Red list species update fears

Next year is International Year of Biodiversity but the latest report last month from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) marks a grim introduction to the year with growing numbers of species under threat. The Red List of Endangered Species is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of plant and animal species with much information on the ecological and conservation requirements of species. Six years ago, a species of tiny toad could be found in their thousands, living under the spray from an African waterfall. No one even knew they existed until 1996, when an environmental study was carried out to test the impact of a power station dam that the Tanzanian government planned to build above the waterfall. The dam was built, and, despite some efforts to protect the habitat, 90 per cent of the original water flow into the gorge was lost, reducing habitat, and the chytridiomycosis fungus was thought to be responsible for the toad's final population crash. Now the Kihansi spray toad has been declared extinct in the wild. The only known survivors are in zoos. Almost one third of amphibians are at risk, making them the most endangered group on the planet, according to the list. The list assesses the status of 47,677 species. Of the 6,285 assessed amphibian species, 1,895 are in danger. The chytridiomycosis fungus, amongst other threats, appears to be causing major problems for amphibians. The Rabb's fringed-limbed treefrog is known only from central Panama and enters the list as critically endangered. In 2006 the fungus was found in its habitat and only one male has been heard calling since. The species has been collected for captive breeding efforts but all attempts so far have failed. " This year's IUCN Red List makes for sobering reading, " says Craig Hilton-Taylor, manager of the Red List unit. " These results are just the tip of the iceberg, " he says. " There are many more millions out there which could be under serious threat. " Of the world's 5,490 known mammals, 79 are extinct or extinct in the wild, 188 critically endangered, 449 endangered and 505 vulnerable. The Eastern Voalavo, a rodent found only in the tropical rainforest of Madagascar is now endangered for the first time because slash and burn is destroying its habitat. Feature The new list features 293 reptiles not included last …