Giant Tube Worm

Invertebrates > Annelids

The Giant Tube Worm (Riftia pachyptila) is one of the most astonishing biological discoveries of the 20th century and a supreme monument to the alien wonders of life on Earth. First discovered in 1977 by oceanographers aboard the deep-sea submersible Alvin along the...

Spanish Shawl

Invertebrates > Mollusks

The Spanish Shawl (Flabellina iodinea, also recognized as Coryphella iodinea), is universally celebrated among marine biologists, underwater photographers, and coastal divers as one of the most vividly, incandescently colored marine animals on Earth. Inhabiting the...

Homerus Swallowtail

Invertebrates > Insects

The Homerus Swallowtail (Papilio homerus), named in honor of the Greek epic poet Homer, is the largest butterfly species in the entire Western Hemisphere and an undisputed giant of the insect world. Spanning up to six inches across its magnificent wings, this majestic...

Sally Lightfoot Crab

Invertebrates > Crustaceans

The Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grapsus grapsus), celebrated across the Galapagos archipelago as the ‘Zayapa’, is one of the most vividly colored, agile, and charismatic intertidal invertebrates on Earth. Named by 19th-century sailors after a famous Caribbean...

Delhi Sands Flower-loving Fly

Invertebrates > Insects

The Delhi Sands Flower-loving Fly (Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis) is a magnificent, charismatic, and historic insect in American environmental history. Looking and behaving like a miniature golden hummingbird, this large, nectar-feeding fly hovers effortlessly...