Triatoma protracta (commonly called Western Conenose, vinchuca, Mexican bedbugs or Kissing Bug) is an assassin bug (family Reduviidae) of the order Hemiptera. A 2 cm, brown-black nocturnal insect found in forests, it is common in the southwestern USA.[1] This particular species lives in association, and feeds almost exclusively on wood rats of the genus Neotoma. While this species carries the parasite that can cause Chagas disease,[1] it rarely infects humans as defecation […] read more

The Chile Darwin’s frog (Rhinoderma rufum) is one of only two members of the family Rhinodermatidae. It is endemicto Chile. This species of frog exhibits a highly unusual form of parental care in that the tadpoles spend part of their life developing in the vocal sac of their father, where they are transferred to a pool of water in their […] read more

The dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) is a dolphin found in coastal waters in the Southern Hemisphere. Its specific epithet is Latinfor “dark” or “dim”. It is very closely genetically related to the Pacific white-sided dolphin, but current scientific consensus holds they are distinct species. The dolphin’s range is patchy, with major populations around South America, southwestern Africa, New Zealand, and various oceanic islands, with some sightings around southern Australia and Tasmania. The […] read more

The Falkland Islands wolf (Dusicyon australis), also known as the warrah and occasionally as the Falkland Islands dog, Falkland Islands fox or Antarctic wolf, was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands. This endemic canid became extinct in 1876, the first known canid to have gone extinct in historical times. It was the only modern species in the genus Dusicyon. Traditionally it had been supposed that the most closely related genus was Lycalopex, including […] read more

read more

Adansonia digitata (Baobab, Afrikaans: Kremetart, Hausa: Kuka, Sotho: Seboi, Tswana:Mowana, Tsonga: Shimuwu, Venda: Muvhuyu)[1] is the most widespread of the Adansoniaspecies on the African continent, found in the hot, dry savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa. It also grows, having spread secondary to cultivation, in populated areas. English common names for the Baobab include dead-rat tree (from the appearance of the fruits), monkey-bread tree (the soft, dry fruit is edible), upside-down tree (the sparse branches resemble roots) and cream of tartar tree. […] read more