Wandering Salamander

Amphibians > Lungless Salamanders

The Wandering Salamander (Aneides vagrans) is one of North America’s most intrepid arboreal amphibians, celebrated for its ability to live hundreds of feet in the air within the dizzying canopies of ancient coast redwoods. Entirely lungless, this plethodontid...

Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise

Birds > Birds-of-Paradise

The Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise (Seleucidis melanoleucus) is one of the most visually flamboyant avian inhabitants of New Guinea’s lowland swamps. Famous for its velvety black-and-gold plumage and a dozen extraordinary, forward-curving wire-like plumes that...

Mexican Mole Lizard

Reptiles > Worm Lizards

The Mexican Mole Lizard (Bipes biporus), commonly referred to in Mexico as the ajolote, is one of the planet’s most biologically unusual reptiles. Endemic to the arid coastal deserts of the southern Baja California Peninsula, this subterranean amphisbaenian...

Madagascan Sand Iguana

Reptiles > Lizards

The Madagascan Sand Iguana (Chalarodon madagascariensis), known locally as the dangalia, is a spirited, ground-dwelling lizard endemic to the sun-scorched spiny forests and coastal dune corridors of southwestern Madagascar. Belonging to the family Opluridae—the only...

Banded Broadbill

Birds > Perching Birds

The Banded Broadbill (Eurylaimus javanicus) is an unmistakable, vibrantly colored suboscine passerine native to the humid tropical canopies of Southeast Asia. Renowned for its oversized, neon-tinted bill and jewel-toned plumage that blends deep vinous purple with...