
A least-concern species is a
species that has been
categorized by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation. They do not qualify as
threatened,
near threatened, or (before 2001)
conservation dependent.
Species cannot be assigned the "Least Concern" category unless they have had their population status evaluated. That is, adequate information is needed to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of
extinction based on its
distribution or population status.
Since 2001 the category has had the abbreviation "LC", following the IUCN 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1). However, around 20% of least concern
taxa (3261 of 15636) in the IUCN database use the code "LR/lc", which indicates they have not been re-evaluated since 2000. Before 2001 "least concern" was a subcategory of the "Lower Risk" category and assigned the code "LR/lc" or lc.
While "least concern" is not considered a ''red listed'' category by the IUCN, the 2006
IUCN Red List still assigns the category to 15636 taxa. The number of animal species listed in this category totals 14033 (which includes several
undescribed species such as a frog from the genus ''
Philautus''
). There are also 101 animal subspecies listed and 1500 plant taxa (1410 species, 55 subspecies, and 35 varieties). No
fungi or
protista have the classification, though only four species in those kingdoms have been evaluated by the IUCN.
Humans qualify for this category, because they are highly abundant, and in 2008 were formally assessed
as such by the IUCN.
List of LC species
Notes and references
External links
List of Least Concern speciesas identified by the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
{{Portal bar|Ecology|Biology
Category:Biota by conservation status
Category:IUCN Red List