This creature goes by several different names: Johnson’s abyssal seadevil, humpback anglerfish and black seadevil anglerfish. None of them are particularly endearing. That’s possibly down to the fact that this deep-sea fish looks like the creature from the black lagoon… if you chopped off its head, added a gleaming fishing rod and left it bobbing […]
Tag: iucn red list
“You’re looking at one of the wildest landscapes on Earth and watching a species that almost nobody has ever studied.“
Researchers have uncovered new information about a rare rodent known as the Wolffsohn’s viscacha, allowing them to reclassify the species from Data Deficient to Endangered on Argentina’s national Red List. The Wolffsohn’s viscacha (Lagidium wolffsohni) is a relatively large rodent, measuring approximately 470mm from head to rear, with the tail extending up to 305mm. Looking like a cross between […]
A shy bird found only in Nepal is waiting for the world to notice
Nepal’s shrubby hillsides are home to a medium-sized bird with brownish upperparts, distinctive black streaks from the shafts of its feathers and, sometimes, a chalky white facial patch. It’s the spiny babbler (Turdoides nipalensis), a mysterious bird, recorded only in Nepal. In June, the bird made headlines with a sighting for the first time in the forests of […]
“It’s the size of a house cat, with all the charisma of rusty-red teddy bear…”
These tree-dwelling cuties are the original panda, having been described by scientists nearly 50 years before their black and white namesakes. They’re not actually even close relatives of the giant panda, belonging to their own unique family (Ailuridae) and sharing traits withracoons, weasels and skunks. How big are red pandas? Brilliantly adapted against the cold and for life in the […]
Africa’s amphibians are overlooked in conservation planning, experts warn
Herpetologists are calling for greater inclusion of amphibians in African conservation planning, in a recent letter published in the journal Science. Africa is home to roughly 1,170 known species of amphibians, 99% of which are endemic. Some 37% of the amphibians are recognized as threatened with extinction. The researchers note that amphibians — frogs, salamanders and caecilians — […]
It’s the ultimate master of deception, able to impersonate 13 other animals, from deadly sea snakes to flamboyant lion fish – quite the mimic
Octopuses are known for their impressive ability to disguise themselves through camouflage and by hiding in tiny crevices but mimic octopuses are the best of the best. These ingenious cephalopods don’t just change the colour of their skin to blend into the background. By altering their colouring and patterns and throwing different shapes with their arms, they actually pretend to be […]
Amid conflict and poaching, tech helps boost mountain gorilla numbers
The population of the world’s last mountain gorillas has rebounded by 73% since 1989, allowing the subspecies to be reclassified from critically endangered — one step away from extinction — to endangered. But they remain imperiled, with about 1,063 left. They live in just one place: the Greater Virunga Landscape that straddles Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic […]
Giant otters, river sentinels, now listed as threatened migratory species
With evidence that the giant river otter is in an increasingly perilous state, delegates to the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) listed it as an animal requiring urgent conservation action at its March 2026 meeting in Campo Grande, Brazil. The giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), endemic to tropical river systems in South America, […]