Top 10 countries for threatened species
2007 IUCN RedList rankings
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[ Top 10 countries for extinct species
| Top 10 countries for threatened species
| Top 10 threatened animals ]
| Countries with the largest number of threatened species by taxonomic group | |
| Indonesia | Mammals |
| Brazil | Birds |
| Mexico | Reptiles |
| Columbia | Amphibians |
| United States | Fishes |
| Molluscs | |
| Other Invertebrates | |
| Ecuador | Plants |
The chart at the foot of this page shows the Top 10 countries ranked by the overall number of threatened species. The figures come from the 2007 Red List statistical summaries prepared by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The chart on the right shows countries with the largest number of threated species of each type.
The number of threatened plants in Ecuador is higher than the total number of species under threat in the United States, which has the second highest number of threatened species in the 2007 listing. Ecuador doesn't rank as high for other taxonomic groups apart from amphibians. Brazil ranks highest for birds. Since 1823 there has been no confirmed sighting of Brazil's Hooded Seedeater (Sporophila melanops). Nevertheless, it remains classified as Critically Endangered, although it has been flagged as "Possibly Extinct." The IUCN database entry explains the reason:
"This species has not been recorded since the type specimen was collected in 1823, and it may have gone extinct as a result of habitat loss and/or other threatening processes. However, it cannot yet be presumed to be Extinct because the region of the type-locality has been poorly surveyed, and habitat destruction has not been severe."
The largest single-species extinction in modern times occurred in the United States. At the beginning of the 19th century the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) was the most numerous bird on the continent of North America and one of the most abundant birds in the world. Destruction of their food sources and extensive hunting wiped them out within a single century. The last wild bird was shot in 1900, and the last captive bird died in 1914 in the Cincinnati Zoo. Read more.
Future prospects:A recent report by the U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization warns that the large-scale industrial production of a narrow range of livestock breeds is now a major threat to farm animal diversity.
In an article for Discover Magazine, Jared Diamond wrote:
"In just a few centuries, the people of Easter Island wiped out their forests, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into chaos..." Read more.
Top 10 countries for threatened species:
Top 10 countries for extinct species in the last 500 years:
