A conservation-dependent species is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

which has been categorised as "Conservation Dependent" ("LR/cd") by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN), i.e. as dependent on conservation efforts to prevent it from becoming

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

. Such species must be the focus of a continuing species-specific and/or habitat-specific conservation programme, the cessation of which would result in the species qualifying for one of the threatened categories within a period of five years. The category is part of the IUCN 1994 Categories & Criteria (version 2.3), which is no longer used in evaluation of taxa, but persists in the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolo ...

for taxa evaluated prior to 2001, when version 3.1 was first used. Using the 2001 (v3.1) system these taxa are classed as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

, but those that have not been re-evaluated remain with the "Conservation Dependent" category. , there remains 209 conservation-dependent plant species and 29 conservation-dependent animal species. Examples of conservation-dependent species include the

black caiman The black caiman (''Melanosuchus niger'') is a species of large crocodilian and is the largest species of the family Alligatoridae. It is a carnivorous reptile that lives along slow-moving rivers, lakes, seasonally flooded savannas of the Amazon ...

(''Melanosuchus niger''), the

sinarapan The sinarapan or tabyos (''Mistichthys luzonensis'') is a species of fish in the goby subfamily, Gobionellinae, and the only member of the monotypic genus ''Mistichthys''. It is endemic to the Philippines, where it occurs along the Bicol River an ...

, the California ground cricket, and the flowering plant '' Garcinia hermonii''.

Conservation-dependent animals

, the IUCN still lists 20 conservation-dependent animal species, and one conservation-dependent subpopulations or stocks.

Mollusks Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

Arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chitin, ...

Reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalia ...
s

Mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...
s

Subpopulations and stocks *

Bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus '' Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, a ...

(1 subpopulation/stock)

EPBC Act

In Australia, the

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

still uses a "Conservation Dependent" category for classifying fauna and flora species. Species recognised as "Conservation Dependent" do not receive special protection, as they are not considere
"matters of national environmental significance under the EPBC Act"
The legislation uses categories similar to those of the ''IUCN 1994 Categories & Criteria''. It does not, however, have a

category or any other "lower risk" categories. , only two species have received the status under the act: * Orange roughy (''Hoplostethus atlanticus'') *

Southern bent-wing bat The southern bent-wing bat (''Miniopterus orianae bassanii'') is one of two subspecies of the Australasian bent-wing bat. Its population size has declined rapidly since the 1950s, and it is classified as critically endangered by the Australian go ...

(''Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii'') No flora has been given the category under the EPBC Act.

References

{{Conservation of species 01 IUCN Red List