List of endangered fishes explained

In September 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed 643 endangered fish species.^[1] Of all evaluated fish species, 4.2% are listed as endangered. The IUCN also lists ten fish subspecies as endangered.

Of the subpopulations of fishes evaluated by the IUCN, 24 species subpopulations have been assessed as endangered.

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 fishes are listed separately. There are 1098 fish species which are endangered or critically endangered.

Additionally 3191 fish species (21% 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 fish species and subspecies evaluated by the IUCN. Species and subspecies which have endangered subpopulations (or stocks) are indicated.

Cartilaginous fishes

See main article: Chondrichthyes. Chondrichthyes includes sharks, rays, skates, and saw-fish. There are 124 cartilaginous fishes classified as endangered by the IUCN.^[4]

Prickly sharks

• Bramble shark (Echinorhinus brucus)

Carpet sharks

• Hasselt's bambooshark (Chiloscyllium hasselti)
• Pacific nurse shark (Ginglymostoma unami)
• Whale shark (Rhincodon typus)
• Zebra shark (Stegostoma tigrinum)

Ground sharks

• Blacknose shark (Carcharhinus acronotus)
• Grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)
• Whitecheek shark (Carcharhinus dussumieri)
• Smoothtooth blacktip shark (Carcharhinus leiodon)
• Dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus)
• Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi)
• Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus)
• Night shark (Carcharhinus signatus)
• Winghead shark (Eusphyrna blochii)
• Blackspotted catshark (Halaelurus buergeri)
• Happy Eddie (Haploblepharus edwardsii)
• Indonesian houndshark (Hemitriakis indroyonoi)
• Sharpfin houndshark (Hemitriakis acutipinna)
• Japanese topeshark (Hemitriakis japanica)
• Honeycomb Izak (Holohalaelurus favus)
• African spotted catshark (Holohalaelurus punctuatus)
• Broadfin shark (Lamiopsis temminckii)
• Borneo broadfin shark (Lamiopsis tephrodes)
• Spotless smoothhound (Mustelus griseus)
• Smalleye smoothhound (Mustelus higmani)
• Starspotted smoothhound (Mustelus manazo)
• Venezuelan dwarf smoothhound (Mustelus minicanis)
• Common smoothhound (Mustelus mustelus)
• Whitenose shark (Nasolamia velox)
• Sharptooth lemon shark (Negaprion acutidens)
• Straight-tooth weasel shark (Paragaleus tengi)
• Atlantic weasel shark (Paragaleus pectoralis)
• Bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo)
• Banded houndshark (Triakis scyllium)

Mackerel sharks

• Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
• Longfin mako (Isurus paucus)
• Pelagic thresher (Alopias pelagicus)
• Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus)

Dogfishes

• Gulper shark (Centrophorus granulosus)
• Dumb gulper shark (Centrophorus harrissoni)
• Blackfin gulper shark (Centrophorus isodon)
• African gulper shark (Centrophorus lesliei)
• Longfin gulper shark (Centrophorus longipinnis)
• Leafscale gulper shark (Centrophorus squamosus)
• Mosaic gulper shark (Centrophorus tessellatus)
• Little gulper shark (Centrophorus uyato)
• Angular roughshark (Oxynotus centrina)
• Japanese shortnose spurdog (Squalus brevirostris)
• Greeneye spurdog (Squalus chloroculus)
• Taiwan spurdog (Squalus formosus)
• Japanese spurdog (Squalus japonicus)
• Shortspine spurdog (Squalus mitsukurii)

Angel sharks

See main article: Squatiniformes. Species

Skates

• Eyespot skate (Atlantoraja cyclophora)
• La Plata skate (Atlantoraja platana)
• Graytail skate (Bathyraja griseocauda)
• Mottled skate (Beringraja pulchra)
• Grey skate (Dipturus canutus)
• Yellownose skate (Dipturus chilensis)
• Maugean skate (Dipturus maugeanus)
• Roughskin skate (Dipturus trachydermus)
• Sandy skate (Leucoraja circularis)
• Winter skate (Leucoraja ocellata)
• Twineye skate (Raja ocellifera)
• Rough skate (Raja radula)
• Undulate skate (Raja undulata)
• Bottlenose skate (Rostroraja alba)

Rays

• Longhead eagle ray (Aetobatus flagellum)
• Whitespotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari)
• Ocellate eagle ray (Aetobatus ocellatus)
• Ornate eagle ray (Aetomylaeus vespertilio)
• Mottled eagle ray (Aetomylaeus maculatus)
• Giant manta ray (Mobula birostris)
• Longhorned pygmy devil ray (Mobula eregoodoo)
• Atlantic devil ray (Mobula hypostoma)
• Shortfin devil ray (Mobula kuhlii)
• Spinetail devil ray (Mobula mobular)
• Chilean devil ray (Mobula tarapacana)
• Bentfin devil ray (Mobula thurstoni)
• Giant freshwater whipray (Urogymnus polylepis)
• White-edge whipray (Fluvitrygon signifer)
• Coach whipray (Himantura uarnak)
• Bleeker's whipray (Pateobatis bleekeri)
• Sharpnose whipray (Maculabatus macrura)
• Marbled whipray (Fluvitrygon oxyrhynchus)
• Round whipray (Maculabatus pastinacoides)
• Roughback whipray (Fluvitrygon kittapongi)
• Whitespotted whipray (Maculabatis gerrardi)
• Tubemouth whipray (Urogymnus lobistoma)
• Whitenose whipray (Himantura uarnacoides)
• Javan whipray (Bevitrygon javaensis)
• Honeycomb whipray (Himantura undulata)
• Narrow cowtail ray (Pastinachus gracilicaudus)
• Roughnose cowtail ray (Pastinachus solocirostris)
• Javanese cownose ray (Rhinoptera javanica)
• Oman cownose ray (Rhinoptera jayakari)
• Mekong stingray (Hemitrygon laosensis)
• Seret's butterfly ray (Gymnura sereti)
• Spiny butterfly ray (Gymnura altaveri)
• Zonetail butterfly ray (Gymnura zonura)
• Groovebelly stingray (Dasyatis hypostigma)
• Atlantic chupare (Styracura schmardae)
• Coastal stingaree (Urolophus orarius)
• Raya Amazonica (Potamotrygon tigrina)
• Indian sharpnose ray (Telatrygon crozieri)
• Venezuelan round ray (Urotrygon venezuelae)
• Chinese stingray (Hemitrygon sinensis)
• Large-eye stingray (Hypanus marinae)

Sawfish and guitarfish

• Greyspot guitarfish (Acroteriobatus leucospilus)
• Knifetooth sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata)
• Dwarf sawfish (Pristis clavata)
• Chola guitarfish (Pseudobatos percellens)
• Borneo guitarfish (Rhinobatos borneensis)
• Ringed guitarfish (Rhinobatos hynnicephalus)
• Indonesian guitarfish (Rhinobatos penggali)
• Shortnose guitarfish (Zapteryx brevirostris)

Torpedo rays

• Chinese fanray (Platyrhina sinensis)
• Tonkin numbfish (Narcine prodorsalis)
• West African torpedo (Torpedo mackayana)
• Rosette torpedo (Torpedo bauchotae)
• Aden torpedo (Torpedo adenensis)

Ray-finned fishes

Subpopulations

• Squatina guggenheim (1 subpopulation)

Mackerel sharks

See main article: Lamniformes. Subpopulations

• Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) (2 subpopulations)
• Porbeagle (Lamna nasus) (1 subpopulation)

Rays and skates

See main article: Rajiformes.

Ground sharks

See main article: Carcharhiniformes. SpeciesSubpopulations

• Sicklefin lemon shark (Negaprion acutidens) (1 subpopulation)
• Scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) (3 subpopulations)

Carpet sharks

• Whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

Squaliformes

See main article: Squaliformes. Species

• Dumb gulper shark (Centrophorus harrissoni)

Subpopulations

• Spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) (2 subpopulations)

Lampreys

See main article: Cephalaspidomorphi.

• Turkish brook lamprey (Lampetra lanceolata)

Ray-finned fishes

See main article: Actinopterygii. There are 592 species, ten subspecies, and three subpopulations of ray-finned fish assessed as endangered.

Salmoniformes

SpeciesSubpopulations

• Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) (12 subpopulations)

Silversides

See main article: Atheriniformes.

Toothcarps

See main article: Cyprinodontiformes. There are 65 species and nine subspecies of toothcarp assessed as endangered.

Pupfish

SpeciesSubspecies

• Dead Sea toothcarp (Aphanius dispar richardsoni)

Nothobranchiids

See main article: Nothobranchiidae. SpeciesSubspecies

Poeciliids

See main article: Poeciliidae.

Other toothcarp species

Cypriniformes

See main article: Cypriniformes. Cypriniformes includes carps, minnows, loaches and relatives. There are 245 species in the order Cypriniformes assessed as endangered.

Ellopostomatids

• Ellopostoma mystax

Hillstream loaches

See main article: Balitoridae.

True loaches

See main article: Cobitidae.

Cyprinids

See main article: Cyprinidae.

Psilorhynchids

• Psilorhynchus microphthalmus

Suckers

See main article: Catostomidae.

Osmeriformes

See main article: Osmeriformes.

SpeciesSubspecies

• Plecoglossus altivelis ryukyuensis

Perciformes

See main article: Perciformes. There are 133 species and one subpopulation in the order Perciformes assessed as endangered.

Percids

See main article: Percidae.

Gobies

See main article: Gobiidae.

Other Perciformes

SpeciesSubpopulations

• Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) (1 subpopulation)

Osteoglossiformes

See main article: Osteoglossiformes.

Characiformes

See main article: Characiformes.

Tetraodontiformes

See main article: Tetraodontiformes.

Other ray-finned fishes

SpeciesSubpopulations

• White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) (1 subpopulation)

Hagfishes

• Myxine paucidens
• Paramyxine taiwanae

See also

• Lists of IUCN Red List endangered species
• List of least concern fishes
• List of near threatened fishes
• List of vulnerable fishes
• List of critically endangered fishes
• List of recently extinct fishes
• List of data deficient fishes
• Sustainable seafood advisory lists and certification

Notes and References

1. Web site: IUCN Red List version 2016-2. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). 8 September 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.
4. Web site: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2022-04-20 . 2020-02-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200213044348/https://www.iucnredlist.org/search . live .