Extinct
No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
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Conservation essentials
Understanding the IUCN Red List
IUCN stands for the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.
Assessments draw on evidence about population, distribution and range, habitat and ecology, threats, and conservation information.
Official order
The nine categories
EX → EW → CR → EN → VU → NT → LC → DD → NE
Extinct in the Wild
Survives only in captivity or cultivation, or as a naturalized population outside its past range.
Threatened
Critically Endangered
Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
Endangered
Very high risk of extinction in the wild.
Vulnerable
High risk of extinction in the wild.
Near Threatened
Evaluated against the criteria but does not currently qualify as threatened; close to qualifying or likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.
Least Concern
Evaluated against the criteria and does not qualify for CR, EN, VU or NT.
Other assessment categories
DD is assessed, but information is insufficient to determine extinction risk. NE has not yet been evaluated. Neither is a threatened category.
Data Deficient
Inadequate information to make a direct or indirect assessment of extinction risk.
Not Evaluated
Not yet evaluated against IUCN Red List criteria.
Criteria A–E
How a species is assessed
A
Population reduction
B
Geographic range
C
Small population size and decline
D
Very small or restricted population
E
Quantitative analysis of extinction probability
A species can qualify as CR, EN or VU by meeting the relevant threshold under one or more of these criteria.