Spiny Flower Mantis

Invertebrates > Mantises

The Spiny Flower Mantis (Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii), also known as the African flower mantis, is one of the most visually mesmerizing and evolutionarily refined ambush predators in the insect world. Belonging to the flower mantis family (Hymenopodidae), this...

Hero Shrew

Mammals > Shrews

The Hero Shrew (Scutisorex somereni), also known as the armored shrew, is a remarkable small mammal native to the equatorial cloud and lowland rainforests of Central Africa. Revering this animal for over a century, indigenous Mangbetu communities believed that wearing...

Emerald Green Corydoras

Fish > Catfish

The Emerald Green Corydoras (Corydoras eques) is a strikingly beautiful, peaceful callichthyid armored catfish native to the dark, tea-colored blackwater creeks of the Rio Tefé basin in the Brazilian Amazon. Discovered and described by Franz Steindachner in 1876, this...

Redcoats Bladderwort

Plants > Carnivorous Plants

The Redcoats Bladderwort (Utricularia menziesii) is an iconic, miniature carnivorous perennial herb endemic to the ancient, nutrient-depleted landscapes of Southwest Western Australia. Renowned for producing vivid, fire-engine red blossoms that evoke the British...

Barnes’ Garden Eel

Fish > Eels

Barnes’ Garden Eel (Gorgasia barnesi) is an exceptionally slender, colonial marine congrid eel that inhabits clear, current-swept sand slopes across the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific. First described in 1984, this remarkable benthic species lives in...