Later, gator? One-fifth of all reptile species could go extinct, new study says

A first-of-its-kind global assessment of more than 10,000 species found that over 21% of reptile species are threatened with extinction.

The findings show that some reptile species need urgent protection from extinction.

The results of the global reptile assessment show the need to ramp up global efforts to conserve them, according to study co-leader Neil Cox.

The action plan is necessary to protect these species.

The study was published in a British journal.

The risk that climate change poses is uncertain, but study authors say the top threats to reptiles are agriculture, logging, and urban development.

Of the 10,196 species assessed, they found that at least 1,829 were threatened with extinction. 57.9% and 50% of crocodiles and turtles are assessed under threat, respectively.

Efforts already underway to conserve mammals, birds, and amphibians are more likely than expected to benefit many threatened reptiles, according to research.

According to the study authors, many of the risks that reptiles face are similar to those faced by those other animal groups, and may have benefited them.

The results of the study show that reptile research is no longer overshadowed by other research. Mark Auliya of the Zoological Research Museum in Bonn, Germany, said that it is concerning that more than a fifth of all reptile species are threatened.

The study included lizards, snakes, and tuatara, the only living member of a lineage that evolved 200 million to 250 million years ago.

Many reptiles, like the tuatara or pig-nosed turtle, are like living fossils, whose loss would spell the end of not just species that play unique ecosystems roles, but also billions of years of evolutionary history.

A program director at the National Science Foundation said that the potential loss of one-fifth of all reptile species reminds us how much of Earth's biodiversity is disappearing, a crisis that is threatening all species.

More information: Neil Cox et al, A global reptile assessment highlights shared conservation needs of tetrapods, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04664-7 Journal information: Nature

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