Understanding IUCN Red List Categories
A quick reference to every IUCN Red List category and how conservation status appears in Biosphere.
A plain-language guide to the IUCN Red List categories used across Biosphere species profiles, the Catalog and habitat guides.
- Organization
- Biosphere
- Type
- conservation
- Format
- guide
- Audience
- general, students, educators
- Topics
- conservation, endangered species
Key information
- Based on: IUCN Red List categories
- How to use: Quick reference table — for the full story, read the related Journal article
- Used in: Species profiles, Catalog filters, habitat guides
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species groups species into categories according to their risk of extinction. Biosphere shows these categories on species profiles and lets you filter the Catalog by them.
The categories
| Code | Category | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| EX | Extinct | No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died |
| EW | Extinct in the Wild | Survives only in cultivation, captivity or outside its natural range |
| CR | Critically Endangered | Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild |
| EN | Endangered | Very high risk of extinction in the wild |
| VU | Vulnerable | High risk of extinction in the wild |
| NT | Near Threatened | Close to qualifying for a threatened category |
| LC | Least Concern | Widespread and abundant; does not qualify for a threatened category |
| DD | Data Deficient | Not enough information to assess its risk |
| NE | Not Evaluated | Not yet assessed against the criteria |
Examples in Biosphere
- The gorilla and the axolotl are listed as Critically Endangered.
- The tiger is Endangered and the snow leopard is Vulnerable.
- The gray wolf is listed as Least Concern globally, even where local populations are at risk.
Statuses change as new assessments are published, so always check the date of the assessment when you need the latest information.