Reptiles > Viperids & Squamata
The Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) is a thick-bodied, heavily built venomous viper belonging to the true viper family Viperidae within the squamate suborder Serpentes. Ubiquitous across nearly the entirety of sub-Saharan Africa—from the southern borders of the Sahara...
Amphibians > Ambystomatids & Urodela
The Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) is a classic, stout-bodied fossorial mole salamander belonging to the family Ambystomatidae within the order Urodela. Widely distributed across the mature deciduous and mixed forests of eastern North America, from eastern...
Amphibians > Salamandrids & Urodela
The California Newt (Taricha torosa) is a heavy-bodied, toxic caudate amphibian belonging to the true salamander and newt family Salamandridae. Endemic exclusively to the coastal mountain ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills of California, this charismatic amphibian is...
Fish > Characids & Characiformes
The Blind Cave Fish (Astyanax mexicanus), famously known to evolutionary biologists as the Mexican cave tetra or blind tetra, is a celebrated freshwater characin fish belonging to the family Characidae within the order Characiformes. While surface-dwelling morphs of...
Fish > Notopterids & Osteoglossiformes
The Clown Featherback (Chitala ornata), universally famous in the international aquarium trade as the clown knifefish or spotted knifefish, is an archaic, predatory freshwater osteoglossiform fish belonging to the featherback family Notopteridae. Endemic to the...
