Rare species

A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon, scarce, or infrequently encountered. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and is distinct from the term endangered or threatened. Designation of a rare species may be made by an official body, such as a national government, state, or province. The term more commonly appears without reference to specific criteria. The International Union for Conservation of Nature does not normally make such designations, but may use the term in scientific discussion.[1]

Rarity rests on a specific species being represented by a small number of organisms worldwide, usually fewer than 10,000. However, a species having a very narrow endemic range or fragmented habitat also influences the concept.[2][3] Almost 75% of known species can be classified as "rare".[4]

Rare species are species with small populations. Many will move into the endangered or vulnerable category if the negative factors affecting them continue to operate. Well-known examples of rare species - because these are large terrestrial animals - include the Himalayan brown bear, Fennec fox, Wild Asiatic buffalo, or the Hornbill.

They are not endangered yet, but classified as "at risk",[5][6] although the frontier between these categories is increasingly difficult to draw given the general paucity of data on rare species. This is especially the case in the world Ocean where many 'rare' species not seen for decades may well have gone extinct unnoticed, if they are not already on the verge of extinction like the Mexican Vaquita.[7]

A species may be endangered or vulnerable, but not considered rare if it has a large, dispersed population. IUCN uses the term "rare" as a designation for species found in isolated geographical locations. Rare species are generally considered threatened because a small population size is obviously less likely to recover from ecological disasters.

A rare plant's legal status can be observed through the USDA's Plants Database.

Rare species
NameImageIUCN Red List conservation statusLast sightingEstimated populationEndemic geographic location
Common nameScientific nameLowest wildlifeHighest wildlifeCaptiveTotal lowestTotal highest
Ethiopian amphibious ratNilopegamys plumbeusCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct1927 ? ?0??
Zuniga's melanomysMelanomys zunigaeCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct1949 ? ?0??Lima Department, Peru
De Winton's golden moleCryptochloris wintoniCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinctc. 1950 ? ?0??
Northern Sumatran rhinocerosDicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotisCritically Endangered, Possibly ExtinctAfter 1960 1 ? ?0??Myanmar & Malay Peninsula, Malaysia / Thailand
Christmas Island shrewCrocidura trichuraCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct1986 ? ?0??Christmas Island
Cuban ivory-billed woodpeckerCampephilus principalis bairdiiCritically Endangered16 March 1987 ? ?0??Cuba
Garrido's hutiaCapromys garridoiCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct1989 ? ?0??Banco de los Jardins y Jardinillos, Canarreos Archipelago, Cuba
Angel Island mousePeromyscus guardiaCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct1991 ? ?0??
Emma's giant ratUromys emmaeCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct1994 ? ?0??Owi Island, Indonesia
Wimmer's shrewCrocidura wimmeriCritically Endangered2008 ? ?0??
BaijiLipotes vexilliferCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct2018 ? ?0??
Puebla deer mousePeromyscus mekisturusCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct19480500050
Dwarf hutiaMesocapromys nanaCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct26 October 19510500050Zapata Swamp, Cuba
New Zealand greater short-tailed batMystacina robustaCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct19670500050
KoupreyBos sauveliCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct19880500050
Montane monkey-faced batPteralopex pulchraCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct17 May 19900500050
San Felipe hutiaMesocapromys sanfelipensisCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct19780990099Cayo de Juan Garcia & Cayos de San Felipe, Cuba
Gloomy tube-nosed batMurina tenebrosaCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct196211011Tsushima Island & Yakushima, Japan
Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoiseChelonoidis niger phantasticusCritically Endangered, Possibly ExtinctN/A15015Fernandina Island, Ecuador
Aru flying foxPteropus aruensisCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct18871490149Trangan, Indonesia
Horrid ground-weaverNothophantes horridusCritically EndangeredN/A99 ?99Cattedown, Plymouth, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Northern white rhinocerosCeratotherium simum cottoniCritically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild)N/A ? 2 ? 22 22 22 2
One-striped opossumMonodelphis unistriataCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct9 April 18992100210
Yangtze giant softshell turtleRafetus swinhoeiCritically EndangeredN/A24135
American ivory-billed woodpeckerCampephilus principalis principalisCritically Endangered8 April 20223 (as of 8 April 2022)[8]3 (as of 8 April 2022)[8]03 (as of 8 April 2022)[8]3 (as of 8 April 2022)[8]
Guadalcanal ratUromys porculusCritically Endangered, Possibly ExtinctBetween 1886 and 188833033
Emperor ratUromys imperatorCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinctc. 1960s33033
Key tree-cactusPilosocereus robiniiCritically EndangeredN/A715715Florida Keys, Mexico, Puerto Rico
Lord Howe Island stick insectDryococelus australisCritically EndangeredN/A< 10 (as of 3 October 2021)[9]< 10 (as of 3 October 2021)[9]< 10 (as of 3 October 2021)[9]< 10 (as of 3 October 2021)[9]Ball's Pyramid, Australia
VaquitaPhocoena sinusCritically EndangeredN/A10 (as of 5 May 2022)[10]10 (as of 5 May 2022)[10]010 (as of 5 May 2022)[10]10 (as of 5 May 2022)[10]
SaolaPseudoryx nghetinhensisCritically Endangered201320 (as of 30 October 2021)[11]< 100 (as of 20 August 2021)[12]0[13]20 (as of 30 October 2021)[11]< 100 (as of 20 August 2021)[12]
Telefomin cuscusPhalanger matanimCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct1997404004040
Gobi bearUrsus arctos gobiensisCritically EndangeredN/A51 (as of 27 May 2022)[14]51 (as of 27 May 2022)[14]0[15]51 (as of 27 May 2022)[14]51 (as of 27 May 2022)[14]
Māui dolphinCephalorhynchus hectori mauiCritically EndangeredN/A55555555
Cat Ba langurTrachypithecus poliocephalusCritically EndangeredN/A656765 (as of March 2018)[16]67 (as of March 2018)[16]
Indonesian Javan rhinocerosRhinoceros sondaicus sondaicusCritically EndangeredN/A76 (as of 20 September 2022)[17]76 (as of 20 September 2022)[17]076 (as of 20 September 2022)[17]76 (as of 20 September 2022)[17]
Western Sumatran rhinocerosDicerorhinus sumatrensis sumatrensisCritically EndangeredN/A75 (as of 18 December 2022)[18]85 (as of 18 December 2022)[18]108595
Alagoas curassowMitu mituExtinct in the wildN/A0130130130
KakapoStrigops habroptilusCritically EndangeredN/A149149149149Anchor Island, Codfish Island / Whenua Hou, Little Barrier Island and Maud Island, New Zealand
Philippine eaglePithecophaga jefferyiCritically EndangeredN/A200 breeding pairs200 breeding pairs200 breeding pairs200 breeding pairs
Cross River gorillaGorilla gorilla diehliCritically EndangeredN/A2003000200300
Bornean rhinocerosDicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoniCritically EndangeredN/A< 250 (as of 24 February 2020)[19]< 250 (as of 24 February 2020)[19]0< 250 (as of 24 February 2020)[19]< 250 (as of 24 February 2020)[19]East Kalimantan, Indonesia & Sarawak, Malaysia
Malabar large-spotted civetViverra civettinaCritically Endangered, Possibly Extinct19932492490249249
Devils Hole pupfishCyprinodon diabolisCritically EndangeredN/A263 (as of 29 September 2022)[20]300 (as of 11 May 2022)[21]475 (as of 4 May 2022)[22]475 (as of 4 May 2022)[22]Devils Hole, Death Valley National Park, United States of America
North Atlantic right whaleEubalaena glacialisCritically EndangeredN/A366366366366
Black softshell turtleNilssonia nigricansCritically EndangeredN/A150150300450450Sultan Bayazid Bastami shrine at Chittagong
California condorGymnogyps californianusCritically EndangeredN/A446446446446
Central rock ratZyzomys pedunculatusCritically EndangeredN/A8008000800800
Wild Bactrian camelCamelus ferusCritically EndangeredN/A950950950950
Eastern lowland gorillaGorilla beringei graueriCritically EndangeredN/A< 5,000 (as of 7 October 2022)[23]< 5,000 (as of 7 October 2022)[23]1< 5,000 or 5,000< 5,000 or 5,000

Notes:

  • 1 Last recorded that 7 were in captivity in 1960, in zoos, circuses etc., in the International Zoo Yearbook II. Reports that there is a small population left in Malay Peninsula and Myanmar.
  • 2 On 19 March 2018, the last known Northern white rhinoceros male died, but his and another male's sperm was collected and has been used to fertilize eggs as part of a de-extinction effort. Last two known Northern white rhinoceros are both female and held in captivity in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. Unknown if anymore exist in the wildlife and if none exist in the wildlife they would be functionally extinct.

See also

References
  1. "Assessment Process". www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  2. R. MacNally and G. W. Brown, Reptiles and Habitat Fragmentation in the Box-ironbush Forests of Central Victoria, Australia: Predicting Compositional Change and Faunal Nested-ness, Oecologia 128:116–125 (2001).
  3. Prendergast, J. R.; Quinn, R. M.; Lawton, J. H.; Eversham, B. C.; Gibbons, D. W. (1993-09-23). "Rare species, the coincidence of diversity hotspots and conservation strategies". Nature. 365 (6444): 335–337. Bibcode:1993Natur.365..335P. doi:10.1038/365335a0.
  4. Dinerstein, Eric (2013) The Kingdom of Rarities. Island Press. ISBN 9781610911955.
  5. "Rare Species". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  6. "IUCN – A brief history". IUCN. 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  7. Briand, Frederic (October 2012). "Species Missing in Action - Rare or Already Extinct?". National Geographic.
  8. Multiple lines of evidence indicate survival of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Louisiana
  9. Dryococelus australis (Lord Howe Island Phasmid)
  10. The critically endangered vaquita is not doomed to extinction by inbreeding depression
  11. Searching for the Saola in the Annamite Mountains
  12. IUCN SSC experts urge for immediate action to find Saola before it’s too late
  13. Saola
  14. Population of endangered Gobi bears exceeds 50 in Mongolia
  15. Gobi Bear Project
  16. CAT BA LANGUR
  17. 2022 State of the Rhino Report
  18. Two Horned Rhino – Sumatran Rhinoceros Profile
  19. Bornean Rhinoceros
  20. Devils Hole pupfish population at 19-year high
  21. Critically endangered pupfish on the rise on 50th anniversary of official monitoring effort
  22. The Devil’s Hole pupfish has paddled back from the brink in a hellish desert domain
  23. Eastern Lowland Gorilla

Further reading
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