RIP Nesiota elliptica, et al.

In the past two decades, 15 species have vanished. Another 15,589 face the same fate. Current extinction rates are at least one hundred to one thousand times higher than "natural" patterns.

The most comprehensive global biodiversity study ever conducted--the 2004 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and Global Species Assessment--was unveiled at the world's largest conservation gathering in Bangkok.

Although the total number of at-risk species increased by 3,330 from last year's Red List, today's figure almost certainly remains a gross underestimation. "There is still much to be discovered about key species-rich habitats, such as tropical forests, marine and freshwater systems, or particular groups, such as invertebrates, plants and fungi, which make up the majority of biodiversity," said IUCN's Craig Hilton-Taylor.

One in three amphibian species is likely to croak, significant because this was the first complete assessment of all existing amphibians, considered harbingers of other species' extinction. Forty-two percent of turtles and tortoises are in danger, as are one in eight birds and almost a quarter of all mammals.

The Assessment cites habitat destruction and degradation as the leading causes, but says climate change is an increasingly grave threat. Additionally, these dwindling species are usually concentrated in heavily human-populated regions, especially in parts of Asia and Africa. Because many of these nations have a low Gross National Income, the Assessment highlights the necessity of international support in conserving biodiversity.

--iucn.org, 11/17