Volta’s Electric Eel

Fish > Gymnotidae & Electric Eels

Volta’s Electric Eel (Electrophorus voltai) is a monumental freshwater apex predator native to the upland rivers of the Brazilian Shield in South America. Formally described by scientists in 2019, this extraordinary knifefish holds the undisputed world record...

Greater Hedgehog Tenrec

Mammals > Tenrecidae & Spiny Tenrecs

The Greater Hedgehog Tenrec (Setifer setosus), known locally in Malagasy as the ‘sokina,’ is an ancient, spiny nocturnal mammal endemic to the island of Madagascar. Occupying its own monotypic genus within the afrotherian family Tenrecidae, this...

Pacific Blackdragon

Fish > Stomiidae & Dragonfishes

The Pacific Blackdragon (Idiacanthus antrostomus) is an astonishing deep-sea predator inhabiting the twilight mesopelagic and dark bathypelagic depths of the eastern Pacific Ocean. Celebrated among marine biologists for its radical sexual dimorphism and terrifying...

Blue-Footed Hydnellum

Fungi > Tooth Fungi

The Blue-Footed Hydnellum (Hydnellum caeruleum), also known in field guides as the blue spine fungus, is an exquisite and architecturally stunning tooth fungus native to mature conifer and mixed pine-hardwood woodlands across the Northern Hemisphere. Renowned among...

Tropical Shield Mantis

Invertebrates > Mantises

The Tropical Shield Mantis (Choeradodis stalii), celebrated among entomologists as the hooded mantis or leaf mantis, is one of the most magnificent masters of cryptic mimicry in the entire insect kingdom. Endemic to the lush, humid primary rainforests of Central and...