Some of the interesting species seen by me this year include:
- Zhou's box turtle (
Cuora zhoui), a species that is only known from Chinese markets and was never found wild.
- Mexican burrowing python (
Loxocemus bicolor), a species that is unique because of its own monotypic family.
- Owston's palm civet (
Chrotogale owstoni), a very cool-looking civet with a long snout. Endangered.
- Nguru pygmy chameleon (
Rhampholeon acuminatus), a critically endangered Tanzanian endemic.
- Two species of drongos from Western Africa.
- Moon-headed sidegill slug (
Euselenops luniceps), a rare and incredible-looking sea slug that might have only been imported to Europe this year for the first time.
- Surf scoter (
Melanitta perspicillata), the most beautiful duck on Earth?
- Bullet ant (
Paraponera clavata), known for having the most painful sting in the animal kingdom.
- Saint Martin thick-tailed gecko (
Thecadactylus oskrobapreinorum), named after a great herpetologist that I was also honoured to meet this year.
- Yellow-billed cardinal (
Paroaria capitata), the 5th and last species of this genus in captivity I needed.
- Eastern ring-tailed possum (
Pseudocheirus peregrinus), such an adorable species, endemic to Australia and almost never exported.
- Lesser bamboo rat (
Cannomys badius), my third species of bamboo rat. One remaining.
- Northern mountain viscacha (
Lagidium peruanum), the last specimen in captivity outside South America.
- Malaysian fire snail (
Platymma tweediei), the coolest land snail on Earth. Critically Endangered in the wild, although this was never officially assessed.
- Arrowhead soapfish (
Belonoperca chabanaudi), a rare tropical reef fish that is often sought after by aquarists around the world.
- Warzel's checkerboard cichlid (
Dicrossus warzeli), first import in 15 years if I'm not mistaken.
- Martin's putty-nosed guenon (
Cercopithecus nictitans martini), the only specimen in captivity.
- Grandidier’s Vontsira (
Galidictis grandidieri), a very unique Malagasy carnivore that is slowly aging and will likely disappear from captivity forever in a few years. I saw it twice this year, in Magdeburg and Chester.
- Blue-chinned versicoloured barbet (
Eubucco versicolor glaucogularis), a beautiful bird from South America and very rare in human hands.
- White-crested helmetshrike (
Prionops plumatus), an irresponsible import of this species that has shown not to be suited for captivity. The population was lost rapidly this year.
- Southern hairy-nosed wombat (
Lasiorhinus latifrons), the only one in Europe.
- Black-and-white worm lizard (
Amphisbaena fuliginosa), a weird wormlike amphisbaenian that digs himself into the ground.
- Yellow-throated warbler (
Setophaga dominica), a pretty North American passerine that is basically gone outside the USA now.
- Marbled polecat (
Vormela peregusna), just very damn cute.
- Australian tiger snake (
Notechis scutatus occidentalis), the second most lethal snake in Australia and has an impressive reputation.
- Pinyon jay (
Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus), this was a pretty surprise to see.
- Partello's waterside skink (
Tropidophorus partelloi), a species of which barely any good pictures exist on the internet. Rare and elusive species.
- Giant brown bulldog ant (
Myrmecia piriformis), the ant responsible for most deaths in the world.
- Two species of
Rhabdophis, snakes that are both venomous and poisonous. This is unique in the animal kingdom.
- Namaqua chameleon (
Chamaeleo namaquensis), unique in many ways. Restricted to desert areas in South West Africa and one of the most expensive chameleon species I have ever encountered.
- Red-bellied guenon (
Cercopithecus erythrogaster erythrogaster), the only known population in captivity as far as I'm aware.
I saw many more interesting species but this is all I could think of for now. I also encountered several special species again, like the Fiji crested iguana (
B. vitiensis) or Steller's eider (
Polysticta stelleri). It was not a bad year at all actually
