Tag: Red List

Rotbindiger Samtfalter (Arethusana arethusa)
The false grayling (Arethusana arethusa) occurs in dry, warm open habitats in southern and south-eastern Europe. According to the respective Red Lists, it is now regionally extinct in Germany and Switzerland; the last records date from 1977 and 1974 respectively. Image: Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Europe’s butterflies: What Red Lists reveal about their decline

Many people are now reporting something similar: where numerous butterflies still flew over meadows, gardens, roadside verges or embankments in summer a few years ago, today there are often only a few—or none at all—to be seen. Such observations are initially personal and local; they depend on the weather, the

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Zwerg-Rohrkolben (Typha minima)
The dwarf bulrush (Typha minima) represents a habitat that has been heavily altered in Germany: dynamic river floodplains with open sandy, silty, and gravelly banks. Both subspecies listed in the Red List are considered extinct or no longer found in Germany. Image: Typha minima Funck Observed in France by Flavien Saboureau, CC BY 4.0, via GBIF

Extinct or lost: Plants that no longer occur in Germany

The current nationwide Red List of Germany’s ferns and flowering plants, published in 2018, shows how profoundly the country’s flora has already changed: more than a quarter of the assessed species and subspecies are threatened. In Germany, 65 taxa are even considered extinct or no longer found—equivalent to 1.8% of

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Moorfrosch (Rana arvalis) - Moore als Lebensraum
The moor frog (Rana arvalis) is probably one of the most famous moor dwellers. It not only inhabits moors, but also other wet habitats such as swamp forests, wet meadows, swampy grassland and floodplains. Image: Depositphotos (Cooperation)

More than just carbon sinks: Peatlands as habitats for endangered species

Peatlands have long been seen as mysterious, hard-to-reach landscapes. In stories and films, they often appear as dangerous places with unstable ground, dark water and fog—places where someone might sink or disappear without a trace. Ecologically, however, they are far more than this old image: they are among the most

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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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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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IUCN-Update: Antarktis-Bewohner leiden unter Klimawandel: Kaiserpinguin, Antarktischer Seebär, Südlicher See-Elefant
Emperor penguin, Antarctic fur seal and southern elephant seal: these three Antarctic species were reassessed by the IUCN, with the first two now classified as Endangered (EN) and the third as Vulnerable (VU)—a clear signal of the growing impacts of climate change. (© Wikimedia Commons – Pinguin: Ian Duffy UK, CC BY 2.0 / Seebär: Winky from Oxford, CC BY 2.0 / See-Elefant: Colorado State University Libraries, CC BY-SA 4.0)

IUCN warns: Climate change threatens emperor penguins, fur seals and elephant seals in the Southern Ocean

Antarctica and the adjacent subantarctic regions are no longer stable ecosystems. Climate change is causing sea ice to shrink, ocean temperatures to rise and food webs to falter—with direct consequences for the wildlife of the Southern Ocean. New IUCN assessments make it clear that even species adapted to extreme conditions,

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Saiga-Antilope (Saiga tatarica)
Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) on the steppe: The species has recovered after massive population losses, but remains threatened by fragmenting infrastructure and disrupted migration routes. (© Andrey Giljov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Migratory species under pressure: Nearly every second species is declining worldwide

Migratory species are among the most fascinating phenomena in nature. Every year, birds, fish and mammals often travel thousands of kilometers between breeding grounds, feeding areas and wintering sites. Yet it is precisely this mobility that makes them especially vulnerable: they depend on intact habitats along their entire migration route.

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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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