Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard

Reptiles > Lizards

The Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard (Uma inornata) is an exquisite, highly specialized psammophilic (sand-loving) reptile confined entirely to the windblown dune systems of the Coachella Valley in southern California. Possessing a remarkable suite of morphological...

Stresemann’s Bush Crow

Birds > Passerines

Stresemann’s Bush Crow (Zavattariornis keithaensis), also known as the Ethiopian Bush Crow or Keith-Abbott’s Ground Jay, is an enigmatic passerine bird endemic exclusively to a tiny geographic zone in southern Ethiopia. Placed in a monotypic genus within...

Windswept Helmet Orchid

Plants > Orchids

The Windswept Helmet Orchid (Corybas dienemus) is a remarkable, miniature terrestrial orchid native exclusively to the remote, storm-lashed outpost of Macquarie Island, situated midway between Australia and Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. Standing barely an inch...

Parry’s Barrel Cactus

Plants > Cacti & Succulents

Parry’s Barrel Cactus (Echinocactus parryi) is a rare, heavily armored globose cactus endemic to a remarkably restricted enclave within the Chihuahuan Desert of northern Chihuahua, Mexico. Named in honor of 19th-century American botanist Charles Christopher...

Sand Dollar Cactus

Plants > Cacti & Succulents

The Sand Dollar Cactus (Astrophytum asterias), also known as the Star Cactus, is one of the most distinctive and critically endangered succulent flora endemic to the borderlands of North America. Renowned for its perfectly symmetrical, spineless, disc-shaped stem that...