Biggest and smallest animals at most risk

MIAMI, Florida - Animals on both the large and small side of the spectrum face the most risk of extinction - but for very different reasons, each with vast consequences for the planet, researchers said on Monday.

For big creatures - including whale sharks, Atlantic sturgeon, Somali ostriches, Chinese giant salamanders and Komodo dragons - people are the top threat to their survival, said the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.

Large vertebrates - or animals with a backbone - are often fished, hunted, trapped, poached or killed as unintentional bycatch.