The crossword

ACROSS

5 Number of tentacles on a helmet jellyfish (6) 7 Heathland songbird (8)

9 ___ mantella, small frog that lives in subtropical Madagascar (8)

10 Foxes’ dens (6)

11 Fern in the genus Ophioglossum (6,6) 13 Spotted cat of South America (6)

15 Cassava (6)

18 A woodland mammal found in both Europe and Asia (5,7)

21 The family containing dung, Hercules and Goliath beetles (6)

22 Tree in the laurel family, notable for its aromatic bark and leaves (8)

23 ___ plover, a small wader endemic to a mid-Atlantic island (2,6)

24 Tail bone, in apes (6)

DOWN

1 Hagfish (5,3)

2 Tasmanian ___, common name for carnivorous Australian marsupials (6)

3 Red ___, wetland Eucalyptus (5,3)

4 Not common; rare (6)

6 Mallard, say (4,4)

7 Grazing waterbird, Anas penelope (6)

8 ___ flycatcher, grey-blue songbird of subSaharan Africa (4)

12 Edible marine fish also known as a

St Pierre (4,4)

14 New World songbird named for its spasmodic movements when excited (8) 16 Acrobatic woodland songbird resembling a small woodpecker (8)

17 Large monkey species, also known as a Cape Baboon (6)

18 Bright-coloured tropical forest bird related to the toucans (6) 19 Hairy-leaved plant also known as mountain tobacco (6)

20 Rabbit’s tail (4)

January answers

Across: 1 shrike, 4 bamboo, 9 gnat, 10 Sand County, 11 medlar, 12 ibisbill, 13 amaryllis, 15 plane, 16 daisy, 18 black swan, 22 wheatear, 23 maggot, 25 hen harrier, 26 ship, 27 sedges, 28 raceme Down: 1 sunbeam, 2 ratel, 3 kestrel, 5 Arctic, 6 bluebells, 7 ortolan, 8 invisible rail, 14 rose aphid, 17 ash keys, 19 Cumbria, 20 aconite, 21 Pearce, 24 Gosse.