Giant Gippsland Earthworm

Invertebrates > Annelids

The Giant Gippsland Earthworm (Megascolides australis) is an astonishing annelid giant native exclusively to the rolling hills and river valleys of Victoria, Australia. Holding the title of one of the longest earthworms in the world, this colossal subterranean...

Great Bustard

Birds > Bustards

The Great Bustard (Otis tarda) is a titanic, regal avian wonder that reigns as one of the heaviest flying birds on planet Earth. Roaming the expansive, undulating steppes and traditional cereal plains of Eurasia, adult males are famous for their monumental lekking...

Cook Strait Giant Weta

Invertebrates > Orthoptera

The Cook Strait Giant Weta (Deinacrida rugosa), known in Maori as Weta Punga, is an iconic, dinosaur-like giant insect native to the island ecosystems of New Zealand. Evolving in an ancient archipelago devoid of native land mammals, this monumental, flightless...

Polka Dot Stingray

Fish > Stingrays

The Polka Dot Stingray (Potamotrygon leopoldi), also celebrated as the Xingu River Ray or Black Diamond Ray, is an aristocratic, world-famous freshwater batoid endemic exclusively to the rocky shallows of Brazil’s Xingu River basin. Revered for its breathtaking...

Pesquet’s Parrot

Birds > Parrots

Pesquet’s Parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus), widely celebrated in popular culture as the ‘Dracula Parrot,’ is a gothic, magnificently bizarre bird endemic to the mist-shrouded mountain rainforests of New Guinea. With its striking combination of jet-black...