ARKive needs your photos and images of the world’s rarest wildlife

ARKive need images of the world's rarest wildlife

ARKive is on the hunt for the planet's most wanted. We have compiled a hit list of 17,000 plants and animals that are clinging precariously to their own particular branch in the tree of life. These species may be concealed in the canopy of a dwindling rainforest, marooned on a tiny tropical island, hidden in a coral reef or confined to a remote mountain peak, but they all have two things in common. Firstly, they are desperately in need of protection. Secondly, they are camera shy.

We know their names, we know where they live, but in most cases we don't have a decent photo of them let alone a film clip. The intriguingly named Miss Waldron's red colobus, for example, is a vanishingly rare monkey last seen 25 years ago. Our only visual records to date are artists' impressions, and that's a real problem.

We will only succeed in rescuing species from the brink of extinction if we raise public awareness of their plight. But without pictures and recordings we face an uphill struggle. We can't expect everyone out there to know their aasvogel from their bonobo. Wildlife documentaries and photographs are a vital weapon in our battle to conserve the rich panoply of plants and animals with which we share this planet.

Have you got an image of a Marley's Golden Mole?

Biodiversity challenge - Your starter for 2010
In 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity, we have set ourselves the ambitious task of tracking down images of 17,000 of the world's most endangered species, from the Addax to the Zebra.

Throughout the past decade, with the help of some of the world's best photographers, cinematographers and scientists, ARKive has been bringing together the definitive image-based guide to endangered wildlife.

We've already catalogued 5,000 species online, including many of our most charismatic and familiar animals: gorillas and lions, tigers and elephants. Now we're delving deeper into the weird and wonderful world of rodents, reptiles, bats and bugs to unmask the mysterious life forms that hide behind names like the major black millipede, jewelled toad and Marley's golden mole.

By revealing what they actually look like, we hope to shine the spotlight on thousands of relatively obscure and largely neglected species, thereby raising their public profile and, ultimately, helping to ensure their conservation.

Or a Mexican Water mouse?

ARKive needs you!
It's an enormous challenge, so we will need as much help as possible putting faces to names. This is where you come in. Whether you're an amateur or professional wildlife photographer, a naturalist, an explorer, a scientist or just someone with a keen eye for wildlife, you may have what we're looking for.

Have you had a close shave with a hairy babirusa? Or pouched a big pocket gopher? We'd put money on someone out there having a greenback stingaree photo. Dig out your old golden mole pictures. Check your safari holiday snaps for a secretary bird - it only takes a minute.

If you think you might have an image of a rare animal, we want to know about it. For details of all the missing species and how to upload images, visit our website here.