By moving your mouse pointer over the fading cover, you can pause the fade sequence to view the images more carefully.  As noted below, I was unable to locate the photographers for a few of the pictures shown.  These images were in the public domain and were not marked as copyrighted, so I felt it was appropriate to use them for this non-profit educational project.  If you happen to recognize one of those photos and know the photographer, please use the Contact page to let me know so proper credit can be given.  The following list corresponds to images shown starting from left to right and top to bottom on the cover page.

Orange-bellied parrot:  Critically endangered.  Photo © Dave Watts

Cuban land snail (Polymita picta):  Endangered.  Photo © William H.A. Allen

Leatherback sea turtle:  Critically endangered.  Based on a photo by Tamar-Ibama

San Francisco garter snake:  Endangered.  Stock photo (photographer unknown)

Scimitar-horned oryx:  Extinct in the wild.  Photo © Edward White

Ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii):  Endangered.  Photo © Jeff Ripple

Xerces blue butterfly:  Extinct.  Stock photo (photographer unknown)

Mountain gorilla:  Critically endangered.  Stock photo (photographer unknown)

St. Helena redwood (Trochetiopsis erythroxylon):  Critically endangered.  Photo © Rebecca Cairns-Wicks

Baobab tree (Tree of Life):  Threatened.  Photo © Rhett Butler Mongabay.com

Parson's chameleon:  Vulnerable.  Photo © Rhett Butler Mongabay.com

Coral reef:  All tropical coral reef communities worldwide are now threatened by climate change and ocean acidification.  Stock photo (photographer unknown)

Amur leopard: Critically endangered.  Photo © Kath Weston

Thick round freshwater crab (Geothelphusa ancyclophallus):  Vulnerable.  Photo © Dr. Shih Hsi-Te

Coquerel's sifaka lemur:  Endangered.  Photo © Rhett Butler Mongabay.com

Golden toad:  Extinct.  Photo © Richard LaVal, The Bat Jungle, Costa Rica

Axolotl salamander:  Extinct in the wild.  Photo © Andrew Mobley

American burying beetle:  Critically endangered, possibly nearing extinction.  Photo © Doug Backlund

Beluga whales:  Near threatened, with some subpopulations endangered.  Photo © Paul Nicklen

Hygrocybe lanecovensis fungus fruiting bodies:  Endangered.  Photo © Ray and Elma Kearney

Black rhinoceros with calf.  Endangered (the Western black rhino may already be extinct).  Photo © Juanita Venter