Rachel Fritts

South America’s maned wolves are some of the most evolutionarily distinct and morphologically quirky canids around. Unfortunately, their favorite habitat is being destroyed at twice the rate of the Amazon Rainforest.

Ever wonder what leafcutter ants do with all those leaves? Turns out, they’re not for eating (at least, not directly). The leaves serve as the raw organic material on which to grow the real prize – a crop of delicious fungus.

While human and cephalopod evolution diverged hundreds of millions of years ago, their eyes share a remarkable similarity with our own. One of the most intriguing examples of convergent evolution, cephalopod eyes are a window into the evolution of sight – and how the most intelligent invertebrates on the planet perceive the world.

Australia’s superb lyrebird is aptly named. Originally valued only for its long, lyre-like tail feathers, the lyrebird has surprised and delighted modern listeners with its unique ability to parrot just about any sound it hears.

Imagine a world unshaped by the evolution of mammals. What kind of creatures would live there? Looking like something straight out of medieval legend, the tuatara’s unlikely existence and unusual traits weave a narrative of what might have been.