Critter of the Week
Nicola Toki is the CEO of Forest and Bird and a self-confessed "nature nerd". Each week she talks to Jesse Mulligan about an uncharismatic but lovable member of New Zealand's wildlife community.
Get the book! Critters of Aotearoa is based on this Afternoon's segment and is available now at bookstores.
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Critter of the Week: Spittlebug
1 Dec 2023The week's critter is a native species of spittlebug. Spittlebugs get their common name from the spit-like substance the young bugs create on plants. Audio
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Critter of the Week: The giant nematode
24 Nov 2023This week's critter is a giant species of nematode (a type of worm) that is longer than a small shipping container and roughly the volume of an oil drum! The giant nematode, Placentonema gigantissima… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Alexander Beetle
17 Nov 2023The Alexander beetle is a beautiful iridescent green beetle that is only found in Canterbury. It's a fierce predator of critters smaller than itself and has long slender legs which are excellent for… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Canterbury scree cicada
27 Oct 2023Summer is on its way and that means our cicadas are crawling their way out of the ground to sing up a storm. Did you know Aotearoa is home to the world's only alpine cicadas? It's the Canterbury scree… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Hobbit Psyllid
20 Oct 2023You might find this tiny critter in a kowhai tree near you. The hobbit psyllid takes its scientific name from Frodo Baggins as both are smaller than their relations. It's also found in the South… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Vampire Squid
13 Oct 2023The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) might sound scary, but it's more like a soft-bodied floating Christmas tree than a blood-sucking creature of the night. This deep-sea creature has some… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Vagrant spiders
6 Oct 2023The vagrant spiders are unique to Aotearoa. They are big and hairy, and they like to roam around in search of a meal. When they're not wandering around at night in native forests or suburban gardens… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Taramea
29 Sep 2023The spiky leaves and flowers of taramea or golden speargrass are famous for their power to draw blood (even through gaiters!). But if you can get past the spike, you'll encounter one of the most… Audio
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Critter of the Week matata / NZ fernbird
8 Sep 2023The matata or New Zealand fernbird is a secretive little bird with a big attitude. Despite being the size and weight of a mouse, they're not afraid to hunt for blowflies on the back of a sleeping sea… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Beauveria bassiana
1 Sep 2023The icing sugar fungus, Beauveria bassiana, is a stealthy member of the fungi kingdom. When it comes into contact with an insect or another invertebrate, it invades the critter and starts growing… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Manaia Pygmy pipehorse
25 Aug 2023The Manaia pygmy pipehorse, Cylix tupareomanaia, is a tiny candy cane critter unique to the coastal waters of Te Tai Tokerau Northland. Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Common Bag Moth
11 Aug 2023This week's critter is the common bag moth, Liothula omnivora. These drab little critters are found all over the country hanging from fenceposts, branches and even letterboxes. The caterpillars spin… Audio
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Critter of the Week: New Zealand earthworm
4 Aug 2023This week's critter is a bioluminescent member of our underground network of soil engineers. We're talking about the New Zealand earthworm, Octochaetus multiporus. Audio
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Critter of the Week Kareao / supplejack
28 Jul 2023Kareao is native to Aotearoa. While it can be frustrating to navigate through, the plant is incredibly useful - it can be eaten, woven, used as a rope or even used to make kites. Audio
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Critter of the Week: the devil's coach horse beetle
30 Jun 2023This week's critter is the devil's coach horse beetle, Creophilus oculatus. Despite its ominous common name, this beetle is a helpful member of our corpse fauna - a group that includes all the… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Antarctic midge
23 Jun 2023Thursday June 22 (yesterday) was the shortest day of the year so this week's critter is here to celebrate the cold. Antarctic midges are incredible survivors: they can cope with -15 °C temperatures… Audio
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Critter of the Week: the southern bladderwort
9 Jun 2023This week's critter is the southern bladderwort, Utricularia australis, a carnivorous plant that lives fully submerged in peat bogs. A dramatic decline in population means this species is now… Audio
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Critter of the Week: hura te ao gecko
2 Jun 2023This week's critter is the hura te ao gecko, discovered in 2018 among rocky outcrops high in the mountains of North Otago. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Mata or seashore earwig
26 May 2023This week's critter is the mata or seashore earwig. It lives on coastlines all around Aotearoa and hides under rocks, driftwood and kelp during the day. Audio
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Critter of the Week: koekoea or long-tailed cuckoo
12 May 2023This week we're talking about the koekoea or long-tailed cuckoo (Urodynamis taitensis) - an enigmatic native bird with an elegant long tail, a screeching call and some pretty strange breeding habits.
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Critter of the Week The coral slime mould
21 Apr 2023This week's critter is a species of slime mould that looks like ghostly forest coral. The coral slime mould (Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa) is one of our most distinctive and abundant slime moulds. Audio
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Critter of the Week: 'The Dentures of the Sea'
14 Apr 2023This week's critter was dubbed 'the dentures of the sea' by the NIWA scientists who discovered it lurking on the ocean floor off the Bay of Islands back in 2009. It might look like your grandma's… Audio
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Critter of the Week: the native Southern ant
31 Mar 2023This week's critter is the southern ant (Chelaner antarcticus), the most common and widespread native ant species in Aotearoa. These ants have been known to farm other bugs which they milk for… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The black spined weevil
24 Mar 2023This week's critter is the insect world's answer to punk - the black spined weevil, Scolopterus penicillatus, has a natural shiny leather jacket and four impressive spikes on its back. Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Devil’s fingers fungus
17 Mar 2023This week's critter is a species of stinkhorn fungi that looks (and smells) like the beginning of a zombie apocalypse. The Devil's fingers fungus (Clathrus archeri) sprouts red tentacles out of the… Audio
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Critter of the Week: the strap-toothed whale
10 Mar 2023Critter often highlights lesser-loved and lesser-known mini beasts but there are still some larger mammals out there we don't know much about. One of these species is the strap-toothed whale… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Bluegill bully
3 Mar 2023This week's critter is the bluegill bully (Gobiomorphus hubbsi) - a beautiful native fish that gets its name from the bright blue bands on its gill cover. Bluegill bullies are a threatened species… Audio
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Critter of the Week: NZ vent crab (Gandalfus puia)
24 Feb 2023This week's critter is a crabby geezer who loves a geyser. The NZ vent crab or grumpy Gandalf crab, Gandalfus puia, is an eyeless crustacean that thrives in the toxic, high temperature environment of… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Bug of the Year!
17 Feb 2023After three months of tireless campaigning for the title of Bug of the Year 2023, the votes are in... Our first ever bug champion is the ngaro huruhuru, the native bee Leioproctus fulvescens! Audio
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Critter of the Week: Ngaro tara / Three-lined hoverfly
27 Jan 2023This week's critter is the ngaro tara or three-lined hoverfly, a noisy native species with an important role as a pollinator. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Copper beard orchid
23 Dec 2022The last critter of 2022 is a shy and retiring orchid that's threatened by habitat loss and climate change. The copper beard orchid (Calochilus herbaceous) is a stout orchid with a generous ruby beard… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Harvestman Arachnid
16 Dec 2022This week's critter is the glow-worm hunter harvestman, Forsteropsalis photophaga. These gangly, crab-clawed arachnids live in the Waitomo Caves and subsist exclusively on a diet of glow-worms. Male… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Pot-Bellied Seahorse
9 Dec 2022This week's critter is Aotearoa's only seahorse - the pot-bellied seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis). These elegant and portly creatures hang out in seaweed meadows all around the country, hoovering… Audio
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Critter of the Week: pepe pouri butterfly
2 Dec 2022This week's critter is the pepe pouri / black mountain ringlet butterfly to help celebrate International Mountain Day, which is next Wednesday. Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Water Boatman
18 Nov 2022If you've ever looked at a pond and seen little bugs swimming across the surface, chances are you've seen this week's critter - the water boatman, Sigara arguta. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Bush lawyer / Tātarāmoa
4 Nov 2022Despite its English name, bush lawyer doesn't settle disputes in the back country. Tataramoa (which literally means 'a heap of prickles') hides its many medicinal properties behind a viscous tangle of… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Kitefin Shark
28 Oct 2022This week's critter lives in the twilight zone of the world's largest ecosystem and is the largest glow-in-the-dark vertebrate in the world. The kitefin shark is a powerful and solitary hunter. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Cave Diplurans
21 Oct 2022This weeks' critters are pale, ghostly, long-bodied invertebrates you've probably never heard of, Cave Diplurans. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Barrel shrimp
14 Oct 2022This week's critter has been dubbed a 'monster in a barrel' and a 'sinister squatter.' The barrel shrimp, makes its home out of transparent sea creatures like salps and jellyfish by eating out their… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Marine caddisflies
7 Oct 2022Caddisflies are common to healthy streams and waterways but how not many people know that we also boast some of the only marine caddisflies in the world! Audio
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Critter of the Week: the Kiwi tick
23 Sep 2022We're talking ticks this week on Critter of the Week - specifically, the endangered kiwi tick, Ixodes anatis. Audio
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Critter of the Week: the Kowhai moth
16 Sep 2022This week's critter celebrates the blossoming kowhai that mark the start of spring, the kowhai moth (Uresiphita maorialis). Audio
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Critter of the Week: The blue-eyed triplefin
2 Sep 2022This week's critter is the blue-eyed triplefin - a beautiful little fish with bright blue eyes and candy cane stripes on its body. Audio
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Critter of the Week: The elephant weevil
26 Aug 2022The Elephant weevil, Rhynchodes ursus, is a stumpy little insect covered in velvety-orange fuzz that uses its bulbous rostrum (snout) to lay eggs in native trees. Although the weevil larvae spend… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Blue shark
12 Aug 2022Blue sharks are curious predators found in open oceans throughout the world with the largest numbers here in the Pacific. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Strepsiptera
22 Jul 2022Nicola Toki introduces Jesse to the order of twisted-wing insects known as Strepsiptera; twisted in name, twisted in nature. Audio
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Critter of the Week: The gregarious squat lobster
15 Jul 2022You might have seen this week's critter swarming in the summer, painting the seas and beaches red. We're talking about the gregarious squat lobster (Munida gregaria). Audio
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Critter of the Week: Avatar Moth
8 Jul 2022The Avatar moth takes its name from the 2009 blockbuster movie about a peaceful species who live on an alien moon. But the Avatar moth isn't blue or alien - it's a rare and endangered species of… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Resurrection lichen
17 Jun 2022This week's critter is a true vagabond - it lives its life blowing around in hot, dry lands, going wherever the wind takes it. Famous (amongst lichenologists) for its powers of resurrection, the… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Manawatawhi kaikomako
10 Jun 2022The Manawatawhi kaikomako was once the world's rarest tree - there is still only one living wild tree. Nowadays, the tree is a conservation success story - a combination of matauranga Maori and… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The tongue louse!
3 Jun 2022This week's critter is one of nature's weirdest creatures. The tongue louse (Cymothoidae species) makes its forever home inside the mouth of a hapless host fish, cutting off the tongue and replacing… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Minute Grasshopper
27 May 2022This week's critter is the Minute grasshopper, one of the smallest, cutest and rarest of our endemic grasshoppers. It's a lumbering grasshopper that's great at camouflage and enjoys relaxing in the… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Sea hares
20 May 2022Sea hares are a type of sea slug. But unlike the nudibranchs covered back in 2016, these slugs can get pretty big: around 30cm long! One type of sea hare, known from a 2006 sighting in the Poor… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Hairworms
13 May 2022This week's critter is the Hairworm, also referred to by Nic Toki as the real-life Alien movie creatures! Audio
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Critter of the Week: Slaters
6 May 2022Slaters, or woodlice, are part of the isopod family. They're a type of crustacean - like crabs and crayfish - but they moved from the oceans onto the land millions of years ago. There are probably… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Hoodwinker Sunfish
29 Apr 2022This week's critter is the Hoodwinker Sunfish, a large fish found in the southern waters around New Zealand and South America. They can grow up to 3 metres in length and weigh up to 2 tones. Audio
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Critter of the Week: The broad-cheeked gecko
8 Apr 2022This week's critter is a taonga species on the brink of extinction. The broad-cheeked gecko, Mokoprirakau "Okarito", lives in lush forests and alpine shrublands in South Westland. Audio, Gallery
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Critter of the Week: Shady fishing spider
1 Apr 2022The spider, Dolomedes dondalei, comes out at night to go fishing along shady waterways throughout the country. It can literally walk on water and uses its velvety forelegs to fish up its dinner. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Long-snouted pipefish
25 Mar 2022This week’s critter is a long skinny fish that looks like a ribbon of seaweed. It’s a weak swimmer and hangs out in seaweed meadows around the east coast of Aotearoa. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Mycena roseoflava
18 Mar 2022This week's critter is a native Glow-in-the-dark Mushroom. Last year, the annual Fungal Foray was held on Rakiura Stewart Island. While hunting around in the forest at night, keen amateur and… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Chatham Islands' pleasing fungus beetle
11 Mar 2022This week's critter is 'A pleasing fungus beetle', a secretive and endangered beetle from Rangiauria in the Chatham Islands. We don't know much about the pleasing fungus beetle, Cryptodacne… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Robust Skink
4 Mar 2022Described as a 'sausage with legs', the Robust skink is our largest native lizard species. It's a real beauty with big, dark eyes and rusty colouring but its large body and night-time habits make it… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Land planarians or flatworms
25 Feb 2022Land planarians are found throughout Aotearoa in damp forests. They come in a variety of colours and patterns but many of our unique species are still unknown. They attack unsuspecting prey with… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Prickly king crab
18 Feb 2022The native Prickly king crab, Paralomis zealandica, is one of the least cuddly critters imaginable. It's covered all over in strong rosy spikes and lives in the cold depths of the southern Pacific… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The saltwater mosquito
11 Feb 2022If you got a painful mozzie bite while relaxing at the beach this summer, it might have been a female naeroa or saltwater mosquito (Opifex fuscus) looking for a tasty blood meal. Naeroa are unique to… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Flying Duck Orchid
4 Feb 2022This week's critter is an endangered orchid that looks like a miniature flying duck with a head covered in glossy warts. The flying duck orchid hoodwinks hapless male wasps with a sneaky trapdoor… Audio
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Critter of the Week Dusky Dragonfly
16 Jul 2021This week's critter is the secretive and unusual Dusk Dragonfly that lives only in the untouched forest streams of the North Island. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Lettuce Liverwort
9 Jul 2021This week's critter is the Lettuce Liverwort, which looks just like a frilly green lettuce and is smaller than your thumbnail ! Audio, Gallery
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Critter of the Week The Native landhopper
2 Jul 2021Have you ever noticed the little translucent critters that leap about when you disturb sand at the beach? That's the native landhopper, Makawe hurleyi, sometimes called ‘lawn shrimp’. Audio
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Critter of the Week Southern Elephant Seal
25 Jun 2021The Southern Elephant Seal is one of the top predators in the Southern Ocean. They are enormous beasts: males are 5 to 6 times heavier than females and weigh around 3 and a half tonnes which is… Audio, Gallery
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Critter of the Week: The Mantis Shrimp
11 Jun 2021This week's critter is the Mantis Shrimp. Mantis shrimp are undoubtedly one of the coolest and scariest creatures alive. Nic Toki talks to Jesse about this little marine critter. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Greta Thunberg Freshwater Snail
4 Jun 2021This week's critter is the Greta Thunberg Freshwater Snail. Less than 3mm big and found in a muddy trickle beside the Cobb Valley Road in Kahurangi National Park, this week's critter is a tiny snail… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Spiny Longhorn beetle
28 May 2021This week's critter is the Spiny Longhorn, a rare native beetle found in forests throughout the country. Its larvae burrow into dead trees, chewing their way to the bottom before resurrecting… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Southern Splash-zone Spider
21 May 2021This week's critter is the Southern Splash-zone Spider, which lives in the high tide zone of our rocky southern coasts. Audio
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Critter of the Week Koitareke
14 May 2021The Koitareke, or Marsh Crake, is a small and secretive native bird that we still don’t know a lot about. It lives deep in wetland vegetation and is recognisable by its witchy cackles at dusk and… Audio
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Critter of the Week Waitakere Firedot Lichen
7 May 2021The firedot lichen, Caloplaca allanii, is found only on the Waitakere coastline West of Auckland on old volcanic rocks near the ocean's spray. It is one of six Nationally Critical lichens in Aotearoa.
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Critter of the Week: The Blobfish
30 Apr 2021Voted the world's ugliest animal in 2013, the blobfish is a beloved internet phenomenon. But they look very different underwater. Audio, Gallery
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Critter of the Week Moss Wētā
23 Apr 2021The Green Tokoriro or Moss Wētā is one of Aotearoa’s tiniest and most mysterious species of wētā—many are smaller than 1cm!
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Critter of the Week - Myosotis petiolata
16 Apr 2021This week's critter is the Hawkes Bay Forget-Me-Not. The Hawkes bay forget-me-not, Myosotis petiolata, might be the most endangered plant in the country. There is just one clump of this beautiful… Audio, Gallery
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Critter of the Week: The Cupola Gecko
9 Apr 2021Considered the holy grail of New Zealand herpetology, the Cupola Gecko is so rare that lizard scientists only whisper about it in dark alleyways, wondering if it even exists. Nic Toki talks about this… Audio
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Critter of the Week Glow-in-the-dark snail
26 Mar 2021It's believed to be the world's only bioluminescent freshwater organism. Audio
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Critter of the Week Fishy Pouch Fungus
19 Mar 2021The rare and endangered Fishy Pouch Fungus smells a bit like rotten fish and looks like a pouch. It is only found on Banks Peninsula in native podocarp forest and is the perfect critter to highlight… Audio
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Critter of the Week - The Sinbad Skink
12 Mar 2021In the same valley that Aotearoa's last surviving mainland kākāpō were found in the 1970s, a rare and beautiful species of skink was discovered in 2004. Hanging on to life in the steep, glaciated… Audio, Gallery
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Critter of the Week Lichen tuft moth - Izatha psychra
5 Mar 2021This week's critter is Izatha psychra, a species of lichen tuft moth found only in the Pukaki Scientific Reserve and feared to be extinct after fire ripped through the Reserve last August. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Apterygon okarito
26 Feb 2021This week's critter is the chewing feather louse 'Apterygon okarito', which spends life munching on bits of old feathers and debris. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Dusky Galaxias
19 Feb 2021This week's critter is an incredibly rare and endangered small fish known as the Dusky Galaxias. Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Vegetable Sheep
12 Feb 2021DOC's Nic Toki talks to Jesse about the plant species that looks and feels like a sheep. Audio, Gallery
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Critter of the Week: Sun Orchid, Thelymitra 'Ahipara'
5 Feb 2021This week's critter is a very rare orchid. The Sun Orchid or Thelymitra 'Ahipara' is only found in wetlands in the Far North. Audio
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Critter of the Week - Kupe's grassmoth
29 Jan 2021This week's critter is a mysterious subterranean species of moth. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Unsea lichens
22 Jan 2021This first critter for 2021 has many names, including tree dandruff. DOC's Nic Toki explains to Jesse what Unsea lichens is and how Māori traditionally used it in a very clever way. Audio
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Bookmarks: Nicola Toki
7 Jan 2021Nicola Toki joins Jesse to talk about her favourite books, songs, TV shows and podcasts! Audio
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Critter of the Week - Chatham fat-legged weta
17 Jul 2020DoC's Nicola Toki introduces this week's critter - the Chatham fat-legged weta. Audio, Gallery
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Critter of the Week Tiger beetle
10 Jul 2020Sticking with invertebrates that have charismatic megafauna in their names, this week is the common tiger beetle. Audio
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Critter of the Week Kaeo - Sea Squirt or Sea Tulip
26 Jun 2020Doc's Nicola Toki introduces us to this week's critter is the sea squirt or sea tulip. There common name comes from the fact they look like an odd shaped tulip. Audio
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Critter of the Week: North Otago Black-eyed gecko
5 Jun 2020Erica Wilkinson, DOC's Threatened Species Ambassador is here to introduce us to this week's critter - the North Otago Black-eyed gecko which she says you can't help but fall in love with. Audio
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Critter of the Week The spotted black grouper
29 May 2020This fish can reach lengths of 2m and at least 80kg in weight. Audio
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Critter of the Week: The shortjaw kōkopu
15 May 2020A rare, secretive and seldom seen species of migratory fish. Audio
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Critter of the Week New Zealand Flatworm
8 May 2020Doc's Nicola Toki introduces us to our critter this week - the New Zealand flatworm, a carnivorous terrestrial flatworm! Native to New Zealand, but an invasive species to Europe where they… Audio
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Critter of the Week the Chatham Island pigeon
1 May 2020They are now slowly making a comeback thanks to predator control and habitat protection. Audio
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Critter of the Week Mason Wasp
24 Apr 2020This week Doc's Nicola Toki takes a closer look at the mason wasp. Audio, Gallery
