20 Francs Puijila Darwini

Puijila darwini is a fossil pinniped discovered on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada, and formally described in 2009 by Natalia Rybczynski and colleagues. The specimen, dated to roughly 24 million years ago, was significant precisely because it lacked flippers — providing a rare transitional snapshot of the evolutionary pathway from land-walking carnivores to modern seals. The genus name honors the Inuktitut word for "young sea mammal."

The DRC has issued an extensive series of wildlife-themed silver coins under foreign licensing arrangements, effectively functioning as a vehicle for European bullion and collector markets rather than domestic currency.