Resources

• Key Documents
• Categories and Criteria
• Publications
• Classification Schemes
• Data Organization
• Red List API
• Spatial Data Download
• Information Sources and Quality
• Assessment Process
• Red List Training
• References
• Acknowledgements
• SIS News and Updates
• Planned IUCN Red List Updates
•  

Spatial Data Download

Red List Spatial Data

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species contains global assessments for just over 88,000 species, of which about two-thirds have spatial data. This spatial data provided below is for comprehensively assessed taxonomic groups. It is important to note that some species such as those listed as Data Deficient are not mapped and subspecies are mapped within the parental species. The data is available as ESRI shapefiles format and contains the known range of each species. Ranges are depicted as polygons, except for the freshwater HydroSHED tables. The shapefiles contain taxonomic information, distribution status, IUCN Red List category, sources and other details about the maps (see metadata document).

Please note that the files are large and download times could be quite lengthy. Please be aware that not all species have spatial data due to Data Deficient species not being consistently mapped and subspecies beginning included within parental species polygons.

For ease of distribution and downloading, the data is divided by taxonomic groups.  Groups that have been comprehensively assessed are those containing >90% species evaluated within the described taxon group.

Freshwater species are mapped to pre-defined river/lake catchment units called HydroBASINS. It is widely accepted that the river/lake catchment is the most appropriate management unit for inland waters.  Freshwater species distribution downloads have been provided in two formats: 

1. Freshwater Polygon Groups: These groups comprise of dissolved species distributions of the HydroBASIN ranges (these generalised or aggregated species ranges are provided for compatibility between the other spatial taxon downloads and reducing the size of the files).
2. Freshwater HydroBASIN Tables: These species range tables contain the HydroBASIN ID's field which can be joined to the HydroBASINs spatial data.

The data is made freely available to the public for non-commercial use, to help inform conservation planning and other decision-making processes (see Terms and Conditions of Use). For commercial use of our data visit IBAT for Business. For more information about the assessment process, see Red List Assessment Process. Please note that unfortunately, we cannot provide technical support for use of the data in analyses or general GIS support.

For all enquiries about spatial data, please contact the IUCN Red List GIS Unit.

More information about Spatial data resources here.

Note: A species richness page will be available shortly. 

Main Dataset	Specific Group(s)	Descriptions and species lists
Mammals 709MB
	Marine Mammals 370MB	Includes mammal families for seals, sea lions and walrus, whales, dolphins and porpoises, manatees and dugongs.
	Terrestrial Mammals 339MB	Excludes mammal families for seals, sea lions and walrus, whales, dolphins and porpoises, manatees and dugongs.
Amphibians 222MB
	Tailless Amphibians200MB	Species from the order Anura.
	Tailed Amphibians21MB	Species from the order Caudata.
	Caecilian Amphibians1.2MB	Species from the order Gymnophiona.
Birds
		BirdLife International is the IUCN Red Listing Authority for birds and maintains the most up to date information on global bird distributions. To request a copy of the shapefiles of species range maps for threatened birds, please visit the BirdLife Data Zone.
Reptiles219MB       (not comprehensive)
	Sea Snakes42MB	Sea-snakes includes the true sea snakes, mud snakes and file snakes.
	Chameleons4MB	Chameleons includes species from the family Chamaeleonidae.
	Crocodiles9MB	Crocodiles includes species from the order Crocodylia.
Chondrichthyes219MB
		Chondrichthyes spatial data includes species from the class Chondrichthyes as a shapefile.
Marine Fish1.5GB  (not comprehensive)
	Angelfish54MB	Species from the family Pomacanthidae.
	Bonefishes and Tarpons23MB	Species from the family Albulidae, Elopidae and Megalopidae.
	Butterflyfish110MB	Species from the family Chaetodontidae.
	Combtooth Blennies297MB	Species from the family Blenniidae.
	Damselfish12MB	Species from the family Pomacentridae.
	Groupers115MB	Species from the family Epinephelidae.
	Hagfish136MB	Species from the family Myxinidae.
	Pufferfish136MB	Species from the family Tetraodontidae.
	Sea Bream and Porgies129MB	Species from the family Sparidae and Centracanthidae.
	Surgeonfish, Tangs and Unicornfish105MB	Species from the family Acanthuridae.
	Wrasse396MB	Species from the family Labridae.
	Tunas and Billfishes160MB	Species from the family Istiophoridae, Scombridae and Xiphiidae.
Marine Groups
	Cone Snails416MB	The ranges are available as a single shapefile for all cone snail species (family Conidae).
	Corals1.2GB	The ranges are available as three shapefiles via families for all warm water reef-building coral species.
	Lobsters216MB	The ranges are available as a single shapefile for lobster species from the families: Enoplometopidae, Glypheidae, Nephropidae, Palinuridae, Polychelidae and Scyllaridae.
	Mangroves107MB	The ranges are available as a single shapefile for plant species considered to form part of the mangrove ecosystem.
	Sea Cucumbers216MB	The ranges are available as a single shapefile for all commercial sea cucumber species (class Holothuroidea).
	Seagrasses52MB	The ranges are available as a single shapefile for all seagrass seagrass species.
Freshwater Polygon Groups  1.6GB                (not comprehensive)
	Fish1.3GB (not comprehensive)	Species ranges from the Class Actinopterygii found within the freshwater system.
	Mollusc543MB (not comprehensive)	Species ranges from the Phylum Mollusc found within the freshwater system.
	Plants1.1GB (not comprehensive)	Species ranges from the Phylum Plantae found within the freshwater system.
	Odonata946MB (not comprehensive)	Species ranges from the Order Odonata found within the freshwater system.
	Shrimps83MB	Species ranges for shrimps found within the freshwater system.
	Crabs 65MB	Species ranges for crabs found within the freshwater system.
	Crayfish51MB	Species ranges for crayfish found within the freshwater system.
Freshwater HydroBASIN Tables 296MB  (not comprehensive)
	Fish30MB (not comprehensive)	Species ranges as a HydroBASIN table from the Class Actinopterygii found within the freshwater system.
	Mollusc24MB (not comprehensive)	Species ranges as a HydroBASIN table from the Phylum Mollusc found within the freshwater system.
	Plants70MB (not comprehensive)	Species ranges as a HydroBASIN table from the Phylum Plantae found within the freshwater system.
	Odonata188MB (not comprehensive)	Species ranges as a HydroBASIN table from Order Odonata found within the freshwater system.
	Shrimps14MB	Species ranges as a HydroBASIN table for shrimps found within the freshwater system.
	Crabs3MB	Species ranges as a HydroBASIN table for crabs found within the freshwater system.
	Crayfish3MB	Species ranges as a HydroBASIN table for crayfish found within the freshwater system.