These are the Animals, Plants, Fungi, and Minerals of the Year 2026

The animal of the year is the weasel (Mustela nivalis). This marten, up to 25 centimeters long and weighing 200 grams, won against the red deer and the alpine marmot in a nationwide election organized by the Nature Conservation Association. It is the smallest predator in the world that eats other mammals. These are usually voles, which weasels hunt underground in their tunnels. Their fur is brown on the back and white on the belly, except in high mountains, where they currently wear the color of snow all around. This makes them less easily spotted by their predators, namely foxes, buzzards, and owls. Each animal has its own territory and only accepts visits during mating season. Usually, the males roam around to join the females.

Meadow Bellflower is "Plant of the Year" 2026

The meadow bellflower (Campanula patula) was chosen as the plant of the year by "Flora Austria," the University of Vienna, and the Nature Conservation Association. It grows in flower meadows, forest clearings, and along forest roads. Its flowers are purple and funnel-shaped. Like a clapper, the style protrudes from the center, offering nectar to the bees and bumblebees that pollinate it.

Lapwing is "Bird of the Year" 2026

The lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) was declared the future bird of the year by Birdlife Austria to draw attention to its severe endangerment. It is about the size of a pigeon but not as gray. Its plumage shines with a green-metallic colored back, otherwise, it is black and white. Also striking is its long, thin "feather crest," a tuft on the back of its head. The eater of insects and worms prefers to live and breed on wet meadows. These have increasingly been drained for intensive agriculture. When lapwing pairs are forced to nest in fields, the clutches often fall victim to harrows, plows, and mowing machines. As a protective measure, bird enthusiasts advise maintaining or creating wet depressions or small meadow areas in the agricultural landscape as "lapwing islands."

Alpine Salamander as "Amphibian of the Year" 2026

The alpine salamander (Salamandra atra) as the amphibian of the coming year lives in mountain forests, moist shrub heaths, and grass mats above 800 meters altitude. It is glossy black. Unlike other amphibians, the females do not lay eggs but give birth to fully developed young as "livebearers" into the (mountain) world. The species, threatened by the climate crisis according to experts, was chosen by the Austrian Society for Herpetology (ÖGH), the German Society for Herpetology and Terrarium Science e. V. (DGHT), the Nature Conservation Association Germany (NABU), and the National Data and Information Center of Swiss Fauna.

Weatherfish is "Aquatic Animal of the Year" 2026

The weatherfish (Misgurnus fossilis) was chosen as the aquatic animal of the year, according to the Austrian Fisheries Association, the state fisheries associations, the Federal Office for Water Management, and the Austrian Fisheries Board: The fish, up to thirty centimeters long, can live for twenty years but requires natural standing or slow-flowing waters with muddy bottoms where it can burrow, explain the experts. Such habitats are mainly found in eastern Austria, for example in the Danube-Auen National Park. It eats insect larvae and worms, primarily at night.

Small Wood Snail is Mollusk of the Years 2026 and 2027

Even for two years (2026 and 2027), the small wood snail (Cochlostoma septemspirale) is the mollusk of the year, according to the House of Nature in Salzburg and the Nature Conservation Association. It has gills and lives in moist crevices and cavities to prevent them from drying out. Additionally, it retains moisture with a lid on its foot in the shell. The small shelled snail of the forest feeds on decaying plant parts, algae, fungal threads, and bacterial films. In turn, it is food for ground beetles, shrews, and birds.

Even the Lesser Noctule (Nyctalus leisleri) will only lose its title as "Bat of the Year" after two New Year's Eves. The animal, which can grow up to seven centimeters, was chosen by the expert association BatLife Europe. It lives in forests, where it hunts moths and other insects at night, and sleeps in tree cavities during the day. Intensive agriculture and forestry are causing both to dwindle, it is said, which endangers the species.

Wart-biter is "Insect of the Year" 2026

The Wart-biter (Decticus verrucivorus) is a large, green, brown, gray, or pinkish-purple grasshopper and Insect of the Year, according to the Austrian Entomological Society and the Nature Conservation Association. When startled, they do not jump far like other grasshoppers, but rather drop into the grass. Suitable habitats for the animals can be dry to marshy moist. Wart-biters can live up to their name and bite strongly, according to experts. In doing so, they regurgitate brown stomach juice, which is said to have wart-eroding properties. This may be because it dissolves human cells, as biologists have found in experiments.

Lined Orb-weaver is "Spider of the Year" 2026

The Spider of the Year builds fine-meshed orb webs throughout Europe, wherever it finds sunny habitats such as meadows, gardens, or light forests, and feeds on mosquitoes and flies that get caught in them. It is called the Lined Orb-weaver (Mangora acalypha) and was named by the Natural History Museum Vienna, the Arachnological Society, and the European Society of Arachnology. Its yellow-brown body measures about half a centimeter, and its abdomen is adorned not with a cross, but with a pattern of black dots and longitudinal stripes.

Heat-loving Snout Moss as "Lichen of the Year" 2026

The Heat-loving Snout Moss (Rhynchostegium megapolitanum) grows among grass or other moss species, bearing stems up to ten centimeters long with leafy branches and spore capsules with "beaked lids." Its habitat includes embankments, roadsides, and vineyards. In this country, it is mainly found in Burgenland and Lower Austria, but also in North Africa, England, Scandinavia, and Asia. The Bryological-Lichenological Working Group for Central Europe (BLAM) and the Nature Conservation Association chose it as Moss of the Year, and the Pacific Candle Lichen (Candelaria pacifica) as Lichen of the Year. The latter is bright yellow and thrives on the bark of free-standing deciduous trees.

Two-spored Tooth Coral is "Fungus of the Year" 2026

The Two-spored Tooth Coral (Phaeoclavulina macrospora) is Fungus of the Year, according to the Austrian Mycological Society. Its coral-shaped fruiting bodies, up to six centimeters high, are gray-yellow and have so far only been found in this country on the south side of a Salzburg mountain (Gaisberg) in a meadow. Although the fungus grows quite widely in Western, Northern, and Central Europe, it is very rare everywhere and therefore, for example, is considered highly endangered in Austria according to the Red List.

Kraken carinae is "Single-celled Organism of the Year" 2026

An amoeba named Kraken (Kraken carinae) was chosen as Single-celled Organism of the Year by the Society for Eukaryotic Microbiology. Like the namesake giant kraken from Norse mythology, which supposedly dragged ships into the depths with its arms, the microscopic amoeba has tentacles, which experts call "pseudopodia." They form a capture net for bacteria as food. Like a storybook monster, the body of the amoeba is protected by scales and armed with tiny launching devices. It can therefore shoot at its prey or predators. Even the ability to disappear in one place and reappear elsewhere is inherent to the "micro monster," it is said. This is not magic, but possible by disassembling the cell body content, transporting it through fine threads, and reassembling it elsewhere.

Salzburg Cave Amphipod is "Cave Animal of the Year" 2026

The Cave Animal of the Year 2026, according to the Association of Austrian Cave Research (VÖH), is the Salzburg Cave Amphipod (Niphargus salzburgensis). It has so far been found exclusively in Austria and lives in local groundwater, in damp caves, and springs. The creature, which can grow up to two centimeters long, has neither eyes nor color pigments. It feeds on groundwater creatures and plant remains.

Epidote is "Mineral of the Year" 2026

The Mineral of the Year consists of calcium, aluminum, iron, silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen. It is named "Epidote" and has the chemical formula: Ca2Al2(Fe,Al)(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH). In the "Knappenwand" in the Salzburg Untersulzbachtal, there is a site for well-formed crystals, which is rare worldwide, according to the Working Group Mineral of the Year. Epidote's color varies depending on the viewing angle from light yellowish to dark brown and greenish. Some of its crystals are transparent, some are not. Scientists can sometimes determine the conditions a rock was exposed to during its history based on epidote crystals. Thus, the mineral often provides valuable information about the formation of deposits and mountains, they explain.

Traxleder Apple is "Orchard Variety of the Year" 2026

The Orchard Variety of the Year is an apple variety that was not cultivated but arose spontaneously. This "chance seedling" grew from a seed on a farm in Upper Austria named "Traxleder" and was named after it. The Traxleder Apple is dark red, early ripening, and is considered one of the best local table fruits, according to the ARGE Orchard Austria.

Tux-Zillertal Cattle, Mangalitsa and Turopolje Pigs are "Farm Animals of the Year" 2026

There are three Farm Animals of the Year: The Mangalitsa pigs, which are well-suited for free-range farming due to their robustness, weather resistance, and frugality, the Turopolje pigs adapted to wet pastures, and the Tux-Zillertal cattle, which according to "Arche Austria" are long-lived, fertile, and sure-footed in the mountains.

Cherry Laurel is "Alien of the Year" 2026

The Alien of the Year has been widespread in this country since the sixteenth century, namely the cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) that surrounds many gardens. The plant belongs to the rose family and originates from Southeast Europe and Asia Minor. It is resilient, fast-growing, and evergreen. This makes it a popular hedge plant, but the invasive plant causes a lot of damage in nature, according to the Nature Conservation Association. It spreads invasively and deprives spring bloomers like lilies of the valley of light and nutrients. Most pollinators cannot use its flowers, and very few birds eat its berries, it is said. The foliage decomposes poorly and contains toxic hydrocyanic acid. The Nature Conservation Association appeals to garden owners to plant other hedge shrubs and to the legislator to ban the sale of cherry laurel as in Switzerland.

(APA/Red.)

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