid links and photo plug-ins are not presently operational, but this inconvenience does not detract from the overall usefulness and value of this site. [NL]

http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/L290-w.htm

This website, hosted by the University of Georgia and Cooperative Extension Service, features an article on Propagating House Plants prepared by Extension Horticulturalist P.A. Thomas. The article covers sexual and asexual propagation with brief sections on Seed Propagation, Planting Spores, Cuttings, Layering, and more. The section on Cuttings receives the most attention with subsections on Tip, Stem, Leaf-bud, Leaf, and Cane Cuttings. The instructions are straightforward, clear, and supported by simple illustrations. [NL]

http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/Default.htm

Mammalogists and wildlife enthusiasts alike will find great value in this online edition of the classic text, The Mammals of Texas authored by Drs. William B. Davis and David J. Schmidly. This very well-organized and comprehensive website is hosted by Texas Tech University and "incorporates the complete text and graphics content of the 1994 revision..." of The Mammals of Texas. For those unfamiliar with the book, it "contains information on the distribution, physical characteristics and life histories of the 181 species of Texas mammals. Included are photographs, a comprehensive set of distribution maps and identification keys to the orders and species of mammals found in Texas." Site visitors can browse the Table of Contents for general information regarding mammal study as well as specific information for different mammal species. Specific mammal pages can also be accessed by alphabetical species lists organized by both scientific and common names. Additionally, the site provides an engine for keyword searches. [NL]

http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/nsf/

If you can pull yourself away from the innovative and interactive underwater image on the homepage of this UCSD-Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library website, you will discover that many fascinating creatures dwell beneath Antarctic Ice. The high-quality photos and interesting information offered by this website are the products of three Antarctic scuba diving and field expeditions led by professional underwater photographer Norbert Wu. A stand-out feature of this site is the Underwater Field Guide to Ross Island & McMurdo Sound, Antarctica which includes close-up photos of, and information about, organisms like sponges, comb jellies, proboscis worms, sea spiders, and many more. Other site features include a Thematic Photo Gallery, journal reports from the expeditions, and information about scuba diving under Antarctic ice. [NL]

http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/onlinedb/darwin/darintro.htm

This Oxford University Museum of Natural History online exhibit on Charles Darwin's Crustacea collection will be of interest to biological scientists, naturalists and Darwin enthusiasts. The site provides a How to Search Darwin's Crustacea Database page which explains, among other things, that searches can be conducted with one or more of the following fields: Scientific Name, Darwin's Diary Entry, and/or Author. Crustacea searches yield nice, clear photographic images of the specimens and identifying information including Scientific Name, OUMNH Number, Author, and Darwin's Diary Entry. Site visitors can also peruse a sampling of Darwin's collection by selecting the View Image Gallery link. [NL]