The IUCN/SSC 2006 Red List of Threatened Species was launched online in May 2006, covering a total of 16,119 species categorized as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered. There are now 784 species officially considered to be Extinct, with an additional 65 which exist only in cultivation or captivity. In 2003, by comparison, the Red List included 12,259 species threatened with extinction, with 762 officially extinct and 58 lost from the wild.
In addition to its broad coverage of terrestrial species, the 2006 Red List added assessments of selected marine species, in particular the sharks and rays, of which at least 20% are threatened with extinction. Freshwater fish are in a far worse situation — of 252 species endemic to the Mediterranean region, a full 56% are now classified in threatened categories. A total of 7,725 animal species are now recognized as threatened, including 12% of birds, 32% of amphibians and 42% of turtles and tortoises.
Of the 4,856 mammal species assessed, 1,093 (23%) were classified as threatened with extinction, of which 583 are Vulnerable, 348 are Endangered and 162 are Critically Endangered, with an additional 70 Extinct and four Extinct in the Wild. The edentates, fortunately, contribute very little to these ominous totals: only six species are threatened, with another seven species classified as Near Threatened, two as Data Deficient, and 16 as Least Concern.
The most recently described edentate, the pygmy sloth Bradypus pygmaeus, is by far the most threatened, now classified as Critically Endangered. The maned sloth (Bradypus torquatus) remains Endangered, while Chaetophractus nationi, Dasypus pilosus, Priodontes maximus and Tolypeutes tricinctus are considered Vulnerable. Several species were downgraded from their prior status: the pink fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus) changed from Endangered to Near Threatened, the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus) moved from Endangered to Vulnerable, and both the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and the greater fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus retusus) shifted from Vulnerable to Near Threatened. Some of these changes resulted from application of the most recently revised Red List criteria (IUCN, 2001) and may not reflect actual improvements to conditions in the wild.
These most recent assessments are the result of the 2004 Edentate Species Assessment Workshop, led by Dr. Gustavo Fonseca and with expert contributions from Agustín Abba, Teresa Anacleto, Adriano Chiarello, Erika Cuéllar, Paula Lara-Ruiz, Jim Loughry, Dennis Meritt Jr., Flávia Miranda, Gustavo Porini, Anthony B. Rylands, Rafael Samudio Jr., Mariella Superina and Sergio Vizcaíno.
