Lake Junin Frog

Amphibians > Frogs

The Lake Junin Frog (Telmatobius macrostomus), known locally in Peru as the ‘Rana Gigante de Junín’, is one of the largest entirely aquatic frogs in the world, rivaled in South America only by its cousin, the Titicaca water frog. Perfectly adapted to the...

Williams’ Dwarf Gecko

Reptiles > Lizards and Geckos

Williams’ Dwarf Gecko (Lygodactylus williamsi), celebrated worldwide as the ‘Electric Blue Gecko’ or ‘Turquoise Dwarf Gecko’, is one of the most vividly colored lizards on the planet. Discovered in the 1950s in the lowland karst forests...

Alabama Sturgeon

Fish > Sturgeons

The Alabama Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus suttkusi) is one of the rarest freshwater fishes in North America and one of the most imperiled vertebrates on the continent. Formally recognized as a distinct species in 1991, this slender, golden-yellow river dinosaur is the...

Sakhalin Taimen

Fish > Salmonids

The Sakhalin Taimen (Parahucho perryi), revered in Japanese folklore as the ‘Phantom of the River’ (Itou), is one of the oldest, largest, and most formidable salmonid fishes in the world. Representing an ancient, basal lineage that diverged from all other...

Stresemann’s Bristlefront

Birds > Passerines

Stresemann’s Bristlefront (Merulaxis stresemanni) is arguably the single rarest and most precarious bird species on Earth. Known to science from only a handful of specimens collected in the 19th and mid-20th centuries, this bizarre, ground-dwelling tapaculo was...