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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2008 223CONSERVATION ALERT

are fully protected but vulnerable to fires. The species was first
described this year and has been listed as “Vulnerable.”

However, the study also shows that conservation can bring
species back from the brink of extinction, with 5% of currently
threatened mammals showing signs of recovery in the wild. The
Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) moved from “Extinct in the

Wild” to “Endangered” after a successful reintroduction by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service into eight western states and
Mexico from 1991–2008. Similarly, the Wild Horse (Equus ferus)
moved from “Extinct in the Wild” in 1996 to “Critically
Endangered” this year after successful reintroductions started in
Mongolia in the early 1990s. The African Elephant (Loxodonta
africana) moved from “Vulnerable” to “Near Threatened,”
although its status varies considerably across its range. The move
reflects the recent and ongoing population increases in major
populations in southern and eastern Africa. For the moment,
these increases outweigh any decreases taking place elsewhere.

“The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be to pre-
vent future extinctions,” says Dr. Jane Smart, Head of IUCN’s
Species Program. “We now know what species are threatened,
what the threats are and where — we have no more excuses to
watch from the sidelines.”

The project to assess the world’s mammals was conducted
with help from more than 1,800 scientists from over 130 coun-
tries. It was made possible by the volunteer help of IUCN
Species Survival Commission’s specialist groups and the collab-
orations between top institutions and universities, including
Conservation International, Sapienza Università di Roma,
Arizona State University, Texas A&M University, University of
Virginia, and the Zoological Society of London.

The Grey-faced Sengi or Elephant-shrew (Rhynchocyon udzungwensis)
was first described this year. Known from only two forests in the
Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania, the species has been listed as
“Vulnerable.” 

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Cuba’s Little Earth Hutia (Mesocapromys sanfelipensis) has not been seen
in nearly 40 years and is considered “Critically Endangered-Possibly
Extinct.” 

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The Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) moved from “Extinct in the
Wild” to “Endangered” after a successful reintroduction by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. 

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Overall, the IUCN Red List now includes 44,838 species, of
which 16,928 (38%) are threatened with extinction. Of

these, 3,246 are in the highest category of threat, “Critically
Endangered,” 4,770 are “Endangered,” and 8,912 are
“Vulnerable.” New groups of species have appeared on the
IUCN Red List for the first time, increasing the diversity and
richness of the data. Indian Tarantulas (Poecilotheria regalis),
highly prized by collectors and threatened by the international
pet trade, have made their first appearance on the IUCN Red
List. They face habitat loss due to new roads and settlements.

More Than Mammals

“No other tool is as valuable for conservation as the Red
List, which provides scientists and decision makers with
an important set of information, freely available to the
public, to improve the effectiveness of our conservation
efforts.” Dr. Russell Mittermeier, Chair of IUCN’s
Primate Specialist Group and president of Conser-
vation International.



The Rameshwaram Parachute Spider (Poecilotheria hanumavila-
sumica) has been listed as “Critically Endangered” as its natural
habitat has been almost completely destroyed.

224 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2008 CONSERVATION ALERT

Costa Rica’s Holdridge’s Toad (Incilius holdridgei) moved from
“Critically Endangered” to “Extinct,” as it has not been seen since
1986. 

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The Squaretail Coral Grouper (Plectropomus areolatus) is listed as
“Vulnerable;” it is fished unsustainably at its spawning aggregations.

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Indian Tarantulas (Poecilotheria regalis) are highly prized by collectors
and threatened by the international pet trade. The species has made its
first appearance on the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss.

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The La Palma Giant Lizard (Gallotia auaritae) from the Canary Island
of La Palma was thought to be extinct, but was rediscovered last year
and is now listed as “Critically Endangered.” 

The Cuban Crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) moved from
“Endangered” to “Critically Endangered” because of illicit hunting. 

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For the first time, all 161 species of groupers have been
assessed, revealing that 20 of them are threatened with extinction.
The Squaretail Coral Grouper (Plectropomus areolatus) from the
coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific has been listed as “Vulnerable.” The
fish is seen as a luxury live food, and is fished unsustainably at its
spawning aggregations, a major threat for many grouper species.

Amphibians are facing an extinction crisis, with 366 species
added to the IUCN Red List this year. A total of 1,983 species
(32%) are either threatened or extinct.2 In Costa Rica,
Holdridge’s Toad (Incilius holdridgei), an endemic species, moved
from “Critically Endangered” to “Extinct,” as it has not been
seen since 1986 despite intensive surveys. New reptiles assessed

this year include the La Palma Giant Lizard (Gallotia auaritae).
Found on the Canary Island of La Palma and thought to have
become extinct in the last 500 years, it was rediscovered last year
and is now listed as “Critically Endangered.” The Cuban
Crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) is another “Critically
Endangered” reptile, moved from “Endangered” because of pop-
ulation declines caused by illicit hunting for its meat and skin,
which is used in clothing.

IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2008 225CONSERVATION ALERT

2 See also the book review on p. 243.

The IUCN Sampled Red List Index (SRLI) is a new initia-
tive of the IUCN Red List, developed in collaboration with

the Zoological Society of London. It is set to revolutionize our
understanding of the conservation status of the world’s species.
The approach takes a randomized sample of species from a tax-
onomic group to calculate the trends in extinction risk within
that group, in much the same way that an exit poll from a
polling station can be used to calculate voting trends. This
means that tracking the fate of these species is possible, in the
same way as the Dow Jones Index tracks the movement of the
financial markets.

Although species coverage on the IUCN Red List has
increased in number each year, assessments have in general been
restricted to the better-known species groups such as birds and
mammals. As a consequence, until recently, the conservation sta-
tus of less than four percent of the world’s described biodiversity
has been known. Basing conservation decisions on such a

restricted subset of species can no longer be considered appro-
priate, and the SRLI, which is more representative of global bio-
diversity, can be used to provide a broader picture. “We are now
emerging from the dark ages of conservation knowledge, when
we relied on data from a highly restricted subset of species,” says
Dr Jonathan Baillie, Director of Conservation Programs at the
Zoological Society of London (ZSL). “In the future we will
expand the scope of our species knowledge to include a far
broader range of groups, thus informing and assisting policy
makers in a hugely more objective and representative manner.”

Designed to broaden the types of species covered in the
IUCN Red List, the SRLI uses a sample of at least 1,500 species
from selected groups to show trends in extinction risk. All the
world’s birds, amphibians, and mammals have now been assessed
for the IUCN Red List. The first results from the SRLI were
revealed this year. They include results for reptilian species, giving
us a clearer indication of the status of terrestrial vertebrates, as well
as other less well-known groups such as freshwater crabs. One of
the newly assessed freshwater crab species, the Purple Marsh Crab
(Afrithelphusa monodosa) from western Africa, was almost com-
pletely unknown to science until recently. The first living speci-
men was found in 2005, and the species has been listed as
“Endangered” because of habitat disturbance and deforestation
from agriculture in all parts of the Upper Guinea forest.

In the future, the SRLI will sample other lesser-known
groups such as beetles, molluscs, mushrooms, lichens, and plants
like mosses and liverworts, as well as flowering plants. Over the
coming years, this new approach will enable us to build a clearer
picture of the status of all the world’s species, not just the furry
and feathered. “Over the years, the rigor of the IUCN Red List
process has built it into the ‘global gold standard’ for monitor-
ing the conservation status and trends of species and the threats
they face worldwide,” said Dr. Holly Dublin, Chair of IUCN’s
Species Survival Commission (SSC). “The SSC is the largest and
oldest IUCN Commission, its members are proud to contribute
their knowledge and expertise to delivering this amazing conser-
vation tool to the world.”

The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity

The first living specimen of the Purple Marsh Crab (Afrithelphusa mon-
odosa) from western Africa was found in 2005. The species has been
listed as “Endangered” because of habitat disturbance and deforesta-
tion from agriculture in all parts of the Upper Guinea forest. 

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