My favourite organisms!

ANIMALIA

Invertebrates

Acoelomorph (marine worm): Symsagittifera roscoffensis, shilly-shally worm - a marine worm with a symbiotic relationship with an algae, making it look like a green noodle.

Cnidaria (jellyfish): Stygiomedusa gigantea, giant phantom jellyfish - a massive denizen of the depths of the oceans.

Nudibranchia: Glaucus atlanticus, blue sea dragon - a small sea slug that borrows the stings of its Portuguese man o' war prey.

Decapodiformes (squid): Histioteuthis heteropsis, strawberry squid - an unusual squid with two differently-sized, specialized eyes - their small eye faces up, and it looks for the shadows of predators swimming above them, against the light from the sun at the surface. Their large eye faces down, and it looks for the faint bioluminescent glowing of their prey in the depths below.

Octopodiformes (octopodes): Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis, vent octopus - the only octopus to make its home in the harsh conditions near hydrothermal vents.

Isopoda (isopod): Armadillidium klugii, clown isopod - specifically, the Dubrovnik variety. This species is believed to mimic a local species of venomous spider.

Zygoptera (damselfly): Calopteryx maculata, ebony jewelwing - the males have a strikingly iridescent blue-green metallic body, and pitch-black wings that make them look like flashing shadows when they fly.

Anisoptera (dragonfly): Libellula pulchella, twelve-spotted skimmer - with an apt specific name, this beautiful species can also be a bit intimidating because of its size. In my experience, though, they're apt fliers, and very good at avoiding crashes.

Sphingidae (sphinx moth): Hemaris thysbe, hummingbird clearwing - an amazing lepidopteran. I once had the privilege of being within a meter of one as it buzzed around a thistle.

Papilionoidea (butterflies): Trogonoptera brookiana, Rajah Brooke's birdwing - a species I learned through the Animal Crossing video game series; it has beautiful bright green and red markings set against black.

Coleoptera (beetle): Chrysina resplendens - a Costa Rican scarab beetle with a beautiful golden colour.

Araneidae (orb weaver [spider]): Mecynogea lemniscata, basilica orbweaver - an orbweaver named after the elaborate, cylindrical, domed webs they create.

Theraphosidae (tarantula [spider]): Dolichothele diamantinensis, blue dwarf beauty - a recently-described species that has made its way into the pet trade, probably for its iridescent blue males.

Vertebrates

Pomacanthidae (marine angelfish): Centropyge loricula, flame angelfish - a stunner common in marine aquaria

Carcharhinidae (requiem shark): Carcharhinus longimanus, oceanic whitetip shark - a large, opportunistic beast with somewhat silly-looking paddle fins.

Dendrobatidae (dart frog): Oophaga pumilio - a common name for this species is difficult, because they have up to 30 naturally-occurring color morphs. When they lay their eggs, females lay some extra unfertilized eggs to nourish their tadpole young - hence the name Oophaga, which means egg-eating. Males are also good parents, placing tadpoles in multiple locations and checking on each one.

Boidae (boa [snake]): Eryx colubrinus, Kenyan sand boa - a small, goofy-looking, mostly fossorial snake. They look like delightful sentient sausages. I'm lucky enough to care for one: my baby Buddy! He's such a goofball.

Pythonidae (python [snake]): Aspidites melanocephalus, black-headed python - a stunner from northern Australia.

Viperidae (viper [snake]): Protobothrops mangshanensis, Mangshan pit viper - a beautiful and endangered venomous snake, found only on one mountain in China.

Elapidae (elapid [snake]): Naja haje, Egyptian cobra - the cobras in Morocco are dark and handsome, with an intimidating stare.

Colubridae (colubrid [snake]): Xenodon pulcher, tricolor hognose - a stunning beauty from South America, not very closely related to the North American Heterodon hognose snakes.

Piciformes (woodpecker and allies [bird]): Dryocopus pileatus, pileated woodpecker - a large stunner observed to be eating invasive beetle larvae.

Pinnipedia (seal): Hydrurga leptonyx, leopard seal - a fast and lethal predator, though they manage to look more adorable than a domestic dog.

Delphinidae (dolphin): Lagenorhynchus obliquidens, Pacific white-sided dolphin - has a dusky pattern with a dark nose.

Ziphiidae (beaked whale): Mesoplodon ginkgodens, gingko-toothed beaked whale - a poorly known cetacean with very unusual teeth.

Balaenopteridae (baleen whale): Balaenoptera acutorostrata, common minke whale - the smallest of the baleen whales, still at a sizeable 30 feet.

Equidae (horse): Equus grevyi, Grevy's zebra - an endangered and relatively asocial zebra with thin stripes.

Cervidae (deer): Axis axis, chital - an Indian deer with a similar etymology as the feline cheetah, referring to their spots.

Bovidae (cow, goat, sheep, antelope): Antilope cervicapra, blackbuck - usually, only males possess the large curved horns.

Marsupialia: Myrmecobius fasciatus, numbat - they came close to extinction in native Australia due to introduced species: foxes and domestic cats. Unusually for a marsupial, it has no pouch.

Felidae (cat): Caracal caracal, caracal - a high-jumping cat with quite cute black ear tufts.

Canidae (dog): Lycaon pictus, African painted dog - a beautiful dog with ears like satellite dishes.

Primates: Varecia variegata, black and white ruffed lemur - a highly endangered native of Madagascar.

PLANTAE

Due to the frequency of massive diversity, convergent evolution, and taxonomic uncertainty in plants, I'm not going to group some of these by clade

Parasitic plant: Monotropa uniflora, ghost pipe - a plant lacking in chlorophyll; it is a parasite, and it steals nutrients from the mychorrizae of nearby fungi.

Carnivorous plant: Sarracenia leucophylla, white pitcher plant - this dramatic trumpet-like plant faces threats from habitat loss and poaching.

Cactaceae: Astrophytum asterias, star cactus - a spineless species; the cultivar "Super Kabuto" has striking contrast.

Asphodelaceae: Haworthia truncata, horse's teeth - a stunning succulent with fenestrated leaves.

Fabaceae (legume): Wisteria frutescens, American wisteria - less dramatic than its East Asian congeners, but also less invasive.

Solanaceae (nightshade): Physalis peruviana, Peruvian groundcherry - a tart golden fruit with a papery shell.

Orchidaceae (orchid): Macodes petola, jewel orchid - a native of Borneo, lacking the dramatic florescence of other orchids, but making up for it with striking veined leaves.

Rosaceae (rose): Prunus x subhirtella, winter-blooming sakura - a cultivated hybrid from Japan. Its blooms are a welcome sight in October.

Oleaceae (olive): Jasminum officinale, common jasmine - there is nothing quite like the scent of jasmine tea.

Flowering tree: Cornus florida, flowering dogwood - an American staple with beautiful textured bark.

Pinophyta (conifer [tree]): Picea sitchensis, Sitka spruce - one of the tallest trees in the world; comparatively few Sitka spruce forest remain in the Pacific Northwest of America, the rest having fallen to loggers.

Bryophyta (moss): Plagiomnium cuspidatum, thyme moss - a North American native, with a beautiful, delicate, leafy look.

FUNGI

Flammulina filiformis, enoki - a mushroom common in East Asian cuisine, and one of the only mushrooms I can stomach.

BACTERIA

Mycobacterium tuberculosis - the pathogen responsible for tuberculosis in humans. It is spread by an aerosol of bodily fluids from an infected person. Tuberculosis has co-evolved with humans over the course of thousands of years, and it has even developed antibiotic resistance in modern times.

ARCHAEA

Ferroplasma thermophilum - a member of a largely poorly-studied family of iron-oxidizing archaea. This species was identified in a chalcopyrite mine in China (chalcopyrite is an iron-containing copper ore).

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