Luethy’s Cactus

Plants > Caryophyllales

Luethy’s Cactus (Mammillaria luethyi) is universally celebrated among botanists and succulent enthusiasts as one of the most exquisite miniature cacti ever discovered. Long considered a legendary phantom plant after an initial photograph emerged in 1952, it was...

Nilgiri Marten

Mammals > Carnivora

The Nilgiri Marten (Martes gwatkinsii) is the only marten species native to peninsular India, found exclusively within the mist-swathed montane rainforests and high-elevation shola grasslands of the southern Western Ghats. Cloaked in glossy chocolate-brown fur...

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Birds > Galliformes

The Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) is an emblematic ground-dwelling grouse that symbolizes the untamed historic grasslands of North America. Renowned for spectacular communal spring courtship dances known as lekking, males assemble at traditional...

Northern Cavefish

Fish > Percopsiformes

The Northern Cavefish (Amblyopsis spelaea) is one of North America’s most iconic obligate subterranean vertebrates (stygobites). Confined entirely to perpetual darkness within the deep limestone cave systems of Indiana and Kentucky—including the famed Mammoth...

Short-tailed Albatross

Birds > Procellariiformes

The Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus), historically revered in Japanese folklore as the Steller’s albatross, is the largest seabird in the North Pacific. Renowned for its dazzling golden-buff crown, striking pale plumage, and colossal pink bill, this...