Plants > Aizoaceae & Living Stones
The Concrete Leaf Plant (Titanopsis calcarea), also known as the jewel plant or limestone mimic, is an astonishing dwarf succulent native to the arid interior plains of South Africa’s Great Karoo. Belonging to the ice plant family Aizoaceae, this masters of...
Invertebrates > Alvinellidae & Hydrothermal Worms
The Pompeii Worm (Alvinella pompejana) is celebrated in biology as one of the most heat-tolerant complex animals on planet Earth. Discovered by deep-sea oceanographers aboard the research submersible Alvin in 1979 along the East Pacific Rise, this incredible...
Fish > Bathylagidae & Deep-sea Smelts
The Pacific Blacksmelt (Bathylagus pacificus) is an abundant, deep-sea argentiniform fish that navigates the sunless, freezing waters of the North Pacific Ocean. Inhabiting the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones between 500 and 1,500 meters, this slender, dark-hued...
Amphibians > Brevicipitidae & Rain Frogs
The Namaqua Rain Frog (Breviceps namaquensis) is a delightfully rotund, ground-dwelling amphibian endemic to the arid coastal sandveld and succulent dunes of western South Africa and southern Namibia. Looking like a grumpy, miniature potato with tiny legs and huge...
Reptiles > Carphodactylidae & Leaf-tailed Geckos
The Northern Leaf-tailed Gecko (Saltuarius cornutus) is an extraordinary reptilian master of camouflage, reigning as the largest native gecko in Australia. Endemic strictly to the pristine, mist-shrouded upland rainforests of Queensland’s Wet Tropics, this...
