Fish > Anguillids & Anguilliformes
The European Eel (Anguilla anguilla), celebrated across marine ecology and historical biology for one of the most enigmatic and heroic migratory life cycles in the animal kingdom, is a catadromous teleost belonging to the freshwater eel family Anguillidae. Puzzling...
Birds > Spheniscids & Sphenisciformes
The African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), colloquially known as the ‘jackass penguin’ for its loud, donkey-like braying vocalizations and the ‘black-footed penguin’, is the only species of penguin that breeds along the African continent....
Plants > Myrtaceae & Myrtales
The Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans), known natively as the swamp gum or stringy gum and celebrated across botany as the crowning monarch of the plant kingdom, is a colossal evergreen tree belonging to the myrtle family Myrtaceae. Indigenous to the cool,...
Birds > Accipitrids & Accipitriformes
The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), revered as the national bird of the Philippines and formerly known as the monkey-eating eagle, is a colossal forest eagle belonging to the family Accipitridae. Strictly endemic to the dense dipterocarp rainforests of four...
Birds > New World Vultures & Cathartiformes
The California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is a monumental, awe-inspiring New World vulture belonging to the cathartid family Cathartidae, native to the rugged mountain canyons and coastal chaparral of western North America. Revered across indigenous cultures as...
