Critically Endangered

This article is about the conservation designation itself. For lists of critically endangered species, see Lists of IUCN Red List critically endangered species.
Conservation status
Extinct
Threatened
Lower Risk
Other categories
Related topics
IUCN Red List category abbreviations (version 3.1, 2001)
Comparison of Red List classes above
and NatureServe status below
NatureServe category abbreviations
Pygmy three-toed sloth, a species of sloth with a conservation status of Critically Endangered.

An IUCN Red List Critically Endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.[1] As of December 2023, of the 157,190 species currently on the IUCN Red List, 9,760 of those are listed as Critically Endangered, with 1,302 being possibly extinct and 67 possibly extinct in the wild.[2]

The IUCN Red List provides the public with information regarding the conservation status of animal, fungi, and plant species.[3] It divides various species into seven different categories of conservation that are based on habitat range, population size, habitat, threats, etc. Each category represents a different level of global extinction risk. Species that are considered to be Critically Endangered are placed within the "Threatened" category.[4]

As the IUCN Red List does not consider a species extinct until extensive targeted surveys have been conducted, species that are possibly extinct are still listed as Critically Endangered. IUCN maintains a list[5] of "possibly extinct" and "possibly extinct in the wild" species, modelled on categories used by BirdLife International to categorize these taxa.

  1. ^ "IUCN RED LIST CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA" (PDF). 2000-02-09. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  2. ^ "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "What is The IUCN Red List?". IUCN Red List. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  4. ^ "Endangered Species". National Geographic. March 17, 2011. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  5. ^ "Summary Statistics". www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 2017-12-10.