Jouan & Rius / Living Stone plants {Lithops sp} in Namib desert, Namibia

Chris Mattison / Living stone plant (Lithops dorotheae) one of the 'living stones' plants, in cultivation. It is in transitional stage, with the old leaves withering and new ones emerging. Native to South Afri...

Chris Mattison / Endemic Stone plant (Argyroderma delaetii) with one new and one old seedpod, growing among quartz pebbles in the Knersvlakte, Western Cape, South Africa

Chris Mattison / Endemic Stone plant (Argyroderma delaetii) also known as Bababoudjes (Babies' bottoms), growing among quartz pebbles in the Knersvlakte, Western Cape, South Africa

Chris Mattison / Endemic succulents Oophytum nanum and Argyroderma delaetii growing among quartz pebbles in the Knersvlakte, Western Cape, South Africa, where they are endemic

Chris Mattison / Succulent Argyroderma fissum, growing among quartz pebbles in the Knersvlakte, Western Cape, South Africa

Chris Mattison / Vingervygie (Argyroderma fissum), Knersvlakte region, Namaqualand, South Africa

Chris Mattison / Endemic Stone plant (Argyroderma delaetii), also known as Bababoudjes (Babies' bottoms), growing among quartz pebbles in the Knersvlakte, Western Cape, South Africa

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Stac Pollaidh, with Cul Beag and Cul Mor in background. View north from Sgurr an Fhidhleir, Coigach and Assynt Living Landscape, Wester Ross, Scotland, UK, November 2016

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Stac Pollaidh, with Cul Beag and Cul Mor in background, in evening light. View north from Sgurr an Fhidhleir, Coigach and Assynt Living Landscape, Wester Ross, Scotland, UK, November 2016

Alex Hyde / Beetle (Leptodirus hochenwartii) walking across a flow stone. This beetle is a troglobite, living only in caves and is endemic to certain karstic caves in the western Dinaric Alps. Slovenia, March.

Emanuele Biggi / Stone plant (Lithops gracilidentata) in desert habitat, Namibia

Chris Mattison / Stone plant (Lithops pseudotruncatella) with new leaves forcing their way through the previous year's. Cultivated plant from Namibia.

Chris Mattison / Truncate stone plant (Lithops pseudotruncata) in flower. Cultivated plant

Chris Mattison / Living stone plant flower (Lithops fulviceps "aurea") cultivated plant native to South Africa. Focus-stacked image.

Chris Mattison / Surface of Stone plant (Lithops fulviceps) at high magnification.

Chris Mattison / Living stone plant (Lithops pseudotruncatella) with new leaves bursting through the dried up leaves of last year, and ripe seed capsule. Cultivated species, occurs in South Africa.

LYNN M. STONE / Close up view of Red abalone shell (Haliotis rufescens) photo shows three apertures / holes that living abalone had used for water exchange and the shell reveals the mother of pearl, or nacre, surface...

Jouan & Rius / Living Stone plants {Lithops sp} in Namib desert, Namibia

Martin Gabriel / Flowering Living Stone (Lithops sp) a succulent family native to Southern africa

Paul D Stewart / Illustration of extinct fossil giant salamander (Andrias sheuchzeri), first named as Homo diluvii testis (evidence of a diluvian human or witness of the flood) from the work of Johann Jakob Scheuchzer...

Premaphotos / Snake's back spider (Segestria senoculata) female living beneath a stone with Woodlouse trapped in web, UK

Chris Mattison / Living stone (Lithops lesliei) in cultivation with bud appearing, South Africa.