The IUCN Red List is a registry of species worldwide. It includes 76,199 evaluated species - 22,413 of which 22,413 are threatened with extinction.
"Each update of the IUCN Red List makes us realize that our planet is constantly losing its incredible diversity of life, largely due to our destructive actions to satisfy our growing appetite for resources," said IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre. "But we have scientific evidence that protected areas can play a central role in reversing this trend. Experts warn that threatened species poorly represented in protected areas are declining twice as fast as those which are well represented. Our responsibility is to increase the number of protected areas and ensure that they are effectively managed so that they can contribute to saving our planet's biodiversity."
Monday's update included the Pacific Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus orientalis) transferring from the Least Concern category to Vulnerable, meaning it is now facing extinction. The Pacific Bluefish Tuna's population is overharvested for sushi and sashimi markets. Most of the fish caught are younger fish that have not reproduced. According to IUCN, the population has dwindled by 19 to 33 percent in the last 22 years.
"The Pacific Bluefin Tuna market value continues to rise," said Bruce Collette, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Tuna and Billfish Specialist Group. "Unless fisheries implement the conservation and management measures developed for the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, including a reduction in the catches of juvenile fish, we cannot expect its status to improve in the short term."
Two species are now officially extinct due to habitat destruction: Plectostoma sciaphilum, a snail from a limestone hill in Peninsular Malaysia and the St. Helena Giant Earwig (Labidura herculeana), the world's largest known earwig. The last time a live St. Helena Giant Earwig was seen was in May 1967.
"These recent extinctions could have been avoided through better habitat protection," said Simon Stuart, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. "Today's update also highlights two amphibian species which have improved in status thanks to successful management of Colombia's Ranita Dorada Reserve, where they occur. We need to take more responsibility for our actions to see many more successes like this one, and to have a positive impact on the health of our planet."
Extinction Roll Call
Vulnerable: Chinese Cobra (Naja atra), Pacific Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus orientalis)
Endangered: American Eel (Anguilla rostrata), Japanese Eel (Anguilla japonica), Bombus fraternus, Brinckiella arboricola, Giant East Usambara Blade-horned Chameleon (Kinyongia matschiei), Black Grass-dart Butterfly (Ocybadistes knightorum), Kaputar Pink Slug (Triboniophorus sp. nov. Kaputar), Horse Threadfin Porgy (Evynnis cardinalis)
Critically Endangered: Chinese Pufferfish (Takifugu chinensis), Grandiphyllum schunkeanum
Extinct: Plectostoma sciaphilum, St. Helena Giant Earwig (Labidura herculeana)
