News

365 days of biodiversity

Thursday 21st January 2010

The great white shark, the Asian elephant, and the Chinese giant salamander are among 365 species to be celebrated online each day in 2010.

As part of the International Year of Biodiversity, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has launched the IUCN Red List 'Species of the Day', a daily exposition of threatened species from around the world. Every day in 2010, a different species is being profiled on the IUCN Red List website, in order to raise awareness of the enormous diversity of life on earth. Each profile includes information on the species’ status in the wild, the threats facing it, and the measures being taken to protect it.

ARKive is delighted to be supporting this fantastic project through the contribution of imagery and authoring of species information, and will be linking to the 'Species of the Day' on the ARKive homepage throughout 2010.

The 365 species have been selected from all over the planet, and represent the entire range of taxonomic groups, from large mammals to ground-hugging fungi. Although many lesser known species will be featured later in the year, the campaign has kicked off with some of the more charismatic species, such as the polar bear and the hawksbill turtle. Below is a small selection of some of the species that have featured on 'Species of the Day' during the first two weeks of January.

IUCN Red List 'Species of the Day': January

January 1st - Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)

Close up of a polar bearThe largest living land carnivore, the polar bear, is already suffering from the impacts of climate change, with declining sea-ice affecting access to prey and den sites.

January 2nd - Blue-throated macaw (Ara glaucogularis)

Blue-throated macaw on branchThe collection of wild individuals for the international pet trade has decimated blue-throated macaw numbers, with the remaining populations now restricted to a small area in north-central Bolivia.

January 6th - Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus)

Chinese giant salamander on leavesOnce widespread in central, southern and southwestern China, the Chinese giant salamander has suffered a dramatic population decline due to overhunting and habitat loss.

January 7th – Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)

Indian elephant bullHabitat loss and hunting, driven by an expanding human population, have decimated the Asian elephant population. Having once roamed across much of the Asian continent, this highly intelligent species is now only found in isolated populations in 13 countries.

January 8th – Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias)

Great white shark swimming, anterior viewDespite having an extremely widespread range, the much maligned great white shark is not nearly as common as other widely distributed species. Deliberate hunting and accidental bycatch are amongst several threats that are likely causing the great white population to decline in many parts of its range.

January 9th – Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans)

Wandering albatross in gliding flightLike many seabirds, the wandering albatross of the southern ocean is undergoing significant declines due to incidental mortality in longline fisheries.

January 11th – Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)

Front on view of a hawksbill turtleExploited for thousands of years as the sole source of commercial tortoiseshell, the Critically Endangered hawksbill turtle is under increasing pressure from a disturbing array of threats, including overharvesting, accidental bycatch, pollution, habitat loss and degradation, and climate change.

January 12th - Livingstone’s flying fox (Pteropus livingstonii)

Livingstone's flying foxOne of the largest and most threatened bats in the world, Livingstone’s flying fox has an estimated wild population size of only around 1,000 individuals, all of which are restricted to the extensively deforested islands of Anjouan and Moheli in the Union of the Comoros.

To find out more about the IUCN Red List 'Species of the Day', visit www.iucnredlist.org/species-of-the-day



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