A quarter of freshwater animals at risk of extinction

The assessment found that crabs, crayfish and shrimps face the highest extinction risk of the groups studied, with 30% under threat, followed by 26% of freshwater fish species, and 16% of dragonflies and damselflies

A blue-fronted jewel damselfly. The global assessment of freshwater animals on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species evaluated the extinction risk of 23,496 freshwater species of fish, dragonflies, damselflies, crabs, crayfish and shrimp. Picture: Jens Kipping/IUCN/PA Wire

Almost a quarter of freshwater creatures, from fish to dragonflies, are at a high risk of extinction worldwide, scientists warn.

The global assessment of freshwater animals on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species evaluated the extinction risk of 23,496 freshwater species of fish, dragonflies, damselflies, crabs, crayfish and shrimp.