Two Thirds Of All Freshwater Crab Species May Face Extinction Risk

Two thirds of all species of freshwater crab maybe at risk of going extinct, with one in six species particularly vulnerable, according to a new survey.

That makes freshwater crabs among the most threatened of all groups of animals assessed so far.

The study is the first global assessment of the extinction risk for any group of freshwater invertebrates.

Crab species in southeast Asia are the most at risk, from habitat destruction, pollution and drainage.

Scientists from the Zoological Society of London and Northern Michigan University led the survey, which produced the first International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species for the 1280 known species of freshwater crab.

Of those, the survey found that 227 species should be considered as near threatened, vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.

For another 628 species, not enough data exists to adequately assess their future, says the survey published in the journal Biological Conservation.