Wild Animals

With its fiery tentacles and massive bell, the lion's mane jellyfish is one of the ocean's most striking creatures. Known scientifically as Cyanea capillata, this giant jellyfish haunts cold northern waters, including the North Pacific Ocean, North Sea, and Arctic.

By Nico Avelle

Frogs have been hopping around the planet since the Early Triassic, making them one of the oldest extant amphibian lineages. With more than 7,000 frog species globally, they’ve adapted to nearly every environment on Earth, from tropical rainforest canopies to forest floor ponds.

By Nico Avelle

If you've ever taken a springtime stroll through a park or garden, you might have seen a fast, darting flash of orange and black zip past your face. That bold little flier is likely the red admiral butterfly, a widespread member of the Vanessa genus.

By Nico Avelle

A pet seahorse can be a rewarding marine companion, but keeping one healthy requires more than a pretty tank and good intentions.

By Nico Avelle

If you've spotted a yellow and black butterfly flitting through your garden or the woods, you may have encountered one of several striking species common across North America.

By Nico Avelle

Frogs might seem simple, but under the skin, they're biological marvels. When you dig into frog anatomy, you’ll find structures that support a life both in water and on land. That duality makes them excellent subjects for comparing vertebrate systems—including our own.

By Nico Avelle

Frogs aren't at the top of the food chain. In fact, the list of what eats frogs is pretty long. These amphibians are on the menu for all kinds of animals across different ecosystems.

By Nico Avelle

Some of the most dazzling creatures in nature live underwater. When it comes to aquariums, the colorful fish we choose can light up a tank like a living lava lamp.

By Nico Avelle

When people picture marine predators, seahorses might not top the list. But make no mistake: The seahorse diet is all about stealth, patience and tiny snacks. These oddball fish have evolved a specialized way of eating that works perfectly with their unusual shape and behavior.

By Nico Avelle

When people think of the tropics, they often imagine lush green forests, towering trees and flashes of color flitting between the leaves. One of the most iconic and dazzling sights in this landscape is the morpho butterfly, especially the brilliant blue morpho.

By Nico Avelle

Some colorful lizards can stop you in your tracks. One second, you think you're looking at a rock. The next, a rainbow blur darts across your path. These reptiles are the masters of camouflage and display, using vivid skin tones to communicate, hide or strut their stuff.

By Nico Avelle

Tiny, neon-colored, and hiding in plain sight on this list of poisonous frogs, these amphibians pack a punch way above their weight. Found mostly in the humid rainforests of Central and South America, poison dart frogs are famous for their toxic skin secretions and eye-popping hues.

By Nico Avelle

If you spot a splash of electric blue drifting along the shoreline, it's probably not a plastic bag. That pulsing blob is likely either a Portuguese man-of-war or a blue jellyfish, one of the most striking marine invertebrates you can find floating near beaches in the Northern Hemisphere (primarily in the North Atlantic region).

By Nico Avelle

Is a seahorse a fish? Yes, despite their oddball appearances, seahorses are indeed fish. They belong to the genus Hippocampus and are classified within the Syngnathidae family, which also includes pipefish and sea dragons.

By Nico Avelle

Most frogs hop away from danger. But the hairy frog? It brings its own weapons to the fight—literally. Known for its bizarre defense mechanism, this amphibian snaps its own bones to create claws that pierce through its skin. You read that right.

By Nico Avelle

The mourning cloak butterfly might not win any contests for flashiest insect, but this species breaks the mold in some surprising ways.

By Nico Avelle

Some spiders blend into the background. Others? They demand your attention. Colorful spiders light up forests, flowers, and even backyards with a dazzling range of hues—and there's more to that brilliance than meets the eye.

By Nico Avelle

Freshwater jellyfish may sound like an oxymoron—because jellyfish live in the ocean, right? Not all of them. Craspedacusta sowerbii, also called the peach blossom jellyfish, thrives in rivers, lakes and even gravel pits.

By Nico Avelle

You’ve seen them in your garden, fluttering like confetti across the kale and broccoli. That pale insect flitting around your vegetables? That white butterfly is most likely Pieris rapae, better known as the cabbage white butterfly.

By Nico Avelle

Some moths wear camouflage, blending right into bark or leaves. Others? They're the bold dressers of the insect world. These colorful moth species aren't shy about showing off.

By Nico Avelle

Moon jellyfish might look like ghostly saucers adrift in the blue, but they're more than just ocean ambiance. These translucent animals, known scientifically as Aurelia aurita, are part of a family of jellies that have lives perfectly tuned to drifting through the sea.

By Nico Avelle

The pixie frog is not the kind of frog you'd find hopping harmlessly around your garden pond. Also called the African giant bullfrog, this enormous amphibian is known scientifically as Pyxicephalus adspersus.

By Nico Avelle

The yellow butterfly gives other insects a masterclass in adaptation, camouflage and transformation. One yellow butterfly in particular stands out: the eastern tiger swallowtail.

By Nico Avelle

How do jellyfish reproduce? That depends on which jellyfish you mean.

By Nico Avelle

Meet the African clawed frog, a fully aquatic amphibian that's part living fossil, part lab legend, and part ecological wildcard.

By Nico Avelle