Nov 5 2009
A third of the world's amphibians, a fifth of all mammals and 70 per cent of all plants are under threat, according to the latest Red List published just two months before the world marks the International Year of Biodiversity 2010.
The report, released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is an urgent reminder that the world is still far from stemming the worldwide tide of extinction.
IUCN's Red List, published since 1963, provides an annual snapshot of the conservation status of species and subspecies on a global scale - highlighting those threatened with extinction and promoting their conservation.
The organization says that out of the 47,677 species it assessed for this year's Red List, 17,291 are threatened with extinction.
Among the report's other key findings:
- More than 1,000 freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction, reflecting the strain on global water resources.
- 12 per cent of all known birds, 28 per cent of reptiles and 35 per cent of invertebrates are under threat.
- Amphibians are the most threatened group of species known to date - 1,895 of the planet's 6,285 amphibians are in danger of extinction.
The critically endangered species include the Panay Monitor Lizard from the Philippines, which is threatened by logging and habitat loss and is hunted by humans for food.
Some 114 plants are in the 'Extinct' or 'Extinct in the Wild' categories; endangered plants include the Queen of the Andes, which only produces seeds once in 80 years before dying.
Meanwhile the Kihansi Spray Toad from Tanzania is thought to be extinct in the wild, due to the construction of a dam which destroyed their habitat in the Kihansi Falls, removing 90 per cent of the water flow to the gorge.