Jellyfish Tree

Plants > Ericales

The Jellyfish Tree (Medusagyne oppositifolia) is an enigmatic botanical living fossil and the sole member of its evolutionary lineage, native only to the mist-covered granite summits of Mahé in the Seychelles. Thought to have vanished into extinction during the early...

Lake Sturgeon

Fish > Sturgeons

The Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) is the colossal, ancient monarch of North America’s Great Lakes. Surviving virtually unchanged since the age of the dinosaurs over 150 million years ago, this armored giant is the largest and longest-lived freshwater fish...

Earless Monitor

Reptiles > Lizards

The Earless Monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis), reverently called the ‘Holy Grail of Herpetology,’ is an enigmatic, prehistoric-looking reptile that is the sole surviving member of the ancient family Lanthanotidae. Endemic to Borneo, this rare, semi-aquatic...

Hamilton’s Frog

Amphibians > Primitive Frogs

Hamilton’s Frog (Leiopelma hamiltoni) is an extraordinarily ancient and primitive amphibian found only on isolated islands in New Zealand’s Cook Strait. Belonging to the family Leiopelmatidae—a lineage that diverged from all other living frogs over 200...

European Sea Sturgeon

Fish > Sturgeons

The European Sea Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio), also known as the Atlantic Sturgeon or Common Sturgeon, is a magnificent living fossil whose evolutionary lineage dates back over 200 million years to the Jurassic Period. Once abundant across every major waterway in...