Birds
This large raptor can reach speeds of 200mph during its characteristic high-speed dives
Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus )
Name a group of snakes with heat sensing pits
vipers, boas, pythons
This is the most trafficked animal
Pangolin
This group of jawless fish is known for its circular disk of teeth
Lampreys (Petromyzontiformes)
This group of flightless wasps (in females) contains the fabled "Cow Killer"
Velvet ants (Mutillidae)
This is the only bird in the world that has nostrils at the end of it's beak
Kiwi (Apterygiformes)
This species holds the record for largest free-roaming tortoise ever recorded
Aladabra tortoise (Geochelone gigantea)
Sometimes called the "American Antelope", this North American native is more closely related to giraffes and okapis
Pronghorn (Antilocarpa americana)
This fish has the longest known lifespan of any vertebrate species
Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus)
This group of wasps creates a swelling growth on plants to protect its developing young
Gallwasps, gallflies (Cynipidae)
What is the only known bird that is able to fly backwards?
Hummingbird
This shady tactic used by rattlesnake hunters refers to spraying gasoline into crevices to force snakes out
Gassing
What are the smallest monkeys in the world?
Pygmy marmosets (Genus Cebuella)
This mudflat-dwelling goby species is able to breathe through its skin on land
Mudskippers
This soft-bodied invert belongs to a phylum all its own
Velvet worms (Onychophora)
Billions of these birds once inhabited Eastern North America, but not anymore
Passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)
What is the largest amphibian in the United States?
Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis)
This group of small mammals has enormous eyeballs that can be the same size or larger than their brains
Tarsiers (Tarsiidae)
This less studied group of cartilaginous fishes has smooth skin and lives at extremely low depths
Chimaeras (Holocephali, Chimaeriformes), ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish, rabbit fish
This tough North American beetle can survive being run over by a car due to its tough exoskeleton
Diabolical Ironclad Beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus)
This became the first documented poisonous bird after curators experienced numbing while handling the skins
Hooded pitohui (Pitohui dichrous)
This herp is the only extant species of its order, and is known for its pronounced "third eye" during early life stages
Tuatara (Rhynchocephalia, Sphenodontidae, Sphenodon punctatus)
This small, sometimes spiked mammal is more closely related to elephants than hedgehogs
Tenrecs (Tenrecidae)
This tiny parasitic fish from the Amazon is known by the locals to swim into bodily orifices
Candiru/Vampire Fish/Toothpick fish (Vandellia cirrhosa)
The bane of marine aquarists - this predatory marine worm can reach lengths over 9 ft and reproduce asexually by splitting into multiple segments
Bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois), bristleworms (Polychaeta)