An Updated List 
of the 
100 Most Endangered Species
in the World 

noting those that have been seen
 during Focus On Nature Tours
 


List compiled by the International Union
for Conservation of Nature 
and the Zoological Society of London


Photo at upper right: a SPOON-BILLED SANDPIPER  (number 10 in the list below)
One was seen once during a FONT tour on Amami Island in Japan.

Photo below: Monkeys called NORTHERN MURIQUIS  (number 3 in the list below) 
photographed during a FONT tour in 2011 in Minas Gerais, Brazil 

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A List of the 100 Most Endangered Species in the World
compiled in September 2012:
          

1. PLOUGHSHARE TORTOISE  ______  (also called the Angonoka Tortoise)
   
   The Ploughshare Tortoise, Astrochelys yniphora, lives in Madagascar.
   
   
2. RIO PESCADO STUBFOOT TOAD  ______   
   
   The Rio Pescado Stubfoot Toad, Atelopus balios, is endemic to Ecuador, where it lives in subtropical or tropical moist forests in the southwestern part of the country.
   It was not seen after April 1995 until it was re-found in September 2010.     
   
   
3. NORTHERN MURIQUI  ______  (has been called the Wooly Spider Monkey)
   
   The NORTHERN MURIQUI was seen well during the FONT Southeastern Brazil Tour in Minas Gerais in May 2011.
   
   The following was written by Armas Hill following the tour:   
   
   The Muriqui, with its Tupi Indian name, is the largest of the monkeys in the New World. The Northern and Southern Muriquis, now considered two species, are not just the biggest New World monkeys, but they are among the rarest of mammals worldwide. 
   The Northern Muriqui has a total population of only about 500 individuals.
   
   It's been said that the Muriqui is large. How large? Well, they measure up to about 5 feet when they hang suspended with their long arms. And these agile monkeys have a long, grasping, prehensile tail that is strong enough to support their entire body weight as they feed or socialize upside down. 
   
   Something else can be noted about the Muriqui's anatomy. Due to their diet, which includes leaves in addition to fruits and seeds, they have large intestinal tracts that give both the males and females a "pregnant look". So while we've heard of "pot-bellied pigs", these, in essence, are "pot-bellied monkeys".  
   
   During the May 2011 FONT Brazil Tour, we were fortunate to see and hear well a group of Northern Muriquis in a fine forest, in eastern Minas Gerais, that has been preserved because it has been their home.
   
   In that forest, since the 1980s, the Muriquis have been studied. From the University of Wisconsin, Karen Strier came and spent years doing so. In the 1990s, she wrote a book "Faces in the Forest - The Endangered Muriqui Monkeys of Brazil", in which she described much of what she learned about the monkeys over the years. The book is well-written and informative.
   
   The Muriquis are peaceful creatures, almost lacking completely the belligerence that primates, especially social primates, often have.
   
   Muriquis are social, nearly always in groups, but it is rare for any of them to act aggressively. During more than 1,200 hours of observation during her first year with the Muriquis, Karen logged only a very few interactions that could be considered even remotely aggressive.
   The societies of nearly all social primates in the world are based on dominant relationships. But the Muriquis differ from that typical pattern.
   The most striking feature of Muriqui society is the tolerance that males display toward each other even when relating to females in the group.
   
   Also, unlike so many social primates in the world, Muriquis don't groom each other. But they do offer friendly reassurances through touch.
   They may lightly pat each other on the hand or foot when they pass in a feeding or resting tree. There's a photo in Karen's book of two wild Muriquis in a tree giving a handshake signifying a friendly greeting. Imagine two monkeys shaking hands!
   And Muriquis embrace. They have a most impressive full-body embrace, in which two or more animals walk or swing toward one another and then flip upside down, so that they are hanging by their tails, face to face, while they wrap their arms and legs around one another. Such embraces occur in a variety of contexts. 
   
   I mentioned that we were fortunate to see AND HEAR the Muriquis. To me, at the time, they had a soft vocalization rather like that of a horse.
   I read later in "Faces in the Forest" that when the scientists first went to the forest where we were, they asked the local people where the Muirquis were, and the locals took them first to the stables. Listening to the horses whinnying back and forth, they were told to walk in the forest until they "heard horses". 
   
   There are, in all, about a hundred species of monkeys known to be in Brazil. But among them, the Muriquis are special. It has been written that, as a conservation symbol, the Muriquis are for Brazil as the Giant Panda is for China.
   
   
   
   Another photo of a Northern Muriqui in a remnant of Atlantic Forest in Minas Gerais, Brazil,
   during the FONT tour in May 2011
   (photo by Pat Yoder) 
   
   
4. PYGMY THREE-TOED SLOTH  ______
   
   The Pygmy Three-toed Sloth,  Bradypus pygmaeus, lives only on the small island of Escudo de Varaguas in Panama. 
   
   
5. TARZAN'S CHAMELEON  ______
   
   The Tarzan's Chameleon, Calumma tarzan, lives in Madagascar.  
   
   
6. SEYCHELLES SHEATH-TAILED BAT  ______
   
   The Seychelles Sheath-tailed Bat, Coleura seychellensis, lives only in two small caves on the islands of Sihouette and Mahe in the Seychelles.  
   
   
7. JAMAICAN IGUANA  ______
   
   The Jamaican Iguana, Cyclura collei, was thought to be extinct from 1948 to 1990. Only in Jamaica, it is confined to dry forests in the Hellshire Hills. 
   Only about 50 are said to survive in the wild, making it the rarest lizard in the world.  
   
   
8. CAYMAN ISLANDS GHOST ORCHID ______
   
   The Cayman Islands Ghost Orchid, Dendrophylax fawcettii, has been seen during FONT tours in the Cayman Islands.
   
   Dendrophylax fawcettii is found only on Grand Cayman Island. It flowers for about 2 weeks between April and June.
   It grows mainly on 6 acres in the Ironwood forest in Georgetown. A small number have been transplanted to the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Garden, where we've seen it during our tours. 
   
   
   
   Cayman Islands Ghost Orchid
   
   
9. DISCOREA STRYDOMIANA  (a WILD YAM)  ______
   
   Discorea strydomiana was recently discovered in South Africa. It is critically endangered (as is every species in this list) and is one of the most unusual yam species anywhere in the world. 
   There are 2 populations of about 200 plants.
   It does not look like a typical yam, because it is shrub-like with a huge tuber that can reach more than a meter in height above the ground.
   Discorea strydomiana is used locally with another species of Discorea, to treat cancer.     
   
   
10. SPOON-BILLED SANDPIPER  ______
    
    The Spoon-billed Sandpiper was seen during one FONT Winter Japan Tour on the southern Japanese island of Amami.
    The following was recently written by Armas Hill:   
    
    The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is an overall very rare species, breeding in far eastern Siberia. It winters coastally in Southeast Asia. 
    The total population of the species has recently been estimated as under 4,000 birds. The population at the known breeding grounds has recently been said to be about 1,000 individuals, thus indicating a greater than 50 per recent reduction in the last decade or so. 
    In North America, it has occurred very rarely in western and northern Alaska. Further south, in British Columbia, Canada, there was a record of a breeding-plumaged adult near Vancouver from July 30 to August 3, 1978.
    
    The Spoon-billed Sandpiper was described by Linnaeus in 1758.
    
    
    
    This Spoon-billed Sandpiper with breeding plumage.
    The bird in the photo at the top of this page, non-breeding. 
    
    
11. LIBEN LARK  ______  (also called Sidamo Lark)
    
    The Liben, or Sidamo Lark, Heteromirafra sidamoensis, is endemic to Ethiopa. 
    
    
12. SINGAPORE FRESHWATER CRAB  ______
    
    The Singapore Freshwater Crab, Johora singaporensis, is endemic to Singapore.
    
    
13. EDWARD'S PHEASANT  ______
    
    The Edward's Pheasant, Lophura edwardsi, is endemic to the rainforests of Vietnam. 
    
    
14. ATTENBOROUGH'S PITCHER PLANT  ______
    
    The Attenborough's Pitcher Plant, Nepenthese attenboroughii, is a montane species of insectivorous pitcher plant in the Philippines. 
    It was described as new to science in 2009 and named after the well-known broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.  
    
    
15. LURISTAN NEWT  ______  (also called the Emperor Spotted Newt, or the Kaiser's Spotted Newt)
    
    The Luristan Newt, Neurergus kaiseri, is a very colorful salamander only in the southern Zagros Mountains in Iran.   
    
    
16. VAQUITA  ______  (also known as the "Cochito", or the Gulf of California Porpoise)
    
    The Vaquita, Phocoena sinus, is one of the most endangered (and maybe THE most endangered) of the world's cetacean. It is also the smallest known cetacean, and has the most limited range of any marine cetacean, in the upper portion of the northern Gulf of California in Mexico, mostly within the Colorado River delta.
    
    The species was described to science in 1958 based on several skulls.
    
    It was just said that the Vaquita is the smallest cetacean. it is 4 to 5 feet in length. Females are generally larger than males.
    
    There have been FONT tours in northwestern Mexico, in Sonora, where we have been to the Gulf of California, but we have yet to see the Vaquita.   
    
    
17. GREATER BAMBOO LEMUR  ______
    
    The Great Bamboo Lemur, Prolemur simus, lives in Madagascar.  
    
    
18. SAOLA  ______  (also called the Vu Quong, or Asian Unicorn)
    
    The Saola, Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, is one of the world's rarest mammals. It occurs only in the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos.
    
    The species was described in 1993, following the finding of remains the previous year in the Vu Quang Nature Reserve during a survey of the governmental ministry of forestry and World Wide Fund for Nature. 
    3 skulls with unusual long straight horns were found in hunter's houses.
    In August 2012, a Saola was captured by villagers in Laos, but it died before government conservationists could have it released back into the wild.
    Still, to this day, there has been no reported sighting of a Saola in the wild by a scientist.        
    
    
19. RED RIVER GIANT SOFTSHELL TURTLE  ______  (other names are the Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle or the Swinhoe's Softshell Turtle) 
    
    The Red River Giant Softshell Turtle, Rafetus swinhoei, occurs only in Vietnam and China. 
    
    
20. JAVAN RHINOCEROS  ______  (another name is the Lesser One-horned Rhinoceros)
    
    The Javan Rhino, Rhinoceros sondaicus, is the most threatened of the 5 species of rhinoceroses. It is quite possibly the rarest large mammal on earth.
    It was once the most widespread of the Asian rhinoceroses, ranging on the islands of Java and Sumatra, throughout Southeast Asia, and into India and China. 
    Recently there has been only one known population in the wild, and no individuals in captivity. Only a few as 40 are in the Ujung Kulon National Park at the western tip of Java in Indonesia. A second population in the Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam was confirmed as extinct in 2011.      
    
    
21. CEBU FRILL-WING  ______
    
    The Cebu Frill-wing is a beautiful black damselfly with unusual blue eyes. It lives only in a very short stretch of a rivulet in Cebu in the Philippines.  
    
    
22. RED-FINNED BLUE-EYE  ______
    
    The Red-finned Blue-eye occurs only in central-western Queensland, in Australia. 
    
    
23. ESTUARINE PIPEFISH  ______
    
    The Estuarine Pipefish occurs only in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa.
    
    
24. SUICIDE PALM, DIMAKA  ______
    
    The Suicide Palm, or Dimaka, is found only in northwestern Madagascar. 
    
    
25. BULLOCK'S FALSE TOAD  ______
    
    The Bullock's False Toad, Telmatobufo bullocki, is close to extinction. It occurs only in Chile, and there it is only known in the Nahuelbuta Mountain Range. 
    In 2011, it was seen for the first time since 2005. It has been sighted less than 10 times since it was discovered in 1952.   
    
    
26. BAISHAN FIR  ______
    
    The Baishan Fir, Abies beshanzuensis, occurs in the Arauco province in China.  
    
    
27. ACTINOTE ZIKANI  ______
    
    Actinote zikani is a very rare butterfly occurring only in the Atlantic Forest, near Sao Paulo, in Brazil. Its host plant is Mikania obsoleta. 
    The butterfly was rediscovered in 1991 in Paranapiacaba 40 years after it was originally described. The area where it has been found is in the Serra do Mar coastal range, from about 900 to 1200 meters above sea level.
    
    Actinote is a genus of butterflies mostly in South America in the subfamily Heliconiinae in the family Nymphalidae.   
    
    
28. LEAF-SCALED SEA-SNAKE  ______
    
    The Leaf-scaled Sea-snake, Aipysurus foliosquama, 
    
    
29. AMANI FLATWING  ______  
    
    The Amani Flatwing, Amanipodogrion gilliesi, is a damselfly in Tanzania
    
    
30. ARARIPE MANAKIN  ______
    
    The Araripe Manakin, Antilophia bokermanni, is found only an area of 28 square kilometers in the Chapado do Araripe in south Ceara, Brazil. 
    The attractive bird was discovered in 1996 and described in 1998. Its total population is said to be about 500 pairs. 
    
    
31. ANTISOLABIS SEYCHELLENSIS  ______
    
    Antisolabis seychellensis is a rare plant on Morne Blanc, on Mahe Island in the Seychelles. 
    
    
32. Aci Gol Toothcarp  ______
    
    The Aci Gol Toothcarp is a rare fish in Turkey.
    
    
33. BULMER'S FRUIT BAT  ______
    
    The Bulmer's Fruit Bat, Aproteles bulmerae, occurs in Papua New Guinea.  
    
    
34. WHITE-BELLIED HERON  ______
    
    The White-bellied Heron, Ardea insignis, is a large heron in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in India, northeastern Bangladesh, Burma, and Bhutan. 
    Population estimates are from as low as 70 to a few hundred.   
    
    
35. GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD  ______
    
    The Great Indian Bustard, Ardeotis nigiceps, is only in India, with an estimated population of only from 50 to 250 individuals.    
    
    
36. MADAGASCAR POCHARD  ______
    
    The Madagascar Pochard, Aythya innotata, was thought to be extinct in the mid-1990s, with the last confirmed sighting in 1991.
    However, the species was re-discovered in 2006 when 9 adults and 4 young (2 weeks old) were found.
    
    The shy & scarce Madagascar Pochard is now the rarest duck in the world.       
    
    
37. GALAPAGOS DAMSEL FISH  ______  (also called Blackspot Chromis)
    
    The Galapagos Damsel Fish, Azurina eupalama, occurs in waters of the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador and Cocos Island off Costa Rica. 
    
    We've done FONT tours in the Galapagos Islands, but to our knowledge we've never encountered a Galapagos Damsel Fish.
    
    
38. GIANT YELLOW CROAKER  ______  (also called the Croceine Croaker, or the Chinese Bahaba)
    
    The Giant Yellow Croaker, Bahaba taipingensis, is a fish of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once an abundant commercial fish off China, Korea, and Japan.
    It population collapsed in the 1970s due to overfishing. Fishing boats landed 56,088 of them in 2008.  
    
    The species has been aquafarmed in China, where farms have experienced outbreaks of the Nocardia seriolae infections.
    
    We may have seen Bahaba taipingensis at the fish market in Tokyo, Japan, during one of the FONT tours in that country. 
    
    
39. FOUR-TOED TERRAPIN  ______  (another name is Northern River Terrapin)
    
    The Four-toed Terrapin, Batagur baska, is a riverine turtle in parts of India (West Bengal & Orissa), Bangladesh, and Burma. It is thought to be extirpated in Thailand.
    
    The Four-toed Terrapin is said to be the most critically endangered turtle in the world. 
    
    
40. BAZZANIA BHUTANICA  ______
    
    Bazzania bhutanica is a species of liverwort in the Lepidoziaceae family, endemic to Bhutan.
    
    
41. HIROLA  ______  (also called Hunter's Hartebeest) 
    
    The Hirola, Beatragus hunteri, is an antelope occurring only locally along the border of Kenya and Somalia. 
    
    
42. FRANKLIN'S BUMBLEBEE  ______
    
    The Franklin's Bumblebee is in Oregon and California, in the USA. Primary threats to the species are disease from commercially bred bumblebees and habitat destruction and degradation. 
    
    
43. CALLITRICHE PULCHRA  ______
    
    Callitriche pulchra is a flowering plant in the family Callitrichaceae in only Gavdos in Greece. The species was described in 1972. 
    
    
44. SANTA CATARINA'S GUINEA PIG  ______  (also called the Moleques do Sol Guinea Pig, or Cavy)
    
    The Santa Catarina's Guinea Pig, Cavia intermedia, is one of the rarest species on Earth with its very small population of less than 50 individuals. 
    It also has one of the smallest geographic distributions of any mammal - less than 10 hectares, on an island off the coast of southern Brazil. That island is named Moleques do Sol.
    
    There have been 50 FONT tours in Brazil, over the years, but we've never gone to Moleques do Sol island where Cavia intermedia is endemic.       
    
    
45. ROLOWAY GUERON  ______
    
    The Roloway Gueron, Cercopithecus roloway, has been considered a subspecies of the more commonly known Diana Guenon. 
    It is 1 of the 3 most endangered species of monkeys in Ghana in West Africa where it also occurs in the Ivory Coast.     
    
    
46. WILLOW BLISTER  ______
    
    The Willow Blister, Cryptomyces maximus, is a fungus only in Pembrokeshire in the United Kingdom.
    
    
47. NELSON'S SMALL-EARED SHREW  ______
    
    The Nelson's Small-eared Shrew, Cryptotis nelsoni, occurs only in a 100 square-kilometer area of the Volcan San Martin Tuxtla in Veracruz, Mexico.  
    
    
48. SUMATRAN RHINO  ______
    
    The Sumatran Rhino, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, occurs Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, Kalimantan and Sumatra in Indonesia. Its population is said to be less than 250 individuals.   
    
    
49. AMSTERDAM ALBATROSS  ______
    
    The Amsterdam Albatross, Diomedea amsterdamensis, has a population of only about 100 mature birds on Amsterdam Island in the Indian Ocean. 
    
    
50. DIOSPYROS KATENDEI  ______
    
    Diospyros katendei is a plant in the family Ebenaceae in Uganda.
    
    
51. DIPTEROCARPUS LAMELLATUS  ______
    
    Dipterocarpus lamellatus is a tropical rainforest tree endemic to Borneo.
    
    
52. HULA PAINTED FROG  ______
    
    The Hula Painted Frog, Discoglossus nigriventer, is only in the Hula Valley in Israel.   
    
    
53. DOMBEYA MAURITANIA  ______
    
    Dombeya mauritania is a very rare plant on Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar.   
    
    
54. ELAEOCARPUS BOJERI  ______
    
    Elaeocarpus bojeri is a rare, endemic tree on the island of Mauritius. 
    
    
55. LA HOTTE GLANDED FROG  ______ 
    
    The La Hotte Glanded Frog, Eleutherodactylus glandulifer, and the following species, Eleutherodactylus thorectes, are endemic to Haiti on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
    Like the following species, Eleutherodactylus glandulifer was re-discovered in October 2012 after having been last seen in 1991. 
    
    The La Hotte Glanded Frog could be called "Old Blue Eyes" as its most distinctive feature is its pair of striking blue sapphire-colored eyes, highly unusual among amphibians.    
    
    
    
    The La Hotte Glanded Frog
    
    
56. MACAYA BREAST-SPOT FROG  ______
    
    The Macaya Breast-spot Frog, Eleutherodactylus thorectes, lives only on the Formon and Macaya peaks in the Masif de la Hotte in Haiti. 
    It, along with a few other species of frogs, have recently been "re-discovered". Prior to being re-found in October 2012, the Macaya Breast-spot Frog was last seen in 1991.
    Eleutherodactylus thorectes is one of the smallest frogs in the world, with adults being about the size of a grape.
    
    For a list & photo gallery with this frog, and amphibians & reptiles seen during FONT tours in the West Indies:    
    
    AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF THE CARIBBEAN
    
    
    
    A young Macaya Breast-spot Frog
    
    
    
57. CHILENITO  ______
    
    The Chilenito, Eriosyce chilensis, is a rare cactus originally endemic to Chile, where it occurs from Los Vilos to Punto Los Molles, in the Mediterranean bioclime.
    
    For a list, with some photos, of interesting and endemic plants in Chile, including those seen during the FONT tour:    
    
    THE DIVERSE PLANT LIFE OF CHILE
    
    
    
    Chilenito
    
    
58. CORAL TREE  ______
    
    The Coral Tree, Erythrina schliebenii, lives in the Namatimbili-Ngarama Forest in Tanzania. There are less than 50 individual trees.
    
    
59. Euphorbia tanaensis  ______
    
    
60. Ficus katendei  ______
    
    
61. NORTHERN BALD IBIS  ______
    
    The Northern Bald Ibis, Geronticus eremita, has been a recent breeder in Morocco, Turkey and Syria. The Syrian population winters in central Ethiopia.
    The population of the Northern Bald Ibis is between 200 and 250 adult birds. 
    
    
62. GISASIPHON MACROSIPHON  ______
    
    Gisasiphon macrosiphon is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family, found in Kenya and Tanazania.
    
    
63. GOCEA CHRIDANA  ______
    
    Gocea chridana is an invertebrate, a gastropod in the Mollusca phylum. It is endemic to the Macedonian part of the ancient Lake Ohrid in the Balkans.  
    
    
64. TABLE MOUNTAIN GHOST FROG  ______  (another name is the Rose's Ghost Frog)
    
    The Table Mountain Ghost Frog, Heleophryne rosei, lives only on Table Mountain in South Africa.
    
    
65. HEMICYCLA PAETELIANA  ______
    
    Hemicycla paeteliana is a mollusk, a gastropod in the family Helicidae, found only at the Jandia Peninsula on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.  
    
    
66. HIBISCADELPHUS WOODII  ______
    
    Hibiscadelphus woodii is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. 
    it was discovered in 1991, and described as new to science in 1995. 
    Only 4 individuals were found. 3 were crushed by a boulder and died between 1995 and 1998. The last died in 2011.  
    
    
67. SAKHALIN TAIMEN  ______  (also called the Japanese Huchen, or Ito)
    
    The Sakhalin Taimen, Hucho perryi, is a fish in the salmon family. It occurs in the area of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, at Sakhalin Island (part of Russia), and Hokkaido in Japan, and parts of the Siberian mainland.
    An anadromous form lives near the eastern shore of Hokkaido.
    
    The population of Hucho perryi has dwindled in recent years. It is now classified as "critically endangered".
    
    The Sakhalin Taimen is one of the largest salmonids. It can reach a length of 7 feet.
    
    There have been many FONT tours in Hokkaido, along the east coast where the "Ito" lives. 
    We've seen road signs by bridges over streams near the sea, in both Japanese and English referring to the fish that at times occur in those waters. In English, the signs say "Salmon Culture River". 
    But mostly we have been in that area when the rivers are frozen, as we are there to see Steller's Sea Eagles and other notable birds in Hokkaido in the winter.
    
    
    
    Sakhalin Taimen, or the Japanese Huchen
    
    
68. BELIN VETCHLING  ______
    
    The Belin Vetchling, Lathyrus belinensis, is a flowering plant found only on the outskirts of the village of Belin in Antalya, Turkey.  
    
    
69. ARCHEY'S FROG  ______
    
    The Archey's Frog, Leiopelma archeyi, is a critically endangered, rapidly declining frog in New Zealand, where it is restricted to the Coromandel Peninsula and the Whareorino Forest. It is fully terrestrial. 
    
    
70. DUSKY GOPHER FROG  ______  (also called the Mississippi Gopher Frog)
    
    The Dusky Gopher Frog, Rana sevosa, was first described as a species in 1940. Subsequently it was considered a subspecies of the widespread and common Gopher Frog, Rana capito, until in 2001 it was re-elevated to a species.
    
    Formerly it occurred in the US states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, but now it is known for sure to be in only one body of water in Harrison County, Mississippi, Glen's Pond, where there is a population of 100 frogs. Possibly it may exist at several other locations in Mississippi. 
    
    
71. MAGNOLIA WOLFII  ______
    
    Magnolia wolfii is a wild magnolia that occurs only in Colombia, at Risaralda. There are less than 5 individuals. 
    
    
72. MARGARITIFERA MAROCANA  ______
    
    Margaritifera marocana is a mussel in Morocco. Fewer than 250 survive.
    
    
73. MOOMINIA WILLII  ______
    
    Moominia willii is a mollusk, a gastropod, on Silhouette Island in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.  
    
    
74. CUBAN GREATER FUNNEL-EARED BAT   ______
    
    The Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat, Natalus primus, lives in a cave, Cueva La Barca, on the Isle of Pines, Cuba.
    There are less than 100 individuals.  
    
    
75. HAINAN GIBBON  ______
    
    The Hainan Gibbon, Nomascus hainus, lives only on Hainan Island in China. The population is less than 20 individuals.
    
    
76. MULANJE RED DAMSEL  ______
    
    The Mulanje Red Damsel, Oreocnemis phoenix,    
    
    
77. PANGASID CATFISH  ______
    
    The Pangasid Catfish, Pangasius krempfi, is an anadromous species that lives in coastal waters of Southeast Asia. 
    It feeds in those waters, and migrates up rivers to breed. One of only a very few rivers where the fish goes is the Mekong. A specific spawning area is unknown, but it is believed to be in the upper part of that river.        
    
    
78. PARIDES BURCHELLANUS  ______
    
    Parides burchellanus is a rare species of swallowtail butterfly in family Papilionidae. It is endemic to Brazil, where it has been known to occur in the central part of the country. After it was sighted in 1965 along the Maranhao River near Brasilia, It "disappeared" and was presumed to be extinct.
    But in 2002, it was re-found, further south in Brazil, near Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais, where it was living "secretly" in the town of Casa Branca.
    
    There have been a number of FONT Brazil Tours in Minas Gerais, in the area of Belo Horizonte, and some in the area of Brasilia. During our future tours in those areas we'll certainly be on the lookout for the rare Parides burchellanus! 
    
    For lists & photo galleries of butterflies in South America:
    
    SOUTH AMERICAN BUTTERFLIES      BUTTERFLIES IN BRAZIL & ARGENTINA, ESPECIALLY AT IGUAZU
    
    
    
    Parides burchellanus, as indicated male and female
    
    
    
79. PICEA NEOVEITCHII  ______
    
    Picea neoveitchii is a species of conifer in the Pinaceae family, occurring only in the Qinling Range in China.
    
    
80. QIAOJIA PINE  ______ 
    
    The Qiaojia Pine, Pinus squamata, is a critically endangered pine that is native to a single locality in northeast Yunnan, China. It was discovered in April 1991, and it numbers about 20 known trees.
    
    
81. PEACOCK TARANTULA  ______  (other names are the Gooty Sapphire Ornamental Tree Spider, Metallic Tarantula, Peacock Parachute Spider)
    
    The Peacock Tarantula, Poecilotheria metallica, is a beautiful and very rare spider that only occurs in only localized area in India. 
    Back in 1899, it was first discovered in a town named Gooty, in a railroad lumber yard. It was rediscovered 102 years later, in 2001, about 15 kilometers to the north.       
    
    
82. FATUHIVA MONARCH  ______
    
    The Fatuhiva Monarch, Pomarea whitneyi, is an Old World Flycatcher endemic to Fatuhiva in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. It has recently declined more than 90 per cent in about 20 years, due to the introduction if the Black Rat. The population may now be as low as 50 birds.     
    
    
83. LARGETOOTH SAWFISH  ______
    
    The Largetooth Sawfish, Pristis pristis, occurs very rarely in the tropical & subtropical Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the eastern Pacific Ocean, and along the northern Australian coast.
    
    The Largetooth Sawfish has disappeared from 95 per cent of its historical range.
    
    To read about the Largetooth Sawfish, in our list of fish off the coast of Belize:  
    
    MARINE FISH OF BELIZE, HONDURAS, EASTERN MEXICO
    
    
    
    Largetooth Sawfish
    
    
84. SILKY SIFAKA  ______  (also called Silky Simpona)
    
    The Silky Sifaka is a large lemur in Madagascar. Its population may be as low as 100 individuals. 
    
    
85. GEOMETRIC TORTOISE  ______
    
    The Geometric Tortoise occurs only in the Cape Province, in South Africa.
    
    
86. PSIADIA CATARACTAE  ______
    
    Psiadia cataractae is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family, occurring only in Mauritius. 
    
    
87. BEYDAGLARI BUSH CRICKET  ______
    
    The Beydaglari Bush cricket lives only in the Beydaglari Range in Turkey.
    
    
88. TONKIN SNUB-NOSED MONKEY  ______
    
    The Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey occurs in northeastern Vietnam.
    
    
89. WEST AUSTRALIAN UNDERGROUND ORCHID  ______
    
    Less than 100 individual plants of the West Australian Orchid remain in the wild.   
    
    
90. BONI GIANT SENGI  ______
    
    The Boni Giant Sengi is a shrew in Kenya.
    
    
91. SINAI ROSE  ______
    
    The Sinai Rose, Rosa arabica, has a small range of less than 15 square kilometers in the St. Katherine Mountains in Egypt. There are 10 sub-populations of the plant, but its total population size is unknown.  
    
    
92. DURRELL'S VONTSIRA  ______
    
    The Durrell's Vontsira, Salanoia durrelli, is a mammal in Madagascar in the family Eupleridae. It is most closely related to the Brown-tailed Mongoose, the only other mammal in its genus.
    After an individual (of what would be the Durrell's Vontsira) was first observed in 2004, the animal became known to science, and it was described as a new species in 2010.      
    
     
93. RED-CRESTED TREE RAT  ______
    
    The Red-crested Tree Rat only occurs in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia.
    
    
94. ANGEL SHARK  ______ 
    
    The Angel Shark formerly occurred in coastal waters of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean as far north as Norway and into the Mediterranean Sea. Now, as known, to be restricted to only the Canary Islands.   
    
    
95. CHINESE CRESTED TERN  ______
    
    The Chinese Crested Tern breeds only in Zhejiang and Fujian in China. Outside the breeding season, it travels to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand. Its total population is less than 50 adult birds. 
    
    
96. OKINAWA SPINY RAT  ______  (also called the Muennink's Spiny Rat)
    
    The Okinawa Spiny Rat, Tokudaia muenninki, was thought to be extinct, after the introduction of Mongoose, and the existence of abandoned cats in northern Okinawa, the only place where Tokudaia muenninki lived in the forest.
    
    But in March 2008, the first wild specimen to be seen in 30 years was observed. The "extinct" species was re-discovered. A local photographer unexpectedly found an image of a spiny rat on his friend's automatic camera surveying Okinawa Rail. 
    A TV crew collaborated with the photographer and installed cameras in the forest. Amazing images of Okinawa Spiny Rats were captured. Images included one foraging a sweet acorn that the animals feed upon in the forest. That forest in the northern part of Okinawa, known as Yambaru, nurtured these tiny rats secretly.
    
    That forest in Okinawa known as "Yambaru" has been visited during over a dozen FONT tours over the years. 
    A number of rare & special species are in that region. Most notable among the birds are the very rare Pryer's Woodpecker and the Okinawa Rail just noted above.
    We've spent many hours, both during the day and after dark, exploring that forest, and on one occasion we saw a small mammal that we later concluded was a Okinawa Spiny Rat. 
    We were in that forested areas many hours at night in quest of the rail, owls, and the Amami Woodcock that occurs in northern Okinawa in addition to Amami.
    
    Another rare mammal we've seen there during FONT tours is the Okinawa Flying Fox, Pteropus loochoensis, a "megabat" in the Pteropodidae family. 
    It was previously listed as "extinct" by the IUCN, but because the two known specimens are taxonomically uncertain and of "unknown provenance", it was changed to "data deficient".
    Our two sightings of the Okinawa Flying Fox were both very late in the day, as it was getting dark.
    
    Some taxonomists treat the Okinawa Flying Fox, Pteropus loochoensis, as a subspecies of Pteropus mariannus, the Mariana Fruit Bat, with a range on Pacific islands from the Japanese Ryukyu islands in the north, south to Guam.
    
    To read about rare wildlife in the Yambaru area of Okinawa, and elsewhere in Japan:
    
    HIGHLIGHTS FROM PAST FOCUS ON NATURE TOURS IN JAPAN 
    
    
    
    The Yambaru forest in northern Okinawa that is the only home on Earth of the 
    Okinawa Spiny Rat, Okinawa Flying Fox, Okinawa Rail, and Pryer's Woodpecker,
    all seen during FONT tours.
    
    
97. SOMPHONGS'S RASBORA  ______
    
    The Somphngs's Rasbora, Trigonostigma somphongsi, is a fish in the Mae Khlong basin in Thailand. 
    
    
98. CORFU TOOTHCARP  ______ 
    
    The Corfu Toothcarp, Valencia letourmeuxi, is a species of fish in the Valenciidae family. In Albania and Greece, it inhabits fresh waters and coastal saline lagoons.  
    
    
99. FOREST COCONUT  ______
    
    The Forest Coconut is a tree of Madagascar. Less than 10 remain in the wild. 
    
    
100. ATTENBOROUGH'S ECHIDNA  ______ (another name is the Cyclops Long-beaked Echidna)
     
     The Attenborough's Echidna, Zaglossus attenboroughi, is the smallest and probably the most threatened of the three long-beaked echidna species. It is known from a single specimen collected in the Cyclops Mountains of New Guinea in 1961.
     Later, scientists went there again in 2007 searching for it. No individuals were sighted, but echidna signs were found, and interviews with local people indicated that the distinctive animals live in the mountains.
     
     Also known as "spiny anteaters", echidnas are in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals, in the family Tachyglossidae.