Birds > Cotingidae & Cotingas
The Lovely Cotinga (Cotinga amabilis) is an astonishingly vibrant passerine inhabiting the uppermost canopies of Central America’s Caribbean lowland rainforests. The adult male presents an unforgettable visual spectacle of luminous turquoise-blue plumage...
Amphibians > Pipidae & Tongueless Toads
Carvalho’s Surinam Toad (Pipa carvalhoi) is a highly specialized, entirely aquatic anuran native to the harsh semi-arid Caatinga scrublands and Atlantic Forest borders of northeastern Brazil. Named in honor of the renowned Brazilian herpetologist Antenor Leitão...
Mammals > Tenrecidae & Shrew Tenrecs
Cowan’s Shrew Tenrec (Microgale cowani) is a tiny, secretive insectivore endemic strictly to the lush, montane rainforests that drape the eastern escarpment of Madagascar. Named in honor of the 19th-century naturalist William Deans Cowan, this charming creature...
Fungi > Meruliaceae & Crust Fungi
The Wrinkled Crust Fungus (Phlebia radiata), commonly known among woodland mycologists as the radiated phlebia, is one of the most stunning and vibrantly pigmented resupinate fungi of temperate Northern Hemisphere forests. Forming flat, encrusting ribbons across the...
Invertebrates > Reduviidae & Assassin Bugs
The Two-spotted Assassin Bug (Platymeris biguttatus), commonly referred to by field entomologists as the white-spotted assassin bug, is a formidable predatory true bug native to tropical sub-Saharan Africa. Instantly recognizable by its glossy black armor accented by...
