Monito del Monte

Mammals > Marsupials

The Monito del Monte (Dromiciops gliroides), meaning ‘little monkey of the mountain’ in Spanish, is an astonishing biological ‘living fossil’ inhabiting the ancient Valdivian temperate rainforests of Chile and Argentina. Although native to...

Southern Marsupial Mole

Mammals > Marsupials

The Southern Marsupial Mole (Notoryctes typhlops), known to Indigenous Anangu as the itjaritjari, is one of the most anatomically specialized subterranean mammals in the natural world. Endemic to the harsh red dunes of central Australia, this enigmatic marsupial...

Giant Armadillo

Mammals > Armadillos

The Giant Armadillo (Priodontes maximus) is the colossal king of the armadillo order (Cingulata), weighing up to 110 pounds. Native to the tropical forests and vast savannas of South America, this solitary, nocturnal excavator functions as a vital ecosystem engineer,...

Attenborough’s Long-beaked Echidna

Mammals > Monotremes

Attenborough’s Long-beaked Echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), named in honor of naturalist Sir David Attenborough, is among the rarest and most enigmatic mammals on Earth. Endemic exclusively to the rugged, cloud-shrouded Cyclops Mountains of Indonesian Papua,...

White-bellied Pangolin

Mammals > Pangolins

The White-bellied Pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis), also known as the tree pangolin or three-cusped pangolin, is the most arboreal of Africa’s four pangolin species. Inhabiting the lush, high-canopy tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa, this nocturnal...

Short-eared Dog

Mammals > Wild Dogs & Canids

The Short-eared Dog (Atelocynus microtis), also known as the short-eared zorro, is one of the most enigmatic, reclusive, and rarely glimpsed carnivores in the entire Amazon rainforest basin. As the sole living member of the genus Atelocynus, this solitary canid has...

Sand Cat

Mammals > Carnivorans

The Sand Cat (Felis margarita) is the only felid species on Earth adapted exclusively to hyper-arid desert terrain. Roaming vast, blistering dunefields and stony plains across North Africa, Arabia, and Central Asia, this diminutive predator possesses extraordinary...

Durrell’s Vontsira

Mammals > Carnivorans

Durrell’s Vontsira (Salanoia durrelli) is one of the newest and most critically endangered mammalian carnivores discovered on Earth. First observed swimming in Lake Alaotra by conservationists in 2004 and formally described in 2010, this semi-aquatic euplerid is...

Chacoan Fairy Armadillo

Mammals > Armadillos

The Chacoan Fairy Armadillo (Chlamyphorus retusus), known locally as the pichi ciego grande, is one of the most enigmatic and rarely encountered mammals in South America. Endemic to the harsh, drought-prone Gran Chaco ecoregion, this tiny subterranean xenarthran...

Madame Berthe’s Mouse Lemur

Mammals > Primates

Madame Berthe’s Mouse Lemur (Microcebus berthae) holds the distinction of being the world’s smallest known primate, an endearing miniature prosimian weighing roughly thirty grams. Confined strictly to the endangered dry deciduous forests of western...