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 different colours. There are several
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 has its own genus, Cyanolimnas
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 and Europe.
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 Australasia, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. The four-footed earthstar
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 12,500 ant species
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 found in 1
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 Range and Albany, near forests and plains. The
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 shrub or small tree
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 Jamaican Rice Rat
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 Ambondromahabo, which
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 pathogenic and widespread out of
The Armillaria gallica is a honey mushroom species that belongs to the family Physalacriaceae. It is a common and ecologically important type of wood-decay fungi that can live as an opportunistic parasite which weakens its tree host and causes butt or root rot. Sprouting from a cut tree stump This fungus can be found worlwide.
Also known as the Duck Hawk in North America and the Peregrine, the Peregrine Falcon is a cosmopolitan bird. There are about 17 to 19 sub-species which vary in range and appearance. As it ican reach up to speeds of 200mph/320 kmh in one stoop, it is one of the fastest creatures on Earth. The
As the name suggests, the Icelandic horse is a breed of horse that was developed in Iceland. Although they are actually rather small and can be the size of a pony, most horse registries actually refer to it as a horse. Icelandic horses are the size of ponies The Icelandic horse were developed from ponies
