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Carnegiea gigantea f. cristata is a crested mutation of the standard Saguaro cactus, native to the Sonoran Desert. While a typical Saguaro grows as a single tall, vertical column, this rare botanical form exhibits abnormal, fan-shaped or undulating growth patterns due to a mutation in the plant's ap...
Parasaurolophus walkeri is a species of large herbivorous hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of western North America. It is distinguished by a long, hollow cranial crest extending backward from the skull, with internal passages connected to the respiratory tract. Research has examined th...
The Hooded Merganser is a North American waterfowl species belonging to the Anseriformes order. It’s notable for the male's prominent, adjustable crest, used in displays and potentially for regulating body temperature. Primarily a fish predator, it’s commonly found near rivers, streams, and coastal...
Pteranodon longiceps is a large toothless pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of central North America, especially deposits of the Niobrara Chalk formed beneath the Western Interior Seaway. It had an elongated cranial crest, a long pointed beak, and forelimbs modified into wings supported by an exten...
The brain cactus, scientifically known as Mammillaria elongata cristata, is a mutated variant of the Mammillaria elongata cactus native to the rocky environments of central Mexico. It is characterized by a botanical condition called fasciation, causing the stems to grow in a tight, convoluted, and u...
Oviraptor philoceratops was a small oviraptorosaurian theropod described by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1924 from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Its type specimen, AMNH 6517, was found above a nest that was initially attributed to the ceratopsian Protoceratops, inspiring the misleading name meaning...
The Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus) inhabits Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles, with males bearing a prominent green crest.
Tapejara wellnhoferi is a toothless tapejarid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous deposits of northeastern Brazil. Alexander Kellner named the species in 1989, and its fossils are distinguished by an unusually elaborate cranial crest that included both bony and soft-tissue structures. The crest is c...
Guanlong wucaii was a small, early tyrannosauroid theropod that lived in what is now northwestern China during the Late Jurassic, about 160 million years ago. It is distinguished by a large, thin crest along the top of its skull, a structure generally interpreted as ornamental rather than suited to...
The Southern Rockhopper Penguin is a small, flightless seabird recognized by its yellow and black crest feathers and red eyes. Unlike other penguin species, it navigates steep, rocky terrains by hopping rather than sliding or waddling. It breeds in large, noisy colonies on sub-Antarctic islands, pri...
A slender crested newt (Triturus dobrogicus) native to the Danube basin in central and southeastern Europe, distinguished from congeners by its notably elongated body and relatively low breeding crest.
The coxcomb prominent moth (*Ptilodon capucina*) is a European Notodontidae species identifiable by a large, raised tuft of hair on its thorax and irregularly shaped wings ending in a notch.
The macaroni penguin is a large, crested penguin species recognized by its distinctive orange and yellow head plumes. It was named by 18th-century English sailors who likened the bird's bright crest to the "macaroni" fashion trend of the era. Found primarily in subantarctic regions, it is currently...
The Crested Duck is a South American waterfowl species easily identifiable by the distinctive, elongated feathers forming a drooping crest at the back of its head. Found in Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, this diving duck inhabits lakes, marshes, and sheltered coastal waters. The species...
The Southern Crested Newt (Triturus karelinii) is a large-bodied amphibian belonging to the family Salamandridae. It is native to a broad geographic range extending from the Balkan Peninsula through Anatolia and into the Caucasus region. Like other crested newts, breeding males develop a pronounced,...
The Italian Crested Newt (Triturus carnifex) is a large amphibian native to southern and central Europe, with populations concentrated in Italy and the western Balkans. During the breeding season, males develop a prominent, smooth-edged dorsal crest and exhibit striking black and white mottling on t...
An abelisaurid from the Lameta Formation of Gujarat, India, described in 2003; among the most completely known large theropods from the Indian subcontinent.
Proceratosaurus bradleyi is a Middle Jurassic tyrannosauroid from England, originally misclassified as a ceratosaur but now recognized as an early member of Tyrannosauroidea.
Eudyptes atatu is an extinct species of crested penguin whose fossils were discovered in New Zealand and formally described in 2019. The specific epithet "atatu" is derived from the Māori word for dawn, reflecting its evolutionary position as an early ancestor within the Eudyptes genus. It lived dur...
The Balkan crested newt (Triturus ivanbureschi) is a species of salamander formally described in 2013. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula and parts of western Turkey, inhabiting various temperate forests, Mediterranean shrublands, and freshwater wetlands. Previously classified within the Triturus...
Described by Thunberg in 1815, the Three-crested Grasshopper is an Old World species recognized by the three distinct ridges on its thorax and its habitat preferences.
A crested penguin found on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island in the South Atlantic, recognized as a distinct species from the Southern Rockhopper since around 2006.
A crested penguin endemic to Macquarie Island, Australia, closely related to the Macaroni Penguin but distinguished by its white rather than black face.
A crested rockhopper penguin breeding on Indian Ocean sub-Antarctic islands including Kerguelen, Crozet, and Prince Edward Islands, sometimes called the Moseley's Rockhopper.
Cockscomb is an edible ornamental plant native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia, uniquely notable for its tightly crested, brain-like flower heads that mimic a rooster's comb.
A crested penguin endemic to New Zealand's Fiordland coast and Stewart Island, listed as Vulnerable and notable for breeding in temperate rainforest.
A crested penguin endemic to The Snares islands of New Zealand, distinguished by bare pink skin at the bill base and forming dense forest-floor colonies.
A crested penguin breeding on New Zealand's Bounty and Antipodes Islands, unique among penguins for its ability to raise and lower its yellow crest feathers.
Extinct crested penguin from South America, known from Neogene deposits and an early fossil representative of the crested penguin genus Eudyptes.
