New Zealand’s Smallest Endemic Bird isn’t a True Wren, it’s the Rifleman

Despite being known as one of the New Zealand wrens, of which it is one of only two surviving species, the Rifleman actually belongs to the ancient Acanthisittidae family. They are often called “wrens” due to similarities in appearance and behaviour to the true wrens of the family Troglodytidae.

New Zealand’s Longest Beetle: the Giraffe Weevil (Lasiorhynchus barbicornis)

The New Zealand giraffe weevil is endemic to our country, and is in fact our longest beetle. It is also the longest beetle in the world of its family.

A Rare and Elusive Species: The Coromandel Striped Gecko [Toropuku “Coromandel”]

…only 28 individuals have been identified and recorded up until 12th November 2014. I am not aware of any updates to the database, but know that additional animals have been found since. I can be sure of this as Emma and I with our wildlife-spotting friends, Sara and Ro, came across two presumably new individuals that night!