Fifth of reptiles may go extinct, report says

PARIS－At least 1 in 5 reptile species are threatened with extinction, including more than half of turtles and crocodiles, according to the first major global assessment of the world's so-called coldblooded creatures.

Catastrophic declines in biodiversity across the world are increasingly seen as a threat to life on Earth－and as important as the interrelated menace of climate change.

Threats to other creatures have been well documented. More than 40 percent of amphibians, 25 percent of mammals and 13 percent of birds could face extinction.

But until now, researchers did not have a comprehensive picture of the proportion of reptiles at risk.

In a new global assessment published in the journal Nature, researchers assessed 10,196 reptile species and evaluated them using criteria from the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

They found that at least 1,829－21 percent－were either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.

"It's just overwhelming the number of species that we see as being threatened," said co-author Neil Cox, who manages the IUCN-Conservation International Biodiversity Assessment Unit and co-led the study.

Crocodiles and turtles were found to be among the most at-risk species, with around 58 percent and 50 percent of those assessed respectively found to be under threat.

Crocodiles are killed for their meat and to remove them from human settlements, while turtles are targeted by the pet trade and used for traditional medicine.

Another well-known species at risk is the fearsome king cobra, the world's largest venomous snake. It can grow to around 5 meters long, feasting on other snakes in forests across a huge area from India to Southeast Asia.

It has been classified as vulnerable, indicating it is "very close to extinction", said Cox.

Bruce Young, chief zoologist at NatureServe who co-led the study, said threatened reptiles were largely found concentrated in Southeast Asia, Western Africa, northern Madagascar, the Northern Andes and the Caribbean.

Agriculture, logging, invasive species and urban development were found to be among the threats to reptiles, while people also target them for the pet trade or kill them for food or out of fear.

Climate change was found to pose a direct threat to some 10 percent of reptile species, but researchers said that was likely an underestimate.

Young said the reptile assessment took around 15 years to complete because of a lack of funding.

"Reptiles, to many people, are not charismatic. And there's just been a lot more focus on some of the more furry or feathery species of vertebrates for conservation," he said.

"Through work like this, we advertise the importance of these creatures," Young said. "They're part of the tree of life, just like any other and equally deserving of attention."

Agencies Via Xinhua