Plant Blindness: Zwergkrug (Cephalotus follicularis)
The Albany pitcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis) from Western Australia belongs to an evolutionarily unique plant lineage with no close relatives. This carnivorous plant catches insects with pitcher-shaped pitfall traps—and perhaps for that very reason shows how often people only notice plants when they seem to have "animal-like" traits. Image: chum_, CC BY-NC 4.0, via iNaturalist

Plant blindness: Why plant extinction often goes unnoticed

Many people barely notice plants consciously. On a theater stage, they would in a sense be the backdrop, while animals would stand in the foreground as the actual actors. Plants often appear only as a “green mass”, not as living beings in their own right, with individual species, complex adaptations

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Meeres-Hundertfüßer (Strigamia maritima)
Strigamia maritima: This coastal species was only recently confirmed again in Germany. In the new Red List, it is considered critically endangered—making it a striking example of the endangered diversity among myriapods. Image: Roberts RG (2014), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Red List 2026: Germany’s centipedes and millipedes are under pressure

A barely noticed animal world lives beneath our feet. Centipedes and millipedes move through their habitats among leaves, deadwood, roots, stones and crevices in the soil. In the process, they perform important tasks: centipedes hunt small soil animals, while millipedes break down dead plant material and thus contribute to the

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Tierarten mit weniger als 50 Individuen
Some of the rarest animal species in the world: from the nearly extinct vaquita to the red wolf, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle, the Okinawa spiny rat, and the northern white rhino. These species now survive only in tiny populations.

Fewer than 50 individuals: These animal species have almost disappeared

There are animal species worldwide whose populations have now shrunk to just a few dozen or even only single individuals. Many of them stand on the brink of extinction and survive only in small refuges or through elaborate conservation programs. The main cause of their decline is humans, for example

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Blaubock: Colossal plant die Wiederauferstehung
One of the few known bluebuck specimens at the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle in Paris—none is preserved intact, which makes genetic reconstruction considerably more difficult. Image: Doreen Fräßdorf

The resurrection of the Bluebuck?—New plans from Colossal Biosciences

More than 200 years ago, the bluebuck disappeared from southern Africa. Now the US biotech company Colossal Biosciences is working to bring this extinct species back to life, at least in part. The approach is known as de-extinction. The bluebuck (Hippotragus leucophaeus) was an antelope found exclusively in the open

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Folgen des Klimawandels: Brände
Vegetation fires are among the extreme events becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change, often with far-reaching consequences for entire animal communities. Image: Depositphotos (Kooperation)

Climate change study: how extreme events are increasing and animals will increasingly be affected multiple times

During an extreme heatwave in Australia, more than 72,000 flying foxes died within just a few days. The devastating Pantanal fires of 2019/20 are estimated to have killed 17 million vertebrates. Such events are no longer isolated cases. A new study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution and led by

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Tokara-Laubsänger / Tokara leaf warbler (Phylloscopus tokaraensis)
A singing male Tokara leaf warbler (Phylloscopus tokaraensis). The species is restricted to a few islands of Japan's Tokara Archipelago south of Kyushu. Such island endemics often occupy only very small habitats and are therefore especially vulnerable to environmental change. Image: Per Alström, Uppsala University, CC BY, via EurekAlert!

Hidden diversity: Four newly recognized bird species from 2026

Even today, new bird species are still being discovered and described, although birds are among the comparatively well-studied animal groups. In many cases, however, these are not completely unknown animals, but species that were overlooked or misclassified for a long time. Only modern methods such as genetic analyses and bioacoustic

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bodenabhängige Arten: Regenwürmer
Earthworms are key actors in the soil ecosystem and stand in for a largely invisible biodiversity whose condition is still poorly understood. Image: Depositphotos (Cooperation)

Invisible extinction in the soil: one in five species is threatened (IUCN)

Beneath our feet lies one of the most important and at the same time least understood ecosystems on Earth. In a single handful of soil live billions of microorganisms, fungi, and invertebrate animals—so-called soil-dependent species that spend a large part of their lives in the soil or in the litter

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Europäische Süßwasserfische - Plötze und Rotfeder (Heinrich Harder / Emil Walter)
Historic depiction of European freshwater fish (Heinrich Harder)—the new IUCN Red List (2025) shows how severely the condition of European waters has deteriorated. Image: Walter, Emil, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

IUCN Red List 2025: Europe’s freshwater fish in crisis—nearly 60% under pressure

Europe’s rivers and lakes are among the most heavily altered ecosystems in the world. Hardly any body of water remains unaffected—many have been regulated, dammed, or fundamentally transformed by human use. The updated IUCN Red List (2025)—the most comprehensive assessment of European freshwater fish in 15 years—makes the consequences of

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Bodensee-Kilch (Coregonus gutturosus) und ein Tiefseesaibling (Salvelinus profundus)
Historic depiction of the Lake Constance whitefish with the Lake Constance deepwater char (bottom left), which was rediscovered in 2016. Both lived in the deep areas of Lake Constance — a habitat that was severely affected by eutrophication in the 20th century. (© Walter, Emil, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Lake Constance Whitefish: An example of species loss in alpine lakes

Species or just a form? The Lake Constance whitefish or kilch belongs to the genus Coregonus—a group of salmonids found in cool, oxygen-rich waters across the Northern Hemisphere. In Europe, they are known as Felchen, Maränen, Reinanken or Renken (whitefish). Hardly any other fish group is considered as taxonomically difficult: many forms have arisen only

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Mono-Lake-Tauchkaefer / Mono Lake diving beetle (Hygrotus artus)
Until its rediscovery in 2017, the Mono Lake diving beetle was known only from the male holotype collected in June 1917 (photo), which is now housed in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (© Loggi at German Wikipedia., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Mono Lake diving beetle: missing for 100 years—and sought in the wrong place

A mistake with consequences For a long time, the case seemed clear: the Mono Lake diving beetle lived—so it was assumed—in Mono Lake in California’s Sierra Nevada. A lake that could hardly be more inhospitable: highly alkaline, extremely saline, and with conditions to which only a few specialized organisms can

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