Bougainvillea

Plants > Caryophyllales

Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis), universally celebrated across the globe as the ‘Paper Flower’ or ‘Trinitaria’, is one of the most radiant, dramatic, and iconic flowering woody vines in the plant kingdom. Named in honor of French...

Lowland Tapir

Mammals > Odd-Toed Ungulates

The Lowland Tapir (Tapirus terrestris), also known as the South American Tapir or Brazilian Tapir, is an ancient, monumental herbivore reigning as the largest native land mammal in the South American rainforest. Belonging to the odd-toed ungulate order Perissodactyla...

Amazonian Umbrellabird

Birds > Passerines

The Amazonian Umbrellabird (Cephalopterus ornatus) is a magnificent, bizarre, and colossal passerine bird in the cotinga family Cotingidae. Endemic to the vast lowland rainforests of the Amazon Basin, it is celebrated as the largest suboscine passerine bird in South...

Rufous Hornero

Birds > Ovenbirds

The Rufous Hornero (Furnarius rufus), affectionately known across South America as the ‘Alonso García’ or simply ‘El Hornero’ (‘the baker’), is a beloved, confident passerine bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. Honored as the...

Chacoan Peccary

Mammals > Even-Toed Ungulates

OverviewThe Chacoan Peccary (Catagonus wagneri), locally known across South America as the *taguá*, is the largest of the four living peccary species and another celebrated ‘Lazarus taxon’ of modern mammalogy. Originally described in 1930 from fossilized...