19 amphibian species critically endangered: Zoological Survey of India

According to IUCN, critically endangered species are the ones that are facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

Nineteen amphibian species are critically endangered and 33 species are endangered, according to the updated checklist released by Zoological Survey of India. The list, released last week, also highlights 19 per cent of amphibians as data deficient species and about 39 per cent as not assessed by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

According to IUCN, critically endangered species are the ones that are facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. The IUCN Red List is an indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. According to IUCN, around 40 per cent amphibians across the globe are threatened with extinction.

Since 2009, the Zoological Survey of India in collaboration with other institutes has been updating the Indian amphibian checklist periodically. In 2009 the total number of species was 284. Around 148 species have been added to the list since the year 2009. The number of species in 2018 was pegged at 432.

The list also includes the IUCN conservation status of the species and their year of discovery, available till December 2018. The nomenclature followed is after Amphibian Species of the World database.

Source: The New Indian Express bit.ly/2MoVtF2