The Brazilian Guitarfish: A Weird and Wonderful Creature of the Deep Introduction The Brazilian guitarfish, also known as the Zapteryx brevirostris, is a unique and fascinating fish found in the coastal waters of Brazil. This creature is a member of the ray family and gets its name from its guitar-like body shape. While it may not be the most well-known …
Author: Jack Haines
The Aye-Aye: Madagascar’s Quirkiest Nocturnal Primate
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The Numbat: Nature’s Striped Marvel
This fascinating creature, characterised by its distinctive stripes and termite-based diet, plays a crucial role in the ecosystem. This article delves into the life, habitat, and conservation efforts surrounding the numbat, highlighting why it is essential to preserve this remarkable species.
Fact file: Helmeted Hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil)
The hornbills are best known for their bizarre puppet-like appearance. However, the social lives of helmeted hornbills are even more outrageous than their brightly colored leathery visages.
Fact file: Attenborough’s long-beaked Echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi)
Despite Attenborough’s long-beaked Echidna being one of the most evolutionarily distinct mammals it was only discovered in 1961 by a Dutch botanist in the cyclops mountains, Papua, Indonesia.
Fact file: Kroombit tinker frog (Taudactylus pleione)
The Taudactylus genus has been evolving in isolation for over 65 million years, basically, these frogs have been doing their own thing since the extinction of the dinosaurs!
Fact file: Brazilian guitarfish (Pseudobatos horkelii; Previously Rhinobatus horkelii)
The Brazilian guitarfish is a shark-like ray that has a unique reproductive cycle. It is one of the most endangered species in the south Atlantic with a population decline of over 80% in the last decades.
Illustrating extinction
WAWA Conservation recently teamed up with Illustraciencia, an organisation that tutors artists in scientific nature illustrations. In true WAWA style, we chose four weird and wonderful species: the maleo, Mary River turtle, cork-bark leaf-tail gecko and the saola.
Fact file: Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis)
The elusive saola, or two-horned unicorn, is cited to be one the rarest large animals on Earth, and has yet to been seen in the wild by a biologist!
Fact file: Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo)
As exemplary parents, the Maleo cooks its chicks in geothermal sands until they are just right.