Plants > Fairy Lanterns
Formally described in 2021 from the slopes of Mount Sarut in Peninsular Malaysia, Thismia sitimeriamiae is an otherworldly, non-photosynthetic flowering plant belonging to the rare fairy lantern genus. Named after Siti Meriam, the mother of the botanist who found it,...
Plants > Palms
Scientifically described in 2023 by botanists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Pinanga subterranea astounded the botanical community by revealing a palm that flowers and fruits almost entirely underground. While long known to indigenous Bornean communities, this...
Amphibians > Frogs
Formally described in 2019 by Ecuadorian researchers from an isolated tabletop mountain plateau in the Cordillera del Cóndor, Hyloscirtus hillisi is a robust, enigmatic torrent treefrog honoring evolutionary biologist David Hillis. Characterized by a lethal curved...
Birds > Hummingbirds
The Bogota Sunangel (Heliangelus zusii) is one of the most enigmatic hummingbirds in modern ornithology. Described in 2011 after ancient DNA sequencing confirmed the unique species validity of a mysterious 1909 museum specimen purchased in Bogotá, Colombia, this...
Fish > Catfish
Named in honor of former Indian president and scientist Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Horaglanis abdulkalami is an extraordinary, eyeless, blood-red troglobitic airbreathing catfish endemic to the subterranean water-bearing laterite aquifers of Kerala in southwestern India....
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