Tag: Red List

Red List of breeding birds in Rhineland-Palatinate 2025: Barn Owl
The barn owl (Tyto alba) is among the losers on the new Red List in Rhineland-Palatinate: While it was still on the preliminary warning list in 2014, it is now considered critically endangered. The same trend is evident in the spotted nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes).

Red List of breeding birds in Rhineland-Palatinate: 55% of species at risk

Birds shape our landscapes, accompany our everyday lives, and are also sensitive indicators of the state of nature. When their populations shrink, it is almost always a warning sign of profound ecological problems. The new Red List of breeding birds in Rhineland-Palatinate clearly shows: The loss of biodiversity continues to

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Amphibians in crisis: Bob's Robber Frog (Craugastor punctariolus)
Craugastor punctariolus has been listed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) since 2019. Endemic to Panama, the species was last seen in 2010; chytrid fungus and habitat loss have (almost) wiped out its populations. (© Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Global amphibian crisis: New study shows declines in 788 species over 40 years

Amphibians are among the most sensitive vertebrates on Earth – and among the most endangered. As early warning systems for the health of freshwater bodies and entire ecosystems, they respond particularly quickly to environmental change. According to the IUCN, 41% of all amphibian species worldwide are already considered threatened. A

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Slender-billed curlew: Now declared extinct with the update of the IUCN Red List 2025
Slender-billed Curlew: The migratory bird once bred in western Siberia and wintered around the Mediterranean. Missing since 1995, its extinction has now been officially confirmed by the IUCN – the first human-caused bird extinction on mainland Europe in modern times. (© Internet Archive Book Images, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

IUCN Red List 2025: Eight more animal species officially extinct

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) presented a new update of the Red List of Threatened Species on 10 October 2025 – this time at the World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi. The updated list now includes 172,620 species worldwide, among them 48,646 classified as threatened and 935

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Fungi threatened with extinction: Bridgeoporus nobilissimus
Noble polypore (Bridgeoporus nobilissimus): One of the largest known polypores in the world—and extremely rare. It grows almost exclusively on old noble firs in the mountain forests of the western U.S. state of Oregon. Because these old-growth forests have been almost completely logged and hardly any new host trees are growing back, the species is threatened with extinction. (© Ryane Snow, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

New IUCN Red List: Over 400 fungi threatened—a warning signal for biodiversity

Fungi are masters of the hidden. They live mostly out of sight—in the soil, in dead wood, as tiny spores in the air, or in close partnership with plants. Precisely because they are so inconspicuous, they are often overlooked in conservation. Yet they are indispensable for the functioning of our

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Partula otaheitana
In the new IUCN Red List 2024, no fewer than five Polynesian tree snails of the genus Partula were declared extinct. Of the 93 Partula species listed in the IUCN Red List, 32 are currently classified as “extinct” and ten as “extinct in the wild.” (© Naturalis Biodiversity Center, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

IUCN Red List: These animals were declared extinct in 2024

In the IUCN Red List update published on October 28, 2024, the status of several animal species deteriorated: their category changed between the IUCN Red List 2023 (version 2023-1) and the IUCN Red List 2024 (version 2024-2), so that they are now listed as “extinct.” A species’ IUCN category on

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African penguins
Africa's only penguin species, the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), was uplisted to "Critically Endangered". The main threats are competition with the fishing industry and climate-driven changes in food availability. (© Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

IUCN Red List Update 2024: African Penguin and European Hedgehog Threatened with Extinction

The IUCN Red List update to version 2024-2, published on October 28, 2024, includes new assessments and status changes for many animals, trees, and plants. More than 1,000 species were newly assessed or reclassified on the Red List. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for

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IUCN Red List 2024: Borneo pygmy elephant threatened with extinction
Over the past 75 years, the number of Borneo pygmy elephants has declined dramatically. The lowland forests they live in are being cleared on a large scale, so the elephants are now considered endangered. (© Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons))

IUCN Red List 2024: A thousand additional animal and plant species threatened with extinction

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has published its latest Red List of threatened species. In its 60th year, the list—covering more than 163,040 species—warns of a worrying rise in animals and plants threatened with extinction. More than 45,000 species are now at risk—1,000 more than the previous

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