It's Nature

Also known as the Honeysuckle Oak, White Honeysuckle, White Bottlebrush, White Banksia, Honeysuckle, or Coastal Banksia, the Coast Banksia is a tree species that grows on the east coast of Australia. It was one of the 4 original Banksia that was collected in 1770 by Sir Joseph Banks. It was also...

The Banksia epica is a shrub that grows along the south coast of Western Australia. It is thought to have been first seen by Edward John Eyre in 1841, however this species was not collected until 1973. Even then, this was only recognised as a distinctive species in 1988. Since then, very little...

Also known as the Quairading Banksia, the Matchstick Banksia is an endangered species that is endemic to south-west Western Australia. It is a subgenus of 3 related Banksia species that have dome-shaped inflorescences. The Matchstick Banksia in Gnangarra The Matchstick Banksia was first collected...

Also known as a penny bun or cep, the porcino mushroom is a type of fungus belonging to the genus, Boletus. It was first scientifically described by the French Botanist, Pierre Bulliard, in 1782. It is found all across the Northern Hemisphere, and does not occur naturally in the Southern...

The Song Thrush is a thrush (type of bird) that breeds in Eurasia. It is also known as a mavis or throstle. It was first described in 1813 by the German Orinthologist, Christian Ludwing Brehm. He named it Turdus for Thrus which refers to the character, Philomela, in Greek mythology who had her...

Also known as the northern, common or North American raccoon, this mammal is native to North America. Even though it is medium-sized, it is considered the largest in its family. It was discovered in the western world by members of Christopher Columbus’ expedition. A raccoon in the park Originally,...

The Burma Road Banksia is a woody shrub found in the genus Banksia. It is one of several species that have shrubs with oval or small round inflorescences (flower spikes). They were first discovered in 1966 in Walkway, near the Western Australian major regional town of Geraldton. It was first...

Also known as the luminescent panellus, stiptic fungus, or the astringent panus, the bitter oyster is a type of fungus. It was first scientifically describe by Jean Bulliard in 1783, who originally called it the Agaricus stypicus. It was only in 1879 that it was given its current scientific name,...

The Grey Currawong is a native Australian bird that is in the genus Strepera. It is closely related to the Australian Magpie and the butcherbirds, which belong to the family Artamidae. It was first scientifically described in 1801 by John Latham, who called it the ‘Variable Crow’ as it has...

The Zapata Rail (Cyanolimnas Cerverai) is a bird endemic to the Zapata Peninsula’s wetlands in southern Cuba. It was first discovered by Fermin Zanon Cervera in March 1927, and then formally described by Thomas Barbour and James Lee Peters later that year. It is such a distinctive creature, that it...

Sheep are animals found all around the world as these even-toed ungulates are typically kept as livestock. There are over 1 billion sheep in the world, and domestic sheep are the most populous out of this genus. A cute little lamb It is thought that sheep were descended from wild mouflon from Asia...

An unusual and inedible mushrooms species is the Four-footed Earthstar. It is also known as the rayed earthstar or earthstar fungi. It was first scientifically described in 1794 by Christian Hendrik Persoon. This mushroom is an uncommon cosmopolitan mushroom species which can be found in...

Ants are social insects that are related to wasps and bees. Although it may not look like a bee or a wasp, it actually evolved from a wasp-like ancestor during the mid-Cretaceous period which was 110 to 130 million years ago. It then began to diversify after flowering plants emerged. There are...

The king sundew is a carnivorous plant that is endemic to only one South African valley. It was first scientifically described by Edith Layard Stephens in 1926 who was a South African Botanist. Stephens named it the the king sundew because it had a striking appearance. The king sundew can only be...

Also known as the Feather-leaved Banksia, Brown’s Banskia is a shrub which is native to the south-western region of Western Australia. This species was first collected in 1829 and published the following year by William Baxter. The Brown's Banksia shrub This shrub is found between the Stirling...

The jaguar is the 3rd largest feline in the world, after the tiger and the lion. It is also the largest and most powerful feline found in the Western Hemisphere as it is found only in the Americas. Its name is derived from the Tupian word, yaguara, which means ‘beast’ or ‘dog’, but is used...

The wallum banksia, also known as Banksia aemula, is a shrub that is found in Australia. It was first scientifically described by Robert Brown in the early 19th century. This plant is commonly found in gardens. The Wallum Banksia is native to Australia Wallum banksia usually are found as a gnarled...

The Jamaican rice rat is an extinct rodent from Jamaica. This rat was thought to have dispersed into Jamaica during the last glacial period, and is known via 3 specimens that were collected live during the 19th century. In addition, it is commonly seen as a sub-fossil in caves. Holotypes of the...

The Ambondro mahabo is a mammal that lived during the middle Jurassic period (167 million years ago) in Madagascar. This species is known only from a fragmentary lower jaw skeleton that was first described by a team led by John Flynn in Nature, which was published in 1999. Its name is derived from...

The Australian honey fungus is a mushroom that is found in the Physalacriaceae family. It is found all over southern Australia, and is responsible for Armillaria root rot. This root rot is the primary cause of forest dieback and Eucalyptus tree death. Unfortunately, it is also known as the most...