Gallery: 8 Most Overlooked Endangered Species Candidates
01altamahaspinymussel
Think of endangered species, and you probably think of Florida panthers or blue whales or California golden condors -- big, charismatic animals that easily move the heart. But endangered species can be small, odd and unappealing, too. These animals are no less special; they're still one-of-a kind works of evolutionary art, sculpted over millions of years. On the following pages are some of the animals that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided this year to consider for endangered status. Many steps remain in their bureaucratic journey to protection, which can take years, even decades, and may end with a decision that they're not endangered. They could also suffer the fate of the Gunnison Sage Grouse, which the USFWS said last month that [it ought to protect, but couldn't](http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kunc/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1705817/Regional/Gunnison.Sage.Grouse.Denied.Federal.Protections), because it didn't have the resources. The federal government spends just $140 million for all Endangered Species Act-related activities. But a few animals, like the [Ozark Hellbender](http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/esday/MOOZHE.html) salmander or the [Altamaha spinymussel](http://www.altamahariverkeeper.org/wildlife/spiney_mussel.asp) (above), declared endangered earlier this month, will get lucky. Hopefully all these other animals will, too. *Image: Matthew Niemiller, University of Tennessee*
02berrycavesalamander
The Berry Cave salamander is found only in five caves around Knoxville, Tennessee, where its last few homes are threatened by a [golf course and highway overpass](http://exitstageright.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/berry-cave-salamander-faces-extinction-victim-of-parkway/). *Image: Matthew Niemiller, University of Tennessee*
03scarlethoneycreeper
Though non-native predators and human fashion fancies have killed off many other members of its spectacularly diversified family, the [Hawaiian Scarlet Honeycreeper](http://www.arkive.org/iiwi/vestiaria-coccinea/) still survives on four Hawaiian islands. *Image: Wikimedia Commons*
04mohave-ground-squirrel
Endangered protection is sometimes extended to subspecies rather than species. Many subspecies of salmon, for example, fit this bill. Their loss is potentially tragic, but to a lesser degree than losing an entire species. The [Mohave Ground Squirrel](http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/mohave_ground_squirrel.php), however, is a singular representative of its kind, cleverly adapted to its Mojave desert habitat: when it's especially dry, it waits for rain to mate. *Image: County of San Bernardino Department of Public Works.*
05texaskangaroorat
The [Texas Kangaroo Rat](http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/dipoelat.htm) lives in north-central Texas in burrows at the base of fast-disappearing mesquite bushes. *Image: Texas Parks and Wildlife.*
06sunfishspringpygmy
The [Spring Pygmy Sunfish](http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/fish/other/pygmy/spring/) is found only in a five mile stretch of northern Alabama's Beaverdam creek. A second population established in the mid-1980s by local landowners and state biologists was the victim of herbicide runoff; a [sewer line](http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/save-the-spring-pygmy-sunfish-from-extinction/) being constructed by the city of Huntsville threatens the remaining fish. *Image: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.*
07goldenwingedwarbler
Once found throughout the eastern United States, the open- field-loving [Golden-winged warbler](http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/save-the-spring-pygmy-sunfish-from-extinction/) actually benefited from deforestation. The return of woodlands threatens its habitat, and the Blue-winged warbler is also crowding it out. *South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks.*
08gull-billed-tern
Unfortunately for the [western Gull-Billed Tern](http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/western_gull-billed_tern/index.html), its diet includes the threatened [western snowy plover](http://www.westernsnowyplover.org/). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service even considered destroying tern eggs laid at the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, but ultimately decided against it. *Image: Wikimedia Commons*
09giantpalouseearthworm
During the Bush administration, the [Giant Palouse Earthworm](http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/invertebrates/giant_Palouse_earthworm/) was caught in a conservationist's Catch-22. Until one was uncovered in 2005, it was thought to be extinct; once it was found, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that, because it was so rare, too little was known to declare it endangered. More [worms have been found](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126312580), and that mystifying decision has been reconsidered. *Image: Yaniria Sanchez-de Leon, University of Idaho.*
