Wildlife in Thailand in July: What You Will See

Siamese Fighting Fish Occasional Vulnerable

Betta splendens

Thailand's national aquatic animal is a wild rice-paddy fish, and the wild one looks nothing like the trailing-finned pet.

Where: Rice paddies, ditches and marshes of the central plain around Ayutthaya and Bueng Boraphet. Best: Jun-Oct wet season, when paddies flood. Look in shallow warm water with plant cover. Wild fish are drab, not the pet-shop version.

Asian Tree Toad Rare

Rentapia hosii

A toad that lives in the canopy, and the females are bright yellow and purple while the males stay plain brown.

Where: Streamside trees in southern lowland rainforest; Khao Sok and Hala-Bala. Best: May-Oct, at night. Arboreal, so search trunks and branches rather than the ground.

Thai Crocodile Newt Rare

Tylototriton uyenoi

Thailand's only newt, restricted to a handful of cool mountain pools in the north, and it looks like a small armoured dragon.

Where: Cool montane pools and ditches in the north; Doi Inthanon, Doi Suthep and Chiang Dao above 1,000 m. Best: May-Aug, during the rains. Thailand's only newt and a national endemic. CITES listed; never collect.

Bridled Tern Occasional

Onychoprion anaethetus

Spends most of the year entirely at sea, feeding on fish driven to the surface by tuna hunting below.

Where: Rocky islets and offshore waters on both coasts; Similans, Surin and Koh Tao. Best: Apr-Sep breeding season. Boat trips to outer island groups. Nests under scrub on islets.

Green Cascade Frog Occasional

Odorrana chloronota

Lives in the spray of waterfalls and calls in ultrasound, above the range of human hearing, to beat the noise of the water.

Where: Waterfall splash zones in northern hill forest; Doi Inthanon, Doi Suthep and Doi Chiang Dao. Best: May-Sep, at night. On wet rock in the spray. The ultrasonic call is inaudible to us.

Kuhl's Creek Frog Occasional

Limnonectes kuhlii

Males grow tusk-like projections from the lower jaw and use them to wrestle rivals in the stream.

Where: Gravel edges of shaded hill streams in the north and west; Doi Inthanon and Kaeng Krachan. Best: May-Sep, at night. Half-submerged against gravel. Check breeding males for jaw tusks.

Malayan Giant Toad Occasional

Phrynoidis asper

The biggest toad in Southeast Asia, and it sits in the spray zone of waterfalls where nothing can hear it call.

Where: Splash zones of waterfalls and fast streams; Khao Sok, Kaeng Krachan and the peninsula. Best: May-Oct, at night. Look on wet rock in the spray, not on the bank.

Red-tailed Pipe Snake Occasional

Cylindrophis ruffus

When threatened it hides its head and raises its blunt tail instead, flashing bright red underneath as a decoy.

Where: Damp lowland soil, paddies and gardens countrywide. Best: May-Oct, after rain. Harmless. If it raises its tail, that is the false head display.

Sunbeam Snake Occasional

Xenopeltis unicolor

Looks plain brown until light hits it, when the scales split the light into a full oil-slick rainbow.

Where: Paddies, gardens and damp lowland ground countrywide. Best: May-Oct, on wet roads after dark. The iridescence needs direct light. Worth a torch beam from the side.

Climbing Perch Regular

Anabas testudineus

A fish that walks out of the water and hauls itself overland on its gill covers, sometimes for hours.

Where: Paddies, roadside ditches and marshes countrywide. Best: Jun-Oct, on the ground after heavy rain. The overland walk happens after dark following rain.

Giant Snakehead Regular

Channa micropeltes

A metre-long ambush predator that guards its young in a red cloud of fry, and will charge anything that comes near them.

Where: Reservoirs and large canals countrywide; Khao Laem, Srinakarin and Bueng Boraphet. Best: Mar-Jul, when fry balls are visible. Watch for a dense orange cloud of fry at the surface with two adults beneath.

White-lipped Frog Regular

Chalcorana labialis

A clean white stripe along the upper lip, and a call like two stones being tapped together.

Where: Rocks and vegetation beside clear forest streams in the south; Khao Sok and Hala-Bala. Best: May-Oct, at night. Often the dominant sound along southern forest streams after dark.

Copper-cheeked Frog Common

Chalcorana eschatia

Its eyes throw back a brilliant copper shine in torchlight, which is usually how you find it before you see the frog.

Where: Streamside vegetation in southern lowland forest; Khao Sok and Hala-Bala. Best: May-Oct, at night. Sweep a torch along the bank and look for pairs of copper points.

Dark-sided Chorus Frog Common

Microhyla heymonsi

A pale hairline stripe runs the full length of its back, and a pair of dark spots on it mimic eyes at the wrong end.

Where: Shallow standing water in paddies and forest puddles countrywide. Best: May-Oct, at night. Check the fine cream line down the spine to separate it from its relatives.

Ornate Narrow-mouthed Frog Common

Microhyla fissipes

Smaller than a thumbnail, and after rain a paddy full of them produces a rasping chorus you can hear a kilometre away.

Where: Paddies, ditches and gardens countrywide. Best: May-Oct, after rain. Easy to hear, very hard to see. Follow the rasping chorus.

Walking Catfish Common

Clarias batrachus

On wet nights whole fields of these wriggle overland between pools, snaking along on their pectoral spines.

Where: Canals, paddies and swamps countrywide. Best: Jun-Oct wet season, at night. Wet nights on paddy tracks are the time to look.

Cobalt Blue Tarantula Rare

Cyriopagopus lividus

An electric metallic blue that is not pigment at all but nanostructures in the hair, and it almost never leaves its burrow.

Where: Burrows on humid forest floor; western and southern forest, Kanchanaburi and the peninsula. Best: May-Oct. A torch on the burrow mouth is what shows the blue. Do not provoke.

Leaf Insect Rare

Phyllium siccifolium

Mimicry so complete that the abdomen carries fake leaf veins, brown edge damage, and even bite marks it never received.

Where: Understorey foliage in lowland rainforest; Khao Sok and the southern peninsula. Best: May-Oct. Almost always found by accident. Look for a leaf that is rocking out of time.

Malayan Jungle Nymph Rare

Heteropteryx dilatata

The heaviest insect in Southeast Asia, and when cornered she hisses, rears up and slams spined hind legs together like a bear trap.

Where: Lowland rainforest of the far south; Hala-Bala and Bang Lang. Best: May-Oct. Southern peninsula only. Females are unmistakable.

Net-casting Spider Rare

Deinopis sp.

Holds a stretchy web between its front legs and throws it over prey like a gladiator with a net.

Where: Understorey twigs in lowland rainforest; Khao Sok, Kaeng Krachan and the south. Best: May-Oct, strictly at night. Look for a twig with a small white net. Invisible by day.

Regal Crab Rare

Thaiphusa sirikit

Purple, white and scarlet, found in a handful of Thai streams and nowhere else on earth.

Where: Forest streams and waterfalls in the west; Kanchanaburi and Tak provinces. Best: May-Jul, at the start of the rains. A Thai endemic with a tiny range. Look under rocks near waterfalls.

Segmented Trapdoor Spider Rare

Liphistius sp.

The most primitive spiders alive, with a visibly segmented abdomen, essentially unchanged for 300 million years.

Where: Shaded earth banks and cave-mouth walls on limestone; Krabi, Kanchanaburi and Khao Sam Roi Yot. Best: May-Oct, at night. Find the trapdoor and radiating silk lines rather than the spider.

Violin Beetle Rare

Mormolyce phyllodes

Flattened to the thickness of paper so it can hunt inside the gills of bracket fungi, and shaped exactly like a violin.

Where: Bracket fungi on rotting logs in lowland rainforest; Khao Sok and the southern peninsula. Best: May-Oct. Night walks. Check large shelf fungi on fallen trunks. Do not handle.

Dead Leaf Mantis Occasional

Deroplatys desiccata

Indistinguishable from a curled brown leaf right down to the fungal blotches and torn edges, and it sways as if in a breeze.

Where: Leaf litter and low vegetation in lowland forest; Khao Sok and Khao Yai. Best: May-Oct. Night walks. Torchlight picks up the eyeshine.

Giant Dung Beetle Occasional

Heliocopris bucephalus

Arrives at fresh elephant dung within minutes, and buries a ball of it half a metre down before dawn.

Where: Dry forest with large herbivores; Huai Kha Khaeng, Kui Buri and Khao Yai. Best: May-Oct, at night. Find fresh elephant or gaur dung after dark and wait.

Giraffe Stag Beetle Occasional

Prosopocoilus giraffa

The longest stag beetle in the world, with jaws nearly as long as the rest of it, used to lever rivals off a tree.

Where: Sap runs and lit buildings at forest edges; Khao Yai, Kaeng Krachan and the north. Best: Apr-Aug. Comes to lights. Also check fermenting fruit and sap-oozing trunks.

Long-horned Orb-weaver Occasional

Macracantha arcuata

Two curved spines rise from its back several times longer than the spider itself, and nobody is entirely sure why.

Where: Shaded understorey trails at head height; Khao Sok, Khao Yai and Kaeng Krachan. Best: May-Oct. Tiny body, enormous horns. Look along webs at eye level.

Mango Longhorn Beetle Occasional

Batocera rufomaculata

Antennae twice the length of its body, and it squeaks audibly when picked up by grinding its thorax.

Where: Forest edge, orchards and lodge lights countrywide. Best: Mar-Aug. Comes to lights. Squeaks loudly if picked up.

Painted Tree Snail Occasional

Amphidromus atricallosus

A tree snail that comes in both left and right handed shells, sometimes within a single population, which is almost unheard of.

Where: Lowland and hill forest trunks and low branches; Khao Yai, Khao Sok and Kaeng Krachan. Best: May-Oct, after rain. Night walks after rain are best. Look on smooth trunks at eye level.

Whip Scorpion Occasional

Thelyphonus caudatus

Sprays a fine mist of concentrated acetic acid from the base of its tail, which is why it is also called the vinegaroon.

Where: Under logs and stones in lowland forest; Khao Sok, Khao Yai and the peninsula. Best: May-Oct, at night. A smell of vinegar in the leaf litter often means one is close.

Giant Water Bug Regular

Lethocerus indicus

Big enough to kill a frog or a small snake, and its bite is rated among the most painful an insect can inflict.

Where: Paddies, ponds and marshes countrywide; also at lights near water. Best: May-Oct. Sold live in every market. Painful bite if handled.

Tiger Leech Common

Haemadipsa picta

Waits on leaf tips with one end waving, detecting your breath and body heat from a metre away.

Where: Wet lowland and hill rainforest; Khao Sok, Kaeng Krachan, Khao Yai and Hala-Bala. Best: May-Oct wet season. Leech socks and a fingernail, not salt or a lighter.

Giant Asian Pond Turtle Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Heosemys grandis

The largest hard-shelled freshwater turtle in mainland Southeast Asia, and it is being eaten out of existence.

Where: Protected swamps and slow streams; Bueng Boraphet, Thale Noi and western sanctuaries. Best: Year round. Collapsing under trade pressure. Wild encounters are now very rare.

Giant Barb Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Catlocarpio siamensis

The world's largest carp, a bronze slab of a fish with a head so big it looks borrowed from something else.

Where: Deep pools of the Mekong and Chao Phraya; Bueng Boraphet and large reservoirs. Best: Year round. Thailand's national fish and functionally extinct in the wild.

Largetooth Sawfish Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Pristis pristis

A seven metre ray with a chainsaw for a nose, and almost certainly gone from Thai waters.

Where: Historically the Gulf, the Andaman coast and the lower Chao Phraya. Best: No current season; no reliable records for decades. Very likely regionally extinct. Include it as a record of what Thailand has lost.

Masked Finfoot Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Heliopais personatus

One of the rarest birds in Asia, perhaps a hundred left, and Thailand may already have lost it.

Where: Historically quiet forested waterways and mangrove creeks; no reliable recent records. Best: No current season. Very likely lost from Thailand. Included as an honest record of what has gone.

Redtail Sharkminnow Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Epalzeorhynchos bicolor

A jet black fish with a blood-red tail, found nowhere on earth but one Thai river system, and thought extinct for twenty five years.

Where: A few remaining clear streams of the Chao Phraya basin. Best: Year round. A Thai endemic once declared extinct in the wild. Handle claims carefully.

Whitespotted Wedgefish Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Rhynchobatus australiae

Its fins are the single most valuable in the global shark fin trade, which is why it has all but disappeared.

Where: Sand beside reef on both coasts; historically the Gulf and Andaman shelf. Best: Year round. Critically endangered. Large individuals are effectively gone.

Asian Giant Softshell Turtle Very rare Critically Endangered

Pelochelys cantorii

A huge, frog faced softshell that buries itself in river mud and surfaces to breathe only twice a day.

Where: A few remote lowland rivers and protected wetlands. Best: Rare, any time. Buried on river bottoms and Critically Endangered; a truly exceptional sighting.

Chinese Pangolin Very rare Critically Endangered

Manis pentadactyla

The northern cousin of the Sunda pangolin, more of a burrower, and just as devastated by the illegal trade.

Where: Hill forest of the north. Best: Night. A northern burrower, Critically Endangered; exceptionally rarely seen.

Gurney's Pitta Very rare Critically Endangered

Hydrornis gurneyi

A gorgeous blue-crowned pitta once thought extinct, rediscovered in Thailand and now teetering on the very edge.

Where: Khao Nor Chuchi (Krabi), historically. Best: Rains, at dawn. Rediscovered in Thailand in the 1980s but now considered functionally extinct here; survives in Myanmar.

Siamese Crocodile Very rare Critically Endangered

Crocodylus siamensis

A freshwater crocodile once thought nearly extinct in the wild, now clinging on in a few remote Thai wetlands.

Where: A few remote protected wetlands, Kaeng Krachan area rivers. Best: Rare, any time. All but extinct in the wild; survives in a handful of remote protected waters.

Sunda Pangolin Very rare Critically Endangered

Manis javanica

A living pine cone of a mammal, armoured in scales and, tragically, the most trafficked wild animal on the planet.

Where: Lowland and hill forest nationwide. Best: Night. Critically Endangered and heavily poached; a sighting is extraordinary.

Elongated Tortoise Rare Critically Endangered

Indotestudo elongata

A forest tortoise whose pale head flushes pink around the eyes and nose in the breeding season.

Where: Deciduous and evergreen forest, Huai Kha Khaeng, Khao Yai. Best: Rainy season. Most active in the wet season; a scarce and declining forest tortoise.

Helmeted Hornbill Rare Critically Endangered

Rhinoplax vigil

A hornbill with a solid ivory casque, hunted to the brink for carving, whose call sounds like maniacal laughter.

Where: Hala Bala, Budo-Sungai Padi (deep south). Best: Year round, tall rainforest. Confined to the far southern rainforests; critically endangered and hard to find.

Straw-headed Bulbul Rare Critically Endangered

Pycnonotus zeylanicus

A large riverside bulbul with a glorious bubbling song that has, tragically, made it one of the most trapped birds in Asia.

Where: Dense riverside thickets of the south, protected wetlands. Best: Year round. Critically Endangered from song-bird trapping; now only a few protected pockets.

Asian Arowana Ultra rare Endangered

Scleropages formosus

A living dragon that hunts at the surface and can launch clear of the water to take insects off overhanging branches.

Where: Blackwater swamps and slow rivers of the far south, notably around Toh Daeng peat swamp. Best: Year round. Wild fish are almost never seen. CITES Appendix I.

Big-headed Turtle Very rare Endangered

Platysternon megacephalum

A bizarre stream turtle with a head too big to pull in and a tail nearly as long as its shell, which climbs trees.

Where: Cool fast hill streams of the north and west. Best: Night, cooler months. A nocturnal stream specialist and rare find; look in clear rocky headwaters.

Hairy-nosed Otter Very rare Endangered

Lutra sumatrana

One of the rarest otters on Earth, so seldom seen it was once feared extinct across its range.

Where: Peat swamps and coastal wetlands of the south. Best: Day and dusk. Extremely rare; among the least-known otters in the world.

Indochinese Tiger Very rare Endangered

Panthera tigris

The largest cat in Asia and its top predator, a striped ghost most people only ever know from a paw print.

Where: Huai Kha Khaeng, Thung Yai, Kaeng Krachan. Best: Dry season, dawn and dusk. Realistically camera-trap territory; the Western Forest Complex is the last stronghold.

Otter Civet Very rare Endangered

Cynogale bennettii

A bizarre, otter-like civet built for water, with closable nostrils and a face full of whiskers.

Where: Lowland swamps and stream forest of the south. Best: Night. One of the least-seen carnivores; tied to vanishing wetland forest.

Banteng Rare Endangered

Bos javanicus

A sleek wild ox with a white rump patch and white stockings, far rarer and more elegant than the domestic cattle it resembles.

Where: Dry forest and clearings, Huai Kha Khaeng, Kui Buri. Best: Dawn and dusk. Thailand holds key populations; watch glades and salt licks at first and last light.

Black Marsh Turtle Rare Endangered

Siebenrockiella crassicollis

Two pale patches above the eyes give it a permanently startled expression, which is why Thais call it the smiling terrapin.

Where: Muddy ponds, canals and marshes of the central plain. Best: Year round, at dusk. Also seen at temple ponds, but those are released animals, not wild ones.

Eld's Deer (Brow-antlered Deer) Rare Endangered

Rucervus eldii

An elegant deer whose antlers sweep forward in a great bow, a grassland specialist now clinging on in a few reserves.

Where: Dry forest and grassland, Huai Kha Khaeng and reserves. Best: Dawn and dusk. Survives mainly through protected and reintroduced herds; note the bowed antlers.

Hog Deer Rare Endangered

Axis porcinus

A stocky grassland deer that runs head-down like a hog through tall grass rather than leaping like other deer.

Where: Floodplain grassland and wetland reserves. Best: Dawn and dusk. Now restricted to a few protected grasslands; runs low through the grass.

Indo-Pacific Horseshoe Crab Rare Endangered

Tachypleus gigas

Not a crab at all, closer to a spider, and its blue blood is used worldwide to test every injectable drug for contamination.

Where: Quiet sandy and muddy shores; the inner Gulf, Ranong and Trang. Best: Spawning on spring tides around the full and new moon. Completely harmless. Right an upended animal by the shell, never the tail.

Malayan Tapir Rare Endangered

Tapirus indicus

A living oddity, half jet black and half stark white, that looks assembled from spare parts.

Where: Kaeng Krachan, Hala Bala, Khao Luang (Krung Ching). Best: Night, near forest streams. The deep south (Hala Bala) and Krung Ching hold the best chances.

Milky Stork Rare Endangered

Mycteria cinerea

A rare, ghostly white stork of the mangroves, its bare face flushing from yellow to red in the breeding season.

Where: Coastal mangroves and estuaries of the Gulf and south. Best: Year round. A scarce mangrove stork; watch tidal flats and estuaries, distinguish from painted stork.

Phayre's Leaf Monkey Rare Endangered

Trachypithecus phayrei

A grey langur with bold white spectacles around its eyes, a leaf specialist of the northern and western forests.

Where: Hill and evergreen forest of the north and west. Best: Year round, day. A scarce langur; look for the pale spectacle markings in the canopy.

Sicklefin Lemon Shark Rare Endangered

Negaprion acutidens

A heavy, yellow-brown shark that uses mangrove shallows as a nursery and barely moves out of them for the first years of life.

Where: Mangrove-fringed shallow bays; Ao Phang Nga, Ranong and parts of Trang. Best: Year round. Very shallow water. Site-faithful, so local knowledge matters.

Sunda Slow Loris Rare Endangered

Nycticebus coucang

A wide-eyed nocturnal primate of the far south with a rare and startling trick: it is one of the world's few venomous mammals.

Where: Southern rainforest, Khao Sok and the peninsula. Best: Night. A night-walk prize; scan the canopy for eyeshine and slow, deliberate movement.

Bengal Slow Loris Occasional Endangered

Nycticebus bengalensis

The only venomous primate on Earth, huge eyed and slow motion, with a toxic bite armed from glands on its arms.

Where: Khao Yai, Kaeng Krachan, southern forests. Best: Night, spotlighting in canopy. Night safaris that spotlight the canopy give the best chance of eyeshine.

Bowmouth Guitarfish Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Rhina ancylostomus

Half shark, half ray, with ridges of thorns above the eyes that look like a set of eyebrows.

Where: Sand adjacent to reef in the outer Andaman; Similans and the Burma Banks. Best: Nov-Apr. Exceptional now. Log any sighting with a local operator.

Great Hammerhead Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Sphyrna mokarran

Uses the flat of its head to pin a stingray to the seabed, then bites chunks out of the wing.

Where: Deep outer Andaman pinnacles; Hin Daeng, Hin Muang and the Burma Banks. Best: Feb-Apr. The very tall sickle dorsal fin is what people remember.

Jullien's Golden Carp Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Probarbus jullieni

A gold and black striped river carp that gathers at the same gravel bars each cold season to spawn, which is exactly why it is nearly gone.

Where: Deep runs of the Mekong in Nong Khai and Ubon Ratchathani provinces. Best: Dec-Jan spawning run. Spawning aggregations are the species' great vulnerability.

Mekong Giant Catfish Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Pangasianodon gigas

The largest scaleless freshwater fish on earth, a three metre catfish that has all but vanished from the river it is named after.

Where: The wild Mekong along the Chiang Rai and Nong Khai stretches; realistically, stocked fish at Bung Sam Ran and temple ponds. Best: Apr-Jun for the historic Mekong run. Wild fish are all but gone. Be clear that a fishing-park giant is not a wild sighting.

Scalloped Hammerhead Ultra rare Critically Endangered

Sphyrna lewini

The head is a sensory antenna, packed with electroreceptors that can find a ray buried under sand.

Where: Deep Andaman pinnacles and the Burma Banks; occasionally Hin Daeng and Richelieu Rock. Best: Feb-Apr. Numbers have collapsed. Report any sighting to local operators.

Giant Guitarfish Rare Critically Endangered

Glaucostegus typus

A strange shark-ray hybrid in shape, part flattened ray at the front and part shark behind, and one of the most threatened fish in the sea.

Where: Andaman sandy flats near reefs. Best: Dive season, Nov-Apr. A Critically Endangered species; sandy-bottom sightings are exceptional.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper Rare Critically Endangered

Calidris pygmaea

One of the world's rarest and most charismatic shorebirds, tiny and armed with an unmistakable spatula bill.

Where: Pak Thale, Laem Pak Bia (Inner Gulf). Best: Nov-Mar (winter). Pak Thale in the Inner Gulf is arguably the best place on earth to see one in winter.

Giant Clam Occasional Critically Endangered

Tridacna gigas

The largest shellfish on Earth, a metre-wide clam that farms algae in its own rippling, jewel-coloured flesh.

Where: Similan, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, shallow reefs. Best: Dive and snorkel season, Nov-Apr. Large individuals embedded in the reef; now Critically Endangered and treasured.

Hawksbill Turtle Occasional Critically Endangered

Eretmochelys imbricata

The reef's sponge specialist, its beautiful shell also the reason it was hunted to the edge.

Where: Similan, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, coral reefs. Best: Dive season, Nov-Apr. Watch for it threading coral crevices for sponges on healthy reefs.

Chambered Nautilus Ultra rare Endangered

Nautilus pompilius

A living fossil that has kept the same shell design for 500 million years and steers by pumping gas between chambers.

Where: Deep Andaman drop-offs beyond recreational depth; occasionally on very deep night dives. Best: Nov-Apr. Effectively out of reach of sport diving. Empty shells wash up after storms.

Giant Freshwater Stingray Ultra rare Endangered

Urogymnus polylepis

The largest freshwater fish on earth by some measures, a two metre disc carrying a 38 cm barb.

Where: Deep channels of the Maeklong, Bang Pakong and Mekong rivers. Best: Nov-Feb, clearer low water. Handled only by research teams. The Maeklong die-off in 2016 was a major setback.

Pelagic Thresher Ultra rare Endangered

Alopias pelagicus

Hunts by cracking its tail like a whip over its own head, stunning several fish at once with the shockwave.

Where: Deep Andaman pinnacles at dawn; Hin Daeng and Hin Muang cleaning stations. Best: Feb-Apr, first dive of the day. Only realistic on an early morning deep dive at a cleaning station.

Far Eastern Curlew Rare Endangered

Numenius madagascariensis

The longest bill of any wader in the world, curved like a sickle and used to reach crabs deep in the mud.

Where: Inner Gulf and Andaman mudflats; Pak Thale and Ranong. Best: Sep-Apr. Check for the very long bill and the absence of a white rump.

Humphead Wrasse (Napoleon Wrasse) Rare Endangered

Cheilinus undulatus

A giant, curious reef fish with thick lips and a bulging forehead, able to crunch prey that few other animals can eat.

Where: Similan, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, outer reefs. Best: Dive season, Nov-Apr. A large curious individual approaching is a highlight; now scarce and Endangered.

Nordmann's Greenshank Rare Endangered

Tringa guttifer

One of the world's rarest waders, a stocky greenshank that winters on Thai mudflats among thousands of commoner shorebirds.

Where: Inner Gulf mudflats and southern coasts. Best: Winter visitor, Nov-Mar. One of the world's rarest waders; winters on the Gulf flats with spoon-billed sandpiper.

Pineapple Sea Cucumber Rare Endangered

Thelenota ananas

A metre-long sea cucumber covered in star-shaped spikes, and one of the most valuable animals per kilo in Asian seafood.

Where: Reef slopes in the Andaman; Similans, Surin and Koh Lipe. Best: Nov-Apr. Once common, now scarce. A good illustration of quiet overharvest.

Shortfin Devil Ray Rare Endangered

Mobula kuhlii

A manta in miniature that leaps clear of the water and lands flat, sometimes dozens at a time.

Where: Open water off the Andaman coast; liveaboard crossings and Hin Daeng. Best: Nov-Apr. Look for breaching schools. Mouth under the head, not at the front, separates it from a manta.

Whale Shark Rare Endangered

Rhincodon typus

The biggest fish in the ocean, a spotted, bus sized filter feeder and the undisputed holy grail of tropical diving.

Where: Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai, Hin Daeng, Phi Phi. Best: Feb-Apr, Andaman dive sites. Richelieu Rock and Koh Tachai are the classic seasonal hotspots.

Giant Manta Ray Occasional Endangered

Mobula birostris

The largest ray on the planet, an ocean wanderer that can span seven metres and loops through plankton clouds in slow somersaults.

Where: Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, Koh Bon and Koh Tachai area. Best: Peak Feb-Apr. The Andaman's marquee dive; manta season peaks in the late dry months.

Great Knot Occasional Endangered

Calidris tenuirostris

Flies from Siberia to Australia with a single refuelling stop, and losing that one mudflat has nearly finished the species.

Where: Inner Gulf mudflats; Pak Thale, Laem Phak Bia and Bang Pu. Best: Sep-Apr, peaks on passage. Same flats as the spoon-billed sandpiper. Scan flocks carefully.

Grey Reef Shark Occasional Endangered

Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos

The classic requiem shark of the drop-off, bold and inquisitive where currents sweep the reef.

Where: Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, Similan outer reefs and channels. Best: Dive season, Nov-Apr. Best at current-swept walls and channels of the outer Andaman sites.

Ocellated Eagle Ray Occasional Endangered

Aetobatus ocellatus

A dramatic ray that flies through open water on wings spangled with white spots, trailing a whip-like venomous tail.

Where: Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, Similan drop-offs. Best: Dive season, Nov-Apr. Watch the blue water off walls and sand flats for its soaring flight.

Zebra Shark (Leopard Shark) Occasional Endangered

Stegostoma tigrinum

A gentle, spotted shark that lies on the sand like a giant lazy cat, striped as a pup and spotted as an adult.

Where: Similan, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, sandy patches. Best: Dive season, Nov-Apr. Look for it resting on sand between coral heads; harmless and photogenic.

Asian Elephant Regular Endangered

Elephas maximus

The largest land animal in Asia, and a genuinely wild one is worth seeking out over the camp elephants most tourists meet.

Where: Khao Yai, Kui Buri, Kaeng Krachan. Best: Dry season (Nov-Apr), dawn and dusk. Kui Buri offers Thailand's most reliable wild herds, grazing grasslands at dusk.

Green Sea Turtle Regular Endangered

Chelonia mydas

The great grazing turtle of the tropics, the only sea turtle that turns vegetarian as an adult.

Where: Similan, Trang and Koh Libong, southern reefs and seagrass. Best: Dive season, Nov-Apr. The turtle most often seen by divers, grazing seagrass and resting on reefs.