Critically endangered reptiles and amphibians

The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List (commonly known as IUCN Red List or Red Data Book) of Threatened Species was established in 1964. Since its establishment, it has evolved into the world’s most broad source of information on the global status of conservation of animal, reptile, fungi, and plant species. The IUCN Red List divides species into nine categories – Not Evaluated (NE), Data Deficient (DD), Least Concern (LC), Near Threatened (NT), Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN), Critically Endangered (CR), Extinct in the Wild (EW), and Extinct (EX). It is an easy and widely used system for classifying species and subspecies at a high risk of global extinction. Here, will be discussing the IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered Reptiles.

Introduction to IUCN and IUCN Red List

• A brief history of IUCN

• The International Union for Conservation of Nature, commonly known as IUCN was founded in the French town of Fontainebleau on October 5th, 1948. It was the first global environmental union that brought together governments and civil society organizations with a shared goal of protecting nature
• The aim of IUCN was to put forth international cooperation at the same time providing scientific knowledge and tools to guide conservation action
• During the initial years of its establishment (around the first decade), its primary focus was to study and examine the effect of human activities on nature
• It brought light to the impact of pesticides on biodiversity and suggested the use of environmental impact assessments, which later became the norm across industrial sectors
• Most of the IUCN’s work in the subsequent years i.e., in 1960s and 1970s, was focused on protecting species and their habitats which were necessary for their survival
• It played a critical role in the formation of key conventions such as – the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971, the World Heritage Convention in 1972, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 1974, and the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992
• IUCN is currently the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network

Introduction of IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

• IUCN established the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 1964 with the intention of keeping records of the global conservation status of species
• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has evolved into the world’s most broad source of information on the global extinction risk of species

The IUCN Red List divides species into nine categories – 

• Not Evaluated (NE) 
• Data Deficient (DD) 
• Least Concern (LC) 
• Near Threatened (NT) 
• Vulnerable (VU) 
• Endangered (EN) 
• Critically Endangered (CR) 
• Extinct in the Wild (EW) 
• Extinct (EX)
• It is an easy and widely used system for classifying species and subspecies at a high risk of global extinction
• The IUCN Red List’s aim is to relay the urgency of issues about conservation of species, subspecies, and their habitat to the public and policy making authorities, as well as suggest measures to help the international community reduce extinction of species

IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered Reptiles

• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species mentions those species and subspecies that possess an extremely high risk of extinction due to rapid population decline of more than 80 to 90 percent over the preceding 10 years (approximately three generations), the current population size lesser than 50 individuals, and other factors
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (or IUCN) listed 196 critically endangered (CR) reptile species as of September 2016, 17 of which are tagged as possibly extinct
• 21% of the assessed species threatened with extinction are reptiles
• 3.8% of all assessed reptiles are tagged as critically endangered (CR)
• There are also 12 subspecies of reptiles listed as critically endangered (CR) by the IUCN
• 10 of the evaluated subpopulations of reptiles are listed as critically endangered (CR) in the IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered Reptiles
• Some of the species, subspecies, and subpopulations of reptiles included in the IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered Reptiles are mentioned below – 

• Species

• Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
• Atlantic ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
• Asian narrow-headed softshell turtle (Chitra chitra)
• Angonoka tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora)
• Santiago giant tortoise (Chelonoidis darwini)
• Flat-backed spider tortoise (Pyxis planicauda)
• Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni)
• Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis)
• Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus)
• Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius)
• Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis)
• Jamaican iguana (Cyclura collei)
• Anegada rock iguana (Cyclura pinguis)
• Ricord’s rock iguana (Cyclura ricordii)
• Leaf-scaled Sea snake (Aipysurus foliosquama)
• Antiguan racer (Alsophis antiguae)
• Alcatrazes lancehead (Bothrops alcatraz)
• Golden lancehead (Bothrops insularis)
• Tioman reed snake (Calamaria ingeri)

• Subspecies

• Testudo graeca nikolskii
• Black spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera atra)
• Exuma rock iguana (Cyclura cychlura figginsi)
• Sister Isles rock iguana (Cyclura nubila caymanensis)
• White cay rock iguana (Cyclura rileyi cristata)
• Sardinian grass snake (Natrix natrix cetti)
• Moldavian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii moldavica)

• Subpopulations

• Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)
• African softshell turtle (Trionyx triunguis)
• Black-chested spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura melanosterna)

Other Critically Endangered Species mentioned by the IUCN

Some other endangered species mentioned in the IUCN Red List are –

• Jerdon’s Courser: Jerdon’s courser (scientific name: Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) is a nocturnal bird belonging to the Glareolidae family endemic to India. It was originally discovered in 1848 but was not seen again until 1986. It is found locally in the eastern ghats of Andhra Pradesh in India
• White-bellied Heron: White-bellied heron (Ardea insignis), also known as the imperial heron or great white-bellied heron, is an extremely rare species of large heron found in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in India and Bhutan stretching over north-eastern Bangladesh and Myanmar
• White-backed Vulture: White-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) also known as Old World vulture belonging to the family Accipitridae, found in the sub-Saharan Africa. It is a scavenger by nature which is closely related to the European griffon vulture (G. fulvus)
• Slender-billed Vulture: The slender-billed vulture also known as Himalayan long-billed vulture (scientific name: Gyps tenuirostris) is a species native to sub-Himalayan regions and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered since 2002 as its population in the Indian subcontinent has declined rapidly

Conclusion

The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List (commonly known as IUCN Red List or Red Data Book) of Threatened Species was established in 1964. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species mentions those species and subspecies that possess an extremely high risk of extinction. The IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered Reptiles includes 196 critically endangered (CR) reptile species, 17 of which are tagged as possibly extinct. Here, we discussed some of the species, subspecies, and subpopulations of reptiles included in the IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered Reptiles.