Reptiles > Varanidae & Monitor Lizards
The Yellow Tree Monitor (Varanus reisingeri), also known as Reisinger’s tree monitor, is a breathtakingly vibrant arboreal squamate endemic strictly to the rugged, jungle-clad island of Misool in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago. Belonging to the...
Fish > Centrophrynidae & Deep-Sea Anglerfish
The Spiny Seadevil (Photocorynus spiniceps) is an astounding deep-sea ceratioid anglerfish dwelling in the freezing, pitch-black abyssal depths of the world’s oceans. Famed in biological literature as the record-holder for the smallest mature adult vertebrate...
Invertebrates > Euplectellidae & Glass Sponges
The Venus’ Flower Basket Sponge (Euplectella aspergillum) is an exquisite hexactinellid glass sponge dwelling across the dark abyssal plains of the Western Pacific. Famous for constructing a cylindrical skeleton of woven silica glass that surpasses human...
Amphibians > Brachycephalidae & Flea Toads
The Pumpkin Toadlet (Brachycephalus rotenbergae) is an enchanting miniature anuran described in 2021 from the cloud-draped Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. Measuring well under an inch in length, this radiant creature resembles a miniature carved piece of...
Invertebrates > Pelagiidae & Deep-Sea Scyphozoans
The Giant Phantom Jelly (Stygiomedusa gigantea) is one of the most awe-inspiring and mysterious macro-invertebrates inhabiting the twilight depths of the global ocean. First collected in 1899 but captured on film only a handful of times by deep-sea submersibles, this...
