In a Roman Osteria by Carl Heinrich Bloch, detail, 1866, oil on canvas

Wildlife in North Carolina, November 1957. Illustration by Bob Dance.

 East African Shovel-Snout (Prosymna stuhlmanni), family Prosymnidae, South Africa

Feed on lizard and snake eggs, using a specialized tooth to slice open the shell and suck out the contents of the egg.

Bahia Leaf Frog (Phyllomedusa bahiana), BIG STEPPY!!!, family Hylidae, endemic to Bahia, Brazil

Don Balke (American, b. 1933). Raccoon, 1987. Gouache and watercolor on board.

A new species of Goniurosaurus (Sauria, Gekkota, Eublepharidae) from Guangxi, China

Hui-Ling Chen, Jia-Yi Yu, You-Bang Li, Yu-Hui Li, Ze-Ning Chen

Abstract

In recent years, with advances in field surveys and molecular biology research, many new species of Goniurosaurus have been discovered, enhancing our understanding of their diversity and distribution. In this study, we present an integrated analysis of morphological evidence and mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data to describe a new species from Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China: Goniurosaurus wuzhengjuni sp. nov. This species can be distinguished morphologically from its congeners by a specific combination of characteristics: (1) 23 precloacal pores in males; (2) a grayish-white dorsal ground color on the head, body, and limbs covered with dense, irregular black blotches; (3) seven nasal scales surrounding the nostril; and (4) 101–108 midbody scale rows. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that this species forms a monophyletic lineage sister to G. araneus within the G. luii group, as supported by mitochondrial cyt b and 16S rRNA and nuclear C-mos gene sequences. Uncorrected pairwise genetic distances based on mitochondrial cyt b sequences range from 8.7% to 22.0% compared with those of all previously known species.

Read the paper here:

Elephant seals

Southern gerenuk Litocranius walleri walleri

A lone male Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) observes a breeding pair preening each other in Svalbard, Norway

Northwestern Wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis)

Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus ssp. kotiya)