Chocolate Chip Sea Star

Invertebrates > Echinoderms

The Chocolate Chip Sea Star (Protoreaster nodosus), celebrated across the globe as the Horned Sea Star or Nodose Sea Star, is one of the most recognizable, beloved, and photogenic marine invertebrates on the planet. Resembling a fresh-baked cookie generously studded...

Himalayan Newt

Amphibians > Salamanders

The Himalayan Newt (Tylototriton verrucosus), celebrated across Asia as the Crocodile Newt or Shanjing, is one of the most archaic, striking, and evolutionary fascinating amphibians in the world. Revered as the only native salamander species found across the Indian...

Smooth Softshell Turtle

Reptiles > Turtles and Tortoises

The Smooth Softshell Turtle (Apalone mutica) is the sleek, pancake-flat speedster of North America’s great river systems. Inhabiting the fast-flowing waters of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri river basins, this river specialist looks more like a...

Forest Cobra

Reptiles > Snakes

The Forest Cobra (Naja melanoleuca), celebrated across Africa as the Black Cobra or White-lipped Cobra, is the colossal, glossy monarch of the genus Naja and the largest true cobra species on Earth. Capable of exceeding ten feet in total length, this muscular,...

Pajama Shark

Fish > Carcharhiniformes

The Pajama Shark (Poroderma africanum), celebrated across South Africa as the Striped Catshark, is one of the most uniquely patterned, charismatic, and famous inshore catsharks on Earth. Confined exclusively to the wave-swept rocky reefs and mystical kelp forests of...