Sri Lanka Frogmouth

Birds > Frogmouths

The Sri Lanka Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger) is a master of biological crypsis, an extraordinary nocturnal bird inhabiting the dense evergreen rainforests of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. Renowned for its enormous, frog-like gape and intricate mottled plumage...

Red-billed Streamertail

Birds > Hummingbirds

The Red-billed Streamertail (Trochilus polytmus), locally cherished as the ‘Doctor Bird,’ is the national bird of Jamaica and one of the most visually mesmerizing hummingbirds on planet Earth. Endemic strictly to the lush Caribbean island of Jamaica, adult...

Dune Stinkhorn

Fungi > Stinkhorns

The Dune Stinkhorn (Phallus hadriani) is an intriguing, specialized saprotrophic fungus adapted to the harsh, wind-swept maritime sand dunes of Europe and North America. Easily distinguished from the common woodland stinkhorn by its distinctive pale pink to deep...

Döderlein’s Giant Isopod

Invertebrates > Crustaceans

Döderlein’s Giant Isopod (Bathynomus doederleinii) is an extraordinary deep-sea crustacean inhabiting the dark, frigid continental slopes of the Northwest Pacific Ocean. A classic example of deep-sea gigantism, this armored bottom-dweller is essentially a...

Nile Bichir

Fish > Ancient Fishes

The Nile Bichir (Polypterus bichir) is a living freshwater relic of vertebrate evolution, representing an ancient lineage of archaic ray-finned fishes (Cladistia) that diverged over 390 million years ago. Inhabiting the tranquil swamps, muddy floodplains, and river...