HORNED PUFFIN

Kingdom:  Animalia
Phylum:  Chordata
Class:  Aves
Order:  Charadriiformes
Family:  Alcidae
Genus:  Fratercula
Species:  F. corniculata

The Horned Puffin is an auk found primarily on rocky islands off the coasts of Siberia, Alaska and British Columbia.  Its unique characteristics include a red and yellow bill,  a small fleshy black “horn” that extends above its eyes, and over-sized, red feet.  It is a pelagic seabird that feeds primarily by diving for fish.   It nests in colonies, often with other auks.  Feeding areas are usually located fairly far offshore from the nest. There is usually one chick and both parents feed the young.

CHINESE GIANT SALAMANDER (featuring League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots)

Kingdom:  Animalia
Phylum:  Chordata
Class:  Amphibia
Order:  Caudata
Family:  Cryptobranchidae
Genus:  Andrias
Species:  A. davidianus

The Chinese giant salamander is the largest salamander in the world, reaching a length of 6 ft.  It has a large head, small eyes and dark and wrinkly skin. It is one of only two extant species in the genus Andrias, the other being the slightly smaller, but otherwise very similar Japanese giant salamander. The Chinese giant salamander feeds on insects, frogs, and fish. It has very poor eyesight, and therefore depends on special sensory nodes that run along the creature’s body, from head to tail, allowing it to sense the slightest vibrations around them.

AYE AYE (featuring Kronos Quartet)

Kingdom:  Animalia
Phylum:  Chordata
Class:  Mammalia
Order:  Primates
Family:  Daubentoniidae
Genus:  Daubentonia
Species:  D. madagascariensis

The Aye-aye is a primate native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth with a long, thin middle finger. It is a nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unusual method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood and inserts its elongated middle finger to pull the grubs out.

ELEPHANT SHREW

Kingdom:  Animalia
Phylum:  Chordata
Class:  Mammalia
Infraclass:  Eutheria
Superorder:  Afrotheria
Order:  Macroscelidea
Family:  Macroscelididae

Surprisingly unrelated to the shrew, the elephant shrews is actually more closely related in genetic makeup to manatees, aardvarks and the elephants. These small mammalian insect-eaters are native to southern Africa, and can be found in many varied habitats. Some species are about 5-inches long not including the tail, while the largest specie is closer to 9-12 inches long.  Although the size of the trunk varies from one species to another, all are able to twist it about in search of food.

ANGLER FISH (featuring League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots)

Kingdom:  Animalia
Phylum:  Chordata
Class:  Actinopterygii
Order:  Lophiiformes

The anglerfish is one of the ocean’s strangest looking deep-sea creatures. Anglerfish are bony fish named for their characteristic fleshy growth from the fish’s head, which acts as a bioluminescent lure to attract its prey.  This fish is found worldwide in near-freezing water more than 3,000 feet below the surface. Other notable features of this fish include an enormous, crescent-shaped mouth on the upper half of the body, full of long, sharp teeth.  Their mouths are so big and their bodies so pliable, they can actually swallow prey up to twice their own size.

TARDIGRADE aka Water Bear (featuring The Microscopic Septet)

Kingdom:     Animalia
Subkingdom:     Eumetazoa
Superphylum:     Ecdysozoa
Phylum:     Tardigrada

The Tardigrade is a microscopic, water-dwelling, segmented animals with eight legs.  Tardigrades occur over the entire world, from the high Himalayas, to the deep sea and from the polar regions to the equator.  Tardigrades are able to survive in extreme environments that would kill almost any other animal.  In September 2007, tardigrades were taken into low Earth orbit on the FOTON-M3 mission and for 10 days were exposed to the vacuum of space. After they were returned to Earth, it was discovered that many of them survived and laid eggs that hatched normally, making these the only animals shown to be able to survive the vacuum of space.

HONEY BADGER (featuring the daxophone)

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordatat
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelldae
Genus: Mellivora
Species: M. capensis

The Honey Badger is one of the most fearless and voracious animals on the planet. Named for its appetite for honey, this badger is willing to break into beehives despite being stung numerous times during the process. And when it’s done snacking, it will continue its hunt for just about anything: rodents, birds, eggs, insects, lizards, tortoises, frogs, and even venomous snakes!

Bilby

Like a long-nosed rat, the Bilby is in fact, a mini marsupial.
The female has a pouch, which faces backwards—rather unusual!
This keeps the dirt from falling in as she digs into the ground.
The desert of Australia, in the middle of the night, is where this
creature can be found.
Which matters not, since its eyes are poor at seeing far or near.
Fortunately for the Bilby, its strong suit lies in its ability to hear.

A clip from the August 3rd, 2010 recording session with the Kronos Quartet for “Aye Aye.”