Our Impact
Species found, species protected, places preserved — and the record to back it up.
Project Redacted
The most exciting conservation story of the decade, if not the century.
We are not naming the species or the place yet, and that silence is deliberate — announcing either one before protection is in place would put it at risk. When it is safe to tell, you will hear it here first.
Species (Re)Discovered
Lazarus species, zombie species — whatever you call them, our teams find them.
Back from the dead
We rediscovered Fugler’s shadow snake after 54 years unseen, and the Tandayapa Andes toad (Rhaebo olallai), thought extinct since 1973. At Rio Manduriacu we found a reproducing population of the Mindo glassfrog (Nymphargus balionotus) — one of the most beautiful glassfrogs in the world, and long lost.
New to science
Already named from our surveys: Phyllonastes worleyae, the Manduriacu rain frog we described in 2020 — then still a Noblella, and moved to its own genus when that group was split apart — and the glassfrog Nymphargus manduriacu, named for the place that holds it. Another 30+ rain frogs (Pristimantis), several snakes, a salamander (Bolitoglossa) and a handful of stick insects still await description.
Found by citizen scientists
A new glassfrog (Hyalinobatrachium sp.) in the Amazonian reserve of Payamino was discovered not by staff but by our citizen scientists — proof that trained volunteers find real things.
Species Protected
Finding a species is only worth it if the finding changes something.
A reserve doubled
Since 2017 our expedition surveys have driven the expansion of the Rio Manduriacu Reserve, which has doubled in size — the last sanctuary for several species either new to science or believed extinct.
Listed as endangered
With Vietnamese partners, we got the Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) listed as endangered — sole survivor of an ancient lineage, hit hard by poaching for pets and folk medicine. We also enabled protections for multiple reptiles and amphibians in Manduriacu, Ecuador.
Enabling our Alliance’s work
Through our fiscal sponsorship programme we carry the administration for other conservation organisations, and through Connect & Conserve we map where the field’s money and attention actually go.
Places Preserved
Data that turned into protected ground.
Rio Manduriacu
Our surveys proved the reserve was the last home of species found nowhere else — evidence that helped stop a devastating mining project from tearing through it. The same records then helped the reserve secure funding from the Rainforest Trust and World Land Trust and nearly double in size.
76 hectares, and counting
Twelve years of our field data and professional photography helped Reserva Jama Coaque buy 76 hectares of degraded land for reforestation. We are working with them on 200 more.
Why the survey data matters
Land is not bought on good intentions. Every hectare above was secured because someone could show exactly which species lived there — which is what our surveys, photography and published records exist to provide.
Live 3D Wildlife Scans
For 300 years, describing a species meant killing one. With Sony Electronics we built the world’s first scanner that records a living animal in full 3D and releases it — nothing collected, nothing killed. The first was a white-lipped mud turtle (Kinosternon leucostomum) from Panama.
In the News
Our work, covered by people who do not work for us.
Discoveries
National Geographic — gold mining threatens a new glassfrog
New Scientist — a shadow snake rediscovered after 54 years
The Revelator — long-lost frogs in a remote Ecuadorian reserve
The Guardian — glassfrog and snail-sucking snake discovered
3D scanning
Mongabay — no animals harmed as specimen collection goes digital
Alpha Universe — solving a scientific problem with Sony cameras
Royal Photographic Society — “Another Dimension”
Thrillist — conservation photography tours support wildlife
Around the world
Mumbai Mirror (India)
Rzeczpospolita (Poland)
El Universo and El Diario (Ecuador)
Explorers Club Log — Flag #83, Manduriacu
Daily Mail (UK) — a gecko small enough to sit on a fingertip
Podcasts
Longer conversations about how this work actually gets done.
Rewildology — rediscovering lost species through expeditions and tech
Eco-chat — how to save a species from extinction
Animals at Home Network — is the Zug’s monitor still out there?
So Much Pingle — Ecuador adventures
Coffee and Conservation — meet Scott Trageser
Conservation Connect — in search of lost species
Peer-Reviewed Publications
The findings above, in the literature where they can be checked.
Papers
Redefining biodiversity conservation through a degree of separation framework
Finding a shadow in the dark: rediscovery of Fugler’s shadow snake
A marvelous new glassfrog from Amazonian Ecuador
A new species of Noblella from the Río Manduriacu Reserve
Surveys & records
Discovery of a reproducing population of the Mindo glassfrog, Nymphargus balionotus
Phylogenetic position of Centrolenella megista
Amphibians of Selva Viva Nature Reserve, Napo Province, Ecuador
Herpetofauna of the Mesa Tres Ríos area, northern Sierra Madre Occidental
New records of the banded blacksnake (Tropidodipsas repleta)
IUCN Red List assessments
Our field data underpins published Red List assessments for Pristimantis cedros, Nymphargus manduriacu, Nymphargus balionotus and Rhaebo olallai — the formal route by which a discovery becomes a protection status.
Press Releases
Announcements straight from us.