Spotted Handfish

Fish > Frogfishes and Handfishes

The Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) is an extraordinary, highly specialized benthic fish endemic to the Derwent River estuary of Tasmania, Australia. Renowned for its bizarre locomotion, it possesses modified, hand-like pectoral and pelvic fins that allow...

Hirola

Mammals > Even-Toed Ungulates

The Hirola (Beatragus hunteri), also known as the Hunter’s hartebeest or ‘four-eyed antelope,’ is one of the rarest and most critically endangered ungulates on Earth. Belonging to a monotypic genus that represents an evolutionary relict diverging...

Rainbow Crayfish

Invertebrates > Crayfish

The Rainbow Crayfish (Cherax pulcher), also celebrated as the Blue Moon or Hoa Creek Crayfish, is widely acclaimed as the most breathtakingly colorful freshwater crustacean on Earth. Described by science in 2015 after specimens mysteriously appeared in the European...

Pygmy Hog

Mammals > Even-Toed Ungulates

The Pygmy Hog (Porcula salvania) is an extraordinarily petite and critically endangered suid holding the distinction of being the smallest wild pig on Earth. Standing barely ten inches high at the shoulder, this reclusive grassland specialist represents the sole...

Canterbury Knobbled Weevil

Invertebrates > Weevils

The Canterbury Knobbled Weevil (Hadramphus tuberculatus) is a celebrated ‘Lazarus taxon’ and one of the rarest, most heavily specialized insects in New Zealand. Believed to have gone completely extinct in the 1920s following the agricultural transformation...