Attenborough’s Myotis

Mammals > Bats

Described in 2017 and named in honor of celebrated naturalist Sir David Attenborough, Myotis attenboroughi is a tiny, highly agile vespertilionid bat endemic exclusively to the Caribbean island of Tobago. For decades considered an aberrant local variant of widespread...

Sokolov’s Shrew

Mammals > Shrews

Described from the mist-shrouded summit ridge of Mount Ngoc Linh in central Vietnam, Sokolov’s Shrew (Crocidura sokolovi) honors renowned Russian zoologist Vladimir Sokolov. Endemic to one of Indochina’s most biologically isolated mountain peaks, this...

Great River Stingray

Fish > Stingrays

Formally described in 2016 from the Tocantins River Basin of Brazil, Potamotrygon rex is one of the largest strictly freshwater stingrays in the Americas. Fittingly named ‘rex’ (king) due to its monumental proportions and majestic golden-spotted dorsal...

Yucatan Giant Isopod

Invertebrates > Crustaceans

Formally described in 2022 from specimens collected in deep-sea traps off the Yucatán Peninsula, Bathynomus yucatanensis is an extraordinary example of deep-sea gigantism among marine isopods. Reaching over 25 centimeters in length, this armored benthic crustacean...

Gryffindor’s Sorting Hat Spider

Invertebrates > Spiders

Formally described in 2016 from the lush Kans forests of Karnataka in India’s Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, Eriovixia gryffindori captured international attention for its uncanny resemblance to the magical ‘Sorting Hat’ from J.K....