**Almost 10% of the World’s mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish are at risk of extinction, says an Australian report.**The animals face threats including habitat loss and climate change.
The report comes from Australia’s Biological Resources Study, a project aiming to document all of the planet’s known animal and plant species.
The study found that almost 1% of the World’s 1.9 million classified species were threatened.
This included 9.2% of major vertebrate species.
The publication, Numbers of Living Species in Australia and the World, is part of a major effort to document the entire planet’s animal and plant life.
It said that 20% of mammals were endangered, as were 12% percent of birds and 29% of amphibians.
Almost 5% of reptiles were considered threatened, along with 4% of fish species.
Peter Garrett, Australian Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, said: “We need this essential information to do a better job of managing our biodiversity against the threats of invasive species, habitat loss and climate change.”
Mr Garrett also announced a partnership between the the Australian Biological Resources Study, and the mining company BHP Billiton to name and describe 500 reef species over the next three years.