Australia’s reptiles ‘risk extinction’

GENEVA: Australia’s reptiles, including lizards and snakes, are facing growing threats from invasive species and climate change, with seven percent on the verge of extinction, conservationists said on Thursday.

In an update to its "Red List" of threatened species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said virtually all of Australia’s unique reptile species were now considered threatened and that one in 14 risked extinction.

"This Red List update highlights the vulnerability of Australia’s lizards and snakes to invasive alien species," Philip Bowles, who coordinates IUCN’s work on snakes and lizards, said in a statement.

A full 975 Australian reptile species are currently on the Red List, IUCN said, adding that the vast majority of the threatened species were endemic to Australia.