The world's rarest insect, the Lord Howe Island stick insect has been successfully bred at Melbourne Zoo, bringing it back from the edge of extinction. Seen here is a new baby on the back of an adult on April 21, 2005. Credits: The AGE Getty Images
Scientists Launch Worldwide Search for Lost Species
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The world's rarest insect, the Lord Howe Island stick insect has been successfully bred at Melbourne Zoo, bringing it back from the edge of extinction. Seen here is a new baby on the back of an adult on April 21, 2005. The AGE Getty Images
The scarlet harlequin frog was last seen in 1990 in Venezuela. Anecdotal reports from locals indicate it could be surviving in a remote patch of cloud forest that researchers have not yet surveyed. Enrique La Marca
The bullneck seahorse is known from only a few specimens collected on the coast of Eden, Australia, but has never before been seen in the wild. No information is available about the pygmy seahorse's distribution, ecology, behavior, population trends, genetic structure or life history traits. Martin F. Gomon Museum Victoria (CC BY–SA 3.0)
The Himalayan quail was last seen in 1976 in India. They have distinctive red bills and legs, black face and throat with a white forehead. They infrequently fly--usually only when flushed. Courtesy of Naturalis Biodiversity Center, the Netherlands
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When Paul Elias discovered the Jackson’s climbing salamander in the mid-1970s, he named it after colleague Jeremy Jackson and called it the “golden wonder” because of its astounding beauty. The species has not been seen since. Brad Shaffer, University of California, Los Angeles
Wood sculpture of a pink-headed duck, carved and painted by Philip Nelson. The pink-headed duck was always considered rare but it has not been conclusively seen in the wild since 1949 and is known from Myanmar from only two specimens. Male pink-headed ducks have deep pink plumage on their heads and necks. Philip Nelson
Zug's monitor comes from Halmahera Island in the Moluccas of East Indonesia, where the number of new Varanus species has increased significantly in recent years. Yet Zug’s monitor was last seen in 1980. Gou Suzuki
