Capuchinbird

Birds > Cotingas

The Capuchinbird (Perissocephalus tricolor), also affectionately known as the calfbird, is one of the most physically bizarre and acoustically startling passerines in the Neotropics. Endemic to the lush rainforests of the Guiana Shield, this large cotinga resembles an...

Northern Stargazer

Fish > Stargazers

The Northern Stargazer (Astroscopus guttatus) is one of the most uniquely specialized and fearsome ambush predators in the coastal waters of the western Atlantic. Known for its upward-oriented eyes and flat, heavily armored skull, this benthic fish buries itself...

Vogelkop Bowerbird

Birds > Bowerbirds

The Vogelkop Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata) is globally renowned among evolutionary biologists and naturalists as the master architect of the avian world. Native exclusively to the isolated cloud-cloaked highlands of Western New Guinea, this plain olive-brown...

Sand Cat

Mammals > Carnivorans

The Sand Cat (Felis margarita) is the only felid species on Earth adapted exclusively to hyper-arid desert terrain. Roaming vast, blistering dunefields and stony plains across North Africa, Arabia, and Central Asia, this diminutive predator possesses extraordinary...

Sculpted Puffball

Fungi > Puffballs & Gasteromycetes

The Sculpted Puffball (Calvatia sculpta) is universally acknowledged as one of the most geometrically stunning fungi in the natural world. Endemic to the montane coniferous wilderness of western North America, particularly the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges, this...