Rinjani Scops Owl

Birds > Owls

The Rinjani Scops Owl (Otus jolandae) is an enchanting nocturnal raptor described scientifically in 2013, making it the first endemic bird species identified on the Indonesian island of Lombok. Discovered through its distinct territorial whistle that differs starkly...

Mount Isarog Shrew-rat

Mammals > Rodents & Shrews

The Mount Isarog Shrew-rat (Chrotomys gonzalesi) is a remarkable semi-fossorial rodent discovered on the slopes of the dormant volcano Mount Isarog in the Philippines. Belonging to the endemic Philippine shrew-mouse clade (Rhynchomyini), this striking creature...

Imperial Cave Salamander

Amphibians > Lungless Salamanders

The Imperial Cave Salamander (Hydromantes imperialis, also classified as Speleomantes imperialis) is a fascinating, lungless plethodontid amphibian endemic strictly to the rugged limestone karst systems of central-eastern Sardinia. As one of Europe’s few...

Yellow-billed Loon

Birds > Loons

The Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii), also known as the White-billed Diver, is the largest, rarest, and most northerly member of the ancient avian family Gaviidae. Nesting across remote, wind-swept tundra lakes bordering the Arctic Ocean in Alaska, northern Canada,...

Tatama Tapaculo

Birds > Tapaculos

The Tatama Tapaculo (Scytalopus alvarezlopezi) is an elusive, terrestrial suboscine passerine endemic to the hyper-humid montane cloud forests of Colombia’s Western Andes. Formally described to science in 2017 after decades of bioacoustic research, this...