There are more than 600 endangered species in our country, but some are in a critical situation
Of the more than 600 threatened animal species in Spain, about a hundred are endemic to the country (that is, they are only found here in the world), according to various specialized studies. Of all of them, below are the ones that are most at risk.
1. Typhlatya miravetensis
The only troglodyte shrimp in Spain has no common name and lives in the muddy depths of the Ullat Cave, in Cabanes (Castellón). Although the exact number of specimens is unknown, it is in critical danger, since there is only one population, highly exposed to challenges such as the overexploitation of the aquifers in the area.
2. Montseny Newt (Calotriton arnoldi)
Unknown to science until the early 21st century, it lives in the torrents of the park that gives it its name, in the province of Barcelona, and its dependence on pristine, clear waters has made it Europe’s most endangered amphibian.
3. Salinette ( Aphanius baeticus)
This fish, also called the Atlantic fartet, lives in saline streams and lagoons in the Guadalquivir basin and has fewer than eight populations, which are also at risk of decline, as they are highly vulnerable to water contamination and predation by of exotic species.
4. Ferret (Alytes muletensis)
The ferreret or Balearic toad lives in the wildest areas of the Sierra de Tramontana (Mallorca) and its main threat is species such as the cat, the rat or the water snake, although it also faces the attack of the chytrid fungus, responsible for the disappearance of almost one hundred types of amphibians in the world.
5. Samarugo (Hispanic Valencia)
Native to the Mediterranean coast, this fish, which does not exceed eight centimeters, is in a critical situation due to the degradation of the marshes and springs in which it lives and the pressure of invasive exotic species, such as rainbow trout or gambusia.
6. Batueca lizard (Iberolacerta martinezricai)
90% of the total population of this lizard lives on the summit of Peña de Francia (Salamanca), so the degradation of its habitat is responsible for its endangerment.
7. Gran Canaria blue finch (Fringilla polatzeki)
Three pine forests on the island of Gran Canaria constitute the last bastions of this bird, of which it is estimated that there are no more than 430 adult specimens: the destruction of its ecosystems, by logging or by fire, has pushed it to the brink of extinction, although some recovery of the species has recently been confirmed.
8. Giant lizard of La Gomera (gallotia bravoana)
Rediscovered in 1999, all the free specimens of the giant lizard of La Gomera are concentrated in less than two hectares of land, confined to an inaccessible cliff on the island, where they take refuge from their main enemy: the domestic cat.
9. Iberian Lynx (lynx pardinus)
In 2002, this cat reached its historical minimum with less than one hundred specimens, but repopulation policies have allowed its number to multiply tenfold, so that from the only two population centers where it was concentrated – the Doñana park and the Sierra de Andújar – has also spread to Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha and even neighboring Portugal.
10. Iberian imperial eagle (aquila adalberti)
It is estimated that 80% of the Iberian imperial eagle chicks were electrocuted in the 1960s, but today the populations of this raptor are recovering and the latest censuses record more than 500 pairs in Spain, distributed throughout the south and north. center of the peninsula.
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