Mariana Swiftlet

Birds > Swifts

The Mariana Swiftlet (Aerodramus bartschi), known locally on Guam and Saipan as the ‘Yayaguak,’ is an agile, cave-dwelling apodiform bird native to the Mariana archipelago in the western Pacific. Celebrated among ornithologists for possessing biological...

Panay Cloud Runner

Mammals > Cloud Rats

The Panay Cloud Runner (Crateromys heaneyi) is an extraordinary, squirrel-like giant arboreal rodent described to science in 1996 from the isolated misty peaks of the Central Panay Mountain Range in the Philippines. Named in honor of American field biologist Dr....

Pygmy Leaf Frog

Amphibians > Microhylids

The Pygmy Leaf Frog (Noblella pygmaea) holds the scientific distinction of being one of the smallest amphibians in the Western Hemisphere and the smallest tetrapod known from the high-elevation Andean cordillera. Described in 2009 by German and Peruvian herpetologists...

Ryukyu Giant Amphibious Centipede

Invertebrates > Centipedes

The Ryukyu Giant Amphibious Centipede (Scolopendra alcyona), described to science in 2021 as Japan’s first new centipede species in 143 years, is the largest terrestrial and semi-aquatic centipede in the Japanese archipelago. Named after the Greek mythological...

Merendon Palm Pit Viper

Reptiles > Pit Vipers

The Merendon Palm Pit Viper (Bothriechis thalassinus) is an exceptionally stunning arboreal viper discovered in the isolated, mist-blanketed cloud forests of the Sierra de Caral along the border of Guatemala and Honduras. Derived from the Greek word for sea-green or...