List of endangered arthropods explained

In July 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed 616 endangered arthropod species.^[1] Of all evaluated arthropod, 6.5% species are listed as endangered. The IUCN also lists 27 arthropod subspecies as endangered.

No subpopulations of arthropods have been evaluated by the IUCN.

For a species to be considered endangered by the IUCN it must meet certain quantitative criteria which are designed to classify taxa facing "a very high risk of extinction". An even higher risk is faced by critically endangered species, which meet the quantitative criteria for endangered species. Critically endangered arthropods are listed separately. There are 1010 arthropod species which are endangered or critically endangered.

Additionally 2875 arthropod species (30% of those evaluated) are listed as data deficient, meaning there is insufficient information for a full assessment of conservation status. As these species typically have small distributions and/or populations, they are intrinsically likely to be threatened, according to the IUCN.^[2] While the category of data deficient indicates that no assessment of extinction risk has been made for the taxa, the IUCN notes that it may be appropriate to give them "the same degree of attention as threatened taxa, at least until their status can be assessed".^[3]

This is a complete list of endangered arthropod species and subspecies as evaluated by the IUCN.

Arachnids

There are 72 arachnid species assessed as endangered.

Other arachnid species

Malacostracans

Malacostraca includes crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill, woodlice, and many others. There are 170 malacostracan species and six malacostracan subspecies assessed as endangered.

Isopods

SpeciesSubspecies

Amphipods

SpeciesSubspecies

• Niphargus elegans zagrebensis

Decapods

There are 154 decapod species and two decapod subspecies assessed as endangered.

Cambarids

SpeciesSubspecies

• Withlocoochee light-fleeing cave crayfish (Procambarus lucifugus lucifugus)

Palaemonids

SpeciesSubspecies

• Macrobrachium lamarrei lamarroides

Other decapod species

Insects

There are 343 insect species and 21 insect subspecies assessed as endangered.

Orthoptera

There are 91 species and two subspecies in the order Orthoptera assessed as endangered.

Crickets

SpeciesSubspecies

• Phaloria insularis insularis

Phaneropterids

SpeciesSubspecies

• Isophya longicaudata longicaudata

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera comprises moths and butterflies. There are 51 species in the order Lepidoptera assessed as endangered.

Other Lepidoptera species

Beetles

There are 72 beetle species assessed as endangered.

Other beetle species

Odonata

Odonata includes dragonflies and damselflies. There are 97 species and 19 subspecies in the order Odonata assessed as endangered.

Platycnemidids

SpeciesSubspecies

Gomphids

SpeciesSubspecies

Calopterygids

SpeciesSubspecies

• Matrona basilaris japonica

Coenagrionids

SpeciesSubspecies

• Pseudagrion torridum hulae

Aeshnids

SpeciesSubspecies

Libellulids

SpeciesSubspecies

Other Odonata

SpeciesSubspecies

Other insect species

See also

• Lists of IUCN Red List endangered species
• List of least concern arthropods
• List of near threatened arthropods
• List of vulnerable arthropods
• List of critically endangered arthropods
• List of recently extinct arthropods
• List of data deficient arthropods

Notes and References

1. Web site: IUCN Red List version 2016.1. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). 4 July 2016. 27 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140627000000/http://www.iucnredlist.org/. live.
2. Web site: Limitations of the Data. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). 11 January 2016. 7 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181007170630/http://www.iucnredlist.org/initiatives/mammals/description/limitations. live.
3. Web site: 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). 11 January 2016. 8 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081008002903/http://www.iucnredlist.org/static/categories_criteria_3_1. live.