Mammals > Rodentia
The Vangunu Giant Rat (Uromys vika) is an extraordinary, elusive arboreal rodent endemic solely to the rain-drenched island of Vangunu in the Solomon Islands. Long spoken of in the oral folklore of the local Vangunu people as a mythical, coconut-cracking tree rat...
Plants > Cycadales
The Ngotshe Cycad (Encephalartos aemulans) is one of the rarest and most critically threatened gymnosperms on Earth. Discovered and described scientifically in the late 20th century, this ancient, palm-like living fossil is restricted entirely to a tiny, isolated...
Plants > Thismiaceae
Discovered in 1992 in Kobe, Japan, and tragically presumed extinct after its only known habitat was destroyed by industrial complex construction, Thismia kobensis stunned the botanical world when living wild specimens were rediscovered in 2023. Commonly known as the...
Plants > Orchids
Discovered and described in 2020 by botanists studying the imperiled dry spiny forests of southwestern Madagascar, Eulophia pelorica is an astonishing terrestrial orchid. What makes this species an extraordinary evolutionary find is its stable peloria: unlike typical...
Plants > Orchids
Formally described in 2020 from the remote ultramafic summit slopes of Mount Victoria on Palawan Island, Corybas circinatus is an exquisitely delicate, miniature helmet orchid. Growing amidst thick emerald mosses on windswept mountain ridges, this rare botanical jewel...
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