The two species of tuataras, both of which are found only in New Zealand, are reptiles that are close relatives of lizards and snakes.

Female cicada killers capture cicadas, paralyze them with a sting, and bring them back to their burrows to serve as food for their developing larvae.

Sphagnum mosses are a dominant component of bogs and other wetland ecosystems; they tend to acidify their environment and thus to direct future succession, i.e., the trajectory of the ecological community.

Depending on the species, these typically desert-dwelling relatives of spiders may be out during the day; their active pursuit of shadows to keep cool likely explains the name "Solifugae", which is derived from Latin roots meaning "fleeing from the Sun".

The ghost pipefishes (Family Solenostomidae) are skin-brooding fishes related to the true pipefishes and seahorses (Family Syngnathidae) (skin-brooding involves the attachment of developing eggs to the body surface of a parent).

The ghost pipefishes (family Solenostomidae) are skin-brooding fishes related to the true pipefishes and seahorses (family Syngnathidae) (skin-brooding involves the attachment of developing eggs to the body surface of a parent); they are found only in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, inhabiting shallow tropical waters associated with rocky crystalline reefs and vegetation.

The Red Fire Ant is a native of tropical and subtropical South America that has become an extremely successful and problematic invasive ant in much of the southern United States and a cause of great concern in other regions outside its native range.

The potato, which originated in the Andes region of South America, has served as a staple food for many cultures throughout the world.

The aubergine, or common eggplant, is believed to have been first domesticated in India or Southeast Asia, but is now an important food crop in many parts of the world, particularly in southern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Every part of this beautiful plant is poisonous.

The White-breasted Nuthatch is a year-round resident over much of North America from southwestern Canada to the highlands of southern Mexico; it is typically found in deciduous and mixed forest, whereas the Red-breasted Nutchatch is more typically associated with conifer forests.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch breeds in coniferous forests across Canada, Alaska, and the northeastern and western United States; although it is often a year-round resident, when winter resources are scarce, large numbers may move south of their usual range.

Although the group Sipuncula has been recognized as a distinct phylum for half a century, in recent years molecular phylogenetic studies have provided strong evidence that sipunculans either fall within, or are very closely related to, the annelids (segmented worms).

After many years of population declines, Eastern Bluebird populations have increased in recent decades at least in part due to large-scale efforts to provide them with appropriate nest boxes for breeding.

Western Bluebirds are found in the westernmost United States (and adjacent Canada) south through the highlands of Mexico.

Mountain Bluebirds are found in mostly open habitats, often at high elevations (especially during the breeding season), across much of western North America (in winter, they can be found south to northern and central Mexico).

Blackpoll Warblers are among the most numerous breeding birds in the forests of far northern North America and are abundant migrants in the spring in eastern North America (and in the northeastern United States and Canadian Maritime Provinces in the fall) as they travel between their northern breeding grounds and their winter range in northern South America.

The Black-throated Gray Warbler breeds from British Columbia to New Mexico and winters in the southwestern United States and Mexico.

The Yellow-throated Warbler, which breeds in the eastern United States and winters along the Gulf Coast and in the Caribbean and Central America, often forages by creeping along tree branches.

The discovery of this small warbler in Puerto Rico in 1968 (formally described in 1972) was remarkable given that it was the first new bird species discovered in the Caribbean in four decades and the first new bird from Puerto Rico in the 20th century; it's narrow distribution, habitat, and similarity to the Black-and-white Warbler (a winter resident in Puerto Rico), probably all contributed to its evading detection for so long.

Sesame was one of the first oilseed plants to be used by humans; major producers include Burma, India, China, and a range of countries in Africa.

The Silver-breasted Broadbill was formerly very common over most of its range in Southeast Asia, but is now only locally common.

Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens), the only species in its genus, is native only to the southeastern United States, where it is a major understory plant.

The Coast Redwood is among the world's tallest trees; it is native to the northern California coast and extreme southwestern Oregon, a region of moderate to heavy winter rain and summer fog.

The Australian Giant Cuttlefish, the largest cuttlefish in the world, is a master of camouflage, but males adopt rapidly changing bright colors and striking patterns when trying to attract the attention of females for mating.

The Hanuman Langur is the most widely distributed nonhuman primate in South Asia, although this may be an illusion given some evidence that this distribution may actually encompass more than one species.

Lookdowns occur in shallow coastal waters over sand or mud in the western Atlantic from Maine to Uruguay, including Bermuda; in the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico; and in the Greater Antilles.

Chayote is a member of the gourd family, but unlike the familiar melons, gourds, squashes, and pumpkins, the fruits of which contain many seeds, the Chayote fruit contains just a single seed.

Rye is an important cereal crop in the cooler parts of northern and central Europe and Russia, cultivated up to the Arctic Circle and to 4000 m above sea level.

Although its appearance makes it an unwelcome guest in most homes, this centipede, which feeds on small insects and spiders, is generally harmless to humans.

This odd-looking creature, which is featured in the NMNH Sant Ocean Hall, belongs to a group of “sea cucumbers” (relatives of sea stars) that can be extremely abundant in the deep sea.

This squirrel occurs naturally in a wide range of habitats in Mexico and Central America, but also has a long established introduced population in the Florida Keys (USA).

The Ground Skink is a small, quick lizard of the southeastern United States; it is likely to be encountered almost anywhere within its range where there is an accumulation of leaf litter.

The Red Drum is an important game fish, popular with surfcasters, that is found from Massachusetts (U.S.A.) to northern Mexico.

The Laughing Owl, which was found only in New Zealand, was first described in the early 1840s, at which time it was apparently common and widespread, but with the subsequent influx of European settlers over the next several decades populations declined; the species was very rare by the end of the 19th century and has long been presumed extinct.

Although roots and bark from Sassafras (family Lauraceae), a common tree in the eastern United States, were once commonly used to flavor tea and root beer, a component known as safrole is now considered a suspected carcinogen, so other flavorings (or safrole-free extracts) are now generally used instead.

Some Sargassum species are free-floating and occur in extensive rafts (e.g., in the Sargasso Sea) that harbor distinctive communities of organisms.

Early European settlers in Tasmania bestowed the name Tasmanian Devil on this marsupial, inspired by its nocturnal screeching. Despite their fierce appearance and reputation, Tasmanian Devils feed largely on carrion, consuming even bones and fur.

Although knowledge and use of Common Sage dates back to ancient Greece, its taxonomy, distribution, and variability remain poorly understood.

Although the planktonic larvae of Sacculina barnacles resemble the larvae of other barnacles, the adults are highly modified internal parasites of certain crabs, spreading through their bodies and often grossly distorting the host's normal morphology and physiology.

Sugarcane is an important industrial crop of tropical and subtropical regions and is cultivated on close to 20 million hectares in more than 90 countries.

Cabbage Palmetto (Sabal palmetto) has the most northern distribution of all the New World tree palms.

The Black Skimmer, which is found along both coasts of the United States and southward along the coasts and major inland rivers to South America, feeds by dipping its lower bill (which is much longer than the upper) into the water as it flies, snapping it shut when the submerged half of the bill touches a small fish; this unusual bill morphology and feeding behavior is shared with two other skimmer species found in Africa and southern Asia, respectively.

These bats, which form colonies of thousands of individuals, are unusual among fruit bats in that they supplement their excellent vision and sense of smell with echolocation.

Like many species in the mint family, Rosemary is gynodioecious, i.e., populations are composed of some plants with hermaphrodite flowers, which are functionally both male and female, and others whose flowers are functionally female, with the male organs reduced and sterile.

Riftia pachyptila is a large tube worm that lives on the ocean floor near hydrothermal vents on the East Pacific Rise, more than a mile under the sea.

Rhododendron forrestii is a low-growing shrub found in the mountains of southeastern Tibet and adjacent China and Burma.

Red Mangroves are a key component of mangrove forests along many of the world's tropical coasts.

This small, elongated, red-brown tick is unusual in that it can complete its entire life cycle indoors, facilitating its spread around the world.

The tiny population of Javan Rhinoceros precariously persisting for years in Vietnam was reported to be extinct in 2011, leaving a world population of just a few dozen animals living in western Java.