Tody Motmot

Birds > Motmots

The Tody Motmot (Hylomanes momotula) is the smallest member of the motmot family (Momotidae), representing a primitive, distinct offshoot of this Neotropical bird lineage. Inhabiting the shadowed understory of rainforests across Central America, it lacks the iconic...

Dove Orchid

Plants > Orchids

The Dove Orchid (Peristeria elata), revered throughout the Spanish-speaking world as ‘La Flor del Espíritu Santo’ (the Flower of the Holy Spirit), is a botanical masterpiece and the national flower of the Republic of Panama. Famous for its cup-shaped,...

Sylvia’s Tree Frog

Amphibians > Frogs

Sylvia’s Tree Frog (Cruziohyla sylviae) is a magnificent, vividly colored arboreal hylid frog native to the primary rainforest canopies of Central America. Formally described as a distinct species in 2018 after being conflated for over a century with the closely...

Wrinkle-faced Bat

Mammals > Bats

The Wrinkle-faced Bat (Centurio senex) is one of the most anatomically extraordinary mammals on Earth. Belonging to the New World leaf-nosed bat family Phyllostomidae, this small Neotropical frugivore is instantly distinguished by its naked, intricately convoluted...

Strawberry Poison-Dart Frog

Amphibians > Poison Frogs

The Strawberry Poison-Dart Frog (Oophaga pumilio), widely celebrated as the ‘blue-jeans frog,’ is a vibrant dendrobatid amphibian inhabiting the lush rainforest understories of Central America. Famed for its astonishing geographic polymorphism and...