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These summary statistics and analyses are based on the European amphibians dataset published in May 2009.
The status of amphibians was assessed at two regional levels: geographical Europe, and the EU 27. At the European level 22.9% were considered threatened, of which 2.4% Critically Endangered, 7.2% Endangered and 13.3% Vulnerable. A similar pattern was seen in the EU 27 (22.0% threatened, of which 2.4% CR, 6.1% EN and 13.4% VU).
Overall, nearly a quarter of amphibians are considered threatened in Europe. A further 16.9% of amphibians are considered Near Threatened. By comparison, 19.4% of European reptiles, 15.2% of European mammals and 13% of European birds are threatened. A further 6 amphibian species were classed as Not Applicable, either because they were introduced after AD 1500 or are of marginal occurrence in the European region.
IUCN Red List categories | No. species Europe (no. endemic species) | No. species EU 27 (no. endemic species) | |
---|---|---|---|
Extinct (EX) | 0 | 0 | |
Extinct in the Wild (EW) | 0 | 0 | |
Regionally Extinct (RE) | 0 | 0 | |
THREATENED CATEGORIES |
Critically Endangered (CR) | 2(2) | 2(2) |
Endangered (EN) | 6(6) | 5(5) | |
Vulnerable (VU) | 11(11) | 11(8) | |
Near Threatened (NT) | 14(13) | 15(12) | |
Least Concern (LC) | 49(32) | 48(19) | |
Data Deficient (DD) | 1(0) | 1(0) | |
Total number of species assessed * | 83(64) | 82(46) |
*Excluding species that are considered Not Applicable
Red List status of amphibians in Europe
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Red List status of amphibians in the EU 27
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European amphibians belong to a number of different families, among which considerable differences exist both in species numbers as well as in threatened status. The Anuran families Alytidae (midwife toads), Bombinatoridae (fire-bellied toads), and Ranidae (true frogs) contain a high proportion of threatened species, as do all three families of newts and salamanders (Plethodontidae, Proteidae and Salamandridae). Of the eight Plethodontidae (lungless salamanders) occurring in Europe, 50% are threatened and the remaining 50% are Near Threatened. The family Proteidae (mudpuppies or waterdogs) contains six extant species worldwide, of which only one (the Olm Proteus anguinus) occurs in Europe – this species is considered Vulnerable, so 100% of species in the family Proteidae are threatened at the European level.
Order | Family | Total* | CR | EN | VU | NT | LC | DD | % Threatened |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anura | Alytidae | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 22.2% |
Anura | Bombinatoridae | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33.3% |
Anura | Bufonidae | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0% |
Anura | Hylidae | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0% |
Anura | Pelobatidae | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
Anura | Pelodytidae | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
Anura | Ranidae | 21 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 28.6% |
Caudata | Plethodontidae | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50% |
Caudata | Proteidae | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
Caudata | Salamandridae | 25 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 20% |
Total | 83 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 49 | 1 | 22.9 |