This deep-sea sea cucumber feeds on bottom sediment, but is able to swim up into the water column, hundreds of meters above the bottom, by undulating the cape-like fringe around the rear of the body.

The parasitic nematode worms known as human pinworms (Enterobius vermicularis, formerly known as Oxyuris vermicularis) infect humans worldwide, although pinworm infection (enterobiasis) seems to be more common in temperate than in tropical countries.

Moray eels are "sit-and-wait” predators and are often seen with just their head sticking out of a rock crevice, waiting for a fish to swim by; when the prey is close enough, the eel quickly attacks it, then retreats back into the rock or coral.

This sea slug eats algae and retains functional chloroplasts in tissue for days to months.

The cultivation of True (or Small) Cardamom as an understory crop using current growing practices radically changes the forest ecosystem in ways that persist for many years even after Cardamom cultivation is abandoned.

The Chinese Water Chestnut is actually a sedge (and not closely related to the similarly named Water Chestnut, Trapa natans) with an edible tuber that is widely used in China and Southeast Asia.

Electric Eels are famous for their ability to emit powerful electrical discharges, which are used both in predation and defense, of more than 500 volts (weaker electric fields are generated to gather information about the fish's surroundings).

At one time populations of Snowy Egrets (and many other herons) were severely depleted by hunters in pursuit of their plumes, used to decorate women's hats and clothing.

Well into the 19th century, the Passenger Pigeon occurred in the eastern United States in staggering numbers, but it declined rapidly in the last few decades of the 19th century and by the dawn of the 20th century it was virtually extinct.

Swarms of these army ants are often attended by birds that pick off insects and other small invertebrates racing to escape from the ant hordes.

Remoras lack a swim bladder and do not swim on their own for long distances, instead using a dorsal fin that is modified into a flat sucking disk to attach themselves to larger fish and other marine animals.

The strong odor of the fruit of this and related species is often quite distasteful to those not accustomed to it.

Durian fruits, like the flowers, have a strong odor, but the flesh has a buttery, custard-like texture and a sweet flavor that is reminiscent of bananas; people tend to either like the flavor or be repulsed by it.

Among the rarest of the world's birds, the Marquesan Imperial-Pigeon is found only on the island of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas (French Polynesia) and on nearby Ua Huka (the latter population is the result of an apparently successful translocation effort).

With the exception of the almost surely extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker, the Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America.

This species, which has a nearly global distribution, has been a favorite organism for biological research for around a century, initially in the field of genetics but subsequently for the investigation of fundamental problems in biology from the fields of ecology to neurobiology.

These freshwater mussels are native to eastern Europe and western Asia, but have invaded North America and regions of Europe outside their natural range, causing alarming ecological and economic harm.

The large “paper” nests of the Bald-faced Hornet are often constructed in trees and are a familiar sight, especially in autumn after leaves have dropped, across much of North America.

The Patagonian Toothfish (marketed as Chilean Sea Bass) has been severely overfished and marine conservation groups discourage consumers from purchasing it.

Like many parasites, the complex life cycle of the Dog Tapeworm requires both an intermediate host (in this case, a flea) and a definitive host (in this case, a dog or cat).

The Japanese Persimmon, which is found only in cultivation and is the most widely cultivated persimmon, was developed from the wild species Diospyros roburghii.

This enormous albatross is among the largest birds in the world.

Like all species in the family Diodontidae, Long-spined Porcupinefish can inflate themselves by swallowing water (or air).

This extraordinary deepwater lobster was first collected in 2007 from the Philippine Sea off the island of Luzon and was formally described in 2010.

This bat, one of several species of blood-feeding vampire bats, feeds mainly on mammals, making an incision in the skin with its teeth and lapping up the blood that flows out of the tiny wound.

It is now widely (if not universally) accepted that the two extant species of flying lemurs (or cobegos)--which are not lemurs and do not actually fly-- along with the Scandentia (tree shrews) are the closest living relatives of the Primates, although the precise relationships among these three groups remain a matter of some debate.

The roughly 2,000 species of described earwigs are elongate and slender insects that are typically brown or black (although other colors, such as metallic green, are seen in a few species) and have the front pair of wings reduced and leathery (some species are wingless); the idea that earwigs enter people's ears is an old myth.

The American Dog Tick, which has a 3-host life cycle, occurs mainly in the eastern United States (although it occurs outside this region as well), where adults are commonly encountered on dogs.

These strikingly colored corals are among the most abundant and widespread soft corals in the world; although commonly encountered in the aquarium trade, they have a very high mortality rate in captivity, mainly because they lack photosynthetic "algal" symbionts (zooxanthellae) and must rely instead on filtering food particles and dissolved nutrients from the water column.

This orchid, is either included in the genus Dendrobium or is the sole species in the newly erected genus Winika. It is endemic to the rainforests of New Zealand.

Dendrobium orchids are among the most horticulturally important orchids.

This species, sometimes called the Dyeing Poison Dart Frog, is highly variable in color and pattern and includes the form formerly known as the Blue Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates azureus).

Ogre-faced (or net-casting) spiders build unusual webs that they suspend between their front legs; when prey approaches, the spider stretches the net to two or three times its relaxed size and leaps onto the prey, entangling it in the web.

The six species of marsupials known as quolls (Dasyurus spp.) are found in Australia (four species) and New Guinea (two species).

The Dasypodidae (armadillo family), the name of which means "hairy feet", includes 21 species, all of them found in the New World; the last armadillo species to be recognized was described only in 1995, from Paraguay and northern Argentina.

This fish, a longtime favorite with aquarium hobbyists, has become an intensively studied vertebrate model in developmental biology.

The aposematic coloring of this large, widespread migratory butterfly warns potential vertebrate predators that it is poisonous.

Laughing Kookaburras are kingfishers found in eastern and southwestern Australia; breeding Laughing Kookaburras are often assisted by 4 or 5 "helpers", mostly male young from previous years.

This small (to 15 cm) marine fish is found in the western Atlantic (from the southeastern United States and northern Gulf of Mexico to the western Caribbean), eastern Atlantic (from northwestern Spain to Morocco and south to southern Africa), and Indo-west Pacific (from India to Japan); they are abundant between 330 and 690 m depth.

These snails of the tropical western Atlantic and Caribbean have a colorful mantle that covers the plain shell as they feed on their octocoral hosts.

Cymbidium orchids were probably the first orchids to be cultivated and remain very popular today.

Cycliophora is a phylum that was recognized only in 1995 following the description of Symbion pandora, which was discovered living on the mouthparts of Norwegian Lobsters (Nephrops norvegicus) in the North Atlantic; watch the video from Creature Features explaining the weird and wonderful life cycle of cycliophorans.

Dholes are wild dogs that are today found mainly in India; like African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus), Dholes have acquired a vicious reputation thanks to the speed with which they eat and their tendency to disembowel prey before it is fully dead--but attacks on humans are extremely rare.

The cumaceans are mostly small (typically <8 mm) bottom-dwelling crustaceans that are a major food source for birds and fish in many regions.

Summer squash is one of the oldest known cultivated species, with Mexican archaeological evidence from 7,000 B.C.

The cucumber likely originated in India, where it appears to have been cultivated for more than 3,000 years, then spread to China, eventually being spread throughout Europe by the Romans.

This species includes a wide variety of cultivated melon varieties, both familiar and unfamiliar.

The Warted (or Triplewart) Seadevil has a bacterial bioluminescent bait or lure (known as an “esca”), the structure of which is extremely useful (at least to humans) in distinguishing species; according to some reports, the entire fish may glow. Details of escal anatomy are often extremely useful in distinguishing anglerfish species

Spotted (or Laughing) Hyaenas are highly social animals and live in clans structured by a strict hierarchy in which the highest ranking male is subordinate to the lowest ranking female.

The exact native range of this species is uncertain, but it has been cultivated widely throughout the New World tropics since prehistoric times, largely for its fruits, which when dried are used to make bowls, cups, jugs, water containers, and other utensils, as well as (often decorated) ornaments and musical instruments.