Up to two-thirds of all freshwater crab species face extinction
By Matt Walker, Editor, Earth News
Two thirds of all species of freshwater crab maybe at risk of going extinct, with one in six species particularly vulnerable, according to a new survey. That makes freshwater crabs among the most threatened of all groups of animals assessed so far. The study is the first global assessment of the extinction risk for any group of freshwater invertebrates. Crab species in southeast Asia are the most at risk, from habitat destruction, pollution and drainage. Scientists from the Zoological Society of London and Northern Michigan University led the survey, which produced the first World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List assessment of the 1280 known species of freshwater crab. Of those, the survey found that 227 species should be considered as near threatened, vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. For another 628 species, not enough data exists to adequately assess their future, says the survey published in the journal Biological Conservation. However, while the most optimistic scenario is that 16% of all species are at risk, the worst case scenario suggests the figure could be as high as 65%, or two-thirds of all species. …
