Featured Species

The Mobile River basin is one of the world’s richest aquatic ecosystems with, possibly,  the most diverse concentration of fish species, and the greatest diversity of mussels, aquatic snails and crawfish. Alabama has more  fish species than any state, and the greatest concentration of turtle diversity in the nation. The longleaf pine forests surrounding the Mobile Delta include what many believe to be the greatest concentration of plant species in North America. 

Coastal Alabama is home to the rare Alabama beach mouse, a species that helps stabilize sand dunes by collecting and distributing seeds. Our beaches also provide nesting habitat to shore birds and three species of sea turtles. 

The complex geology in our part of the world creates a number of unique habitats and niches that have helped species evolved over the millennium. From the Blue Ridge Mountains, across the Piedmont, to the Coastal Plan, Alabama has more species of freshwater and terrestrial animals than anywhere else in North America. 

Species Point of Contact in Alabama

flattened musk turtle on a large rock

The flattened musk turtle is a small aquatic turtle with a distinctly flattened carapace up to 119 millimeters (4.7 in) long. Keels are virtually, if not altogether, lacking (Mount 1981). The carapace is dark brown to orange with dark bordered seams and is slightly serrated behind (Ernest and...

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