The update of the Red List brings threatened species to more than 49,500

The environmental network, which has evaluated a total of 175,909 species, warns in its latest report of new risks derived from deep-sea mining, industrial expansion and invasive species.

The update of the Red List counts 951 “extinct” species – of which 83 in the wild -, 10,947 “critically endangered” and 18,186 “vulnerable”, categories that make up the group of threatened species on a global scale.

Its catalog also registers 10,701 species as “near threatened,” another 91,517 as “least concern,” and 20,037 with “insufficient data.” due to the lack of information necessary to adequately evaluate their risk of disappearance.

The IUCN reminds that these figures correspond only to the species analyzed to date, because there is no information on the conservation status of all global biodiversity.

A recent study by the University of Arizona (USA) documented the annual discovery of some 16,000 species and actually certified the description of 15% of all currently known species in the last two decades.

One of the main novelties of the update of the Red List refers to the endemic mollusks that live around hydrothermal vents: 62% of these species – 125 of the 201 analyzed – are at risk of extinction due to the advance of deep-sea mining.

These mollusks, which include snails, limpets, mussels, clams and chitons, live at depths of up to 5,000 meters around hydrothermal vents that spew water at more than 450 degrees Celsius, and many were discovered just a decade ago.

The IUCN specifies that the exploration and extraction of underwater minerals generates clouds of sediment that cover these organisms and make it difficult for them to breathe and feed, an issue that worries several experts such as the Vice President of Biodiversity Science at Conservation International, Kathleen Flower, who asked, through a statement provided by the organization, to “act with caution” in this activity.

The desert rain frog (Breviceps macrops), distributed between Namibia and South Africa, goes from “near threatened” to “vulnerable” statusa deterioration attributed to the expansion of diamond mining and the development of energy infrastructure.

The organization reports that the popularity achieved by this species on social networks after a video of its peculiar vocalization went viral has increased the demand for specimens for the pet trade, while climate change adds new pressures on its populations.

If these threats continue and without new conservation measures, the population of this frog could decrease by around 20% over the next ten years.

The update includes some positive examples such as the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), a small marsupial considered a symbol of the fauna of Western Australia, which improves its category from “endangered” to “almost threatened”.

According to IUCN data, this species was reduced to around 300 individuals after the expansion of cats and foxes introduced into its ecosystem, but the development of recovery programs, predator control and reproduction in captivity have managed to increase its population to between 2,000 and 3,000 numbats.

Despite this, it occupies only 0.04% of its historical distribution and the presence of feral cats and foxes continues to be the main threat to its survival.