Somali Elephant Shrew

Mammals > Sengis

The Somali Elephant Shrew (Galegeeska revoilii), also known as the Somali sengi, is a legendary survivor from the Horn of Africa. Feared lost to science for over five decades following its initial collection in the late 19th century, a high-profile scientific...

Predatory Tunicate

Invertebrates > Tunicates

The Predatory Tunicate (Megalodicopia hians) is a ghostly, carnivorous sea squirt that turns conventional tunicate biology upside down. While nearly all other ascidians are passive, microscopic filter-feeders that pump water through porous branchial baskets, this...

Cape Box Jellyfish

Invertebrates > Box Jellyfish

The Cape Box Jellyfish (Carybdea branchi) is a fascinating, cold-water cubozoan endemic to the nutrient-rich coastal upwelling zone of South Africa’s Benguela Current. Formally described by marine biologists in 2009 and named after renowned invertebrate...

Pacific Nurse Shark

Fish > Carpet Sharks

The Pacific Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma unami) is a large, benthic elasmobranch native to the warm coastal waters of the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Historically conflated with its Atlantic cousin (Ginglymostoma cirratum), rigorous morphological and genetic analyses in...

Elisabeth’s Yellow-eared Bat

Mammals > Bats

Elisabeth’s Yellow-eared Bat (Vampyressa elisabethae) is a miniature, canopy-dwelling phyllostomid bat discovered in the misty mountain forests of western Panama. Formally described in 2014, this elusive mammal is distinguished by its vivid yellow ear margins...