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Scientific Papers — Analyses

Spatial Data Download

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species contains global assessments for more than 157,100 species. More than 83% of these (>130,500 species) have spatial data.

The spatial data provided below are mostly for comprehensively assessed taxonomic groups and selected freshwater groups. It is important to note that some species (such as those listed as Data Deficient) are not mapped and subspecies, varieties and subpopulations are mapped within the parent species.

The data are made available in three formats, including taxonomic information, distribution status, IUCN Red List Category, sources and other details about the maps (see metadata document). Most species will have either polygons or points, only some have both:

  1. Polygons in Esri shapefile format, containing the known range of each species. Note that sometimes the range is incomplete.

  2. Points as a csv (comma separated value) table including the latitude and longitude of each observation.

  3. Freshwater HydroBASIN Tables in csv format. 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. These species range tables contain the HydroBASINS ID field which can be joined to the HydroBASINS spatial data. 

Please note: Some of the files are large, therefore download times can be quite lengthy. The largest HydroBASINS tables (Fishes, Molluscs, Odonata and Plants) have more rows than can be viewed in common spreadsheet applications such as Excel or LibreOffice Calc so these groups have been split into smaller tables.

For ease of distribution and downloading, the data are divided by taxonomic groups. Groups that have been comprehensively assessed are those containing >80% of species evaluated within the described taxon group.The data are made freely available for non-commercial use, to help inform conservation planning and other non-commercial decision-making processes (see Terms and Conditions of Use).

For commercial use of the data, visit the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) website.

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 more information about the standards for Red List spatial data, see Mapping Standards and Data Quality for IUCN Red List Spatial Data.

For Species Richness and Rarity-Weighted Richness maps and downloads, these are  available under the Spatial Data & Mapping Resources heading.

Note: As of the 2023-1 update, the 'binomial' attribute has been renamed as 'sci_name' in line with the Mapping Standards. Any processes that refer to the 'binomial' attribute will need to be amended to 'sci_name'.

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

Data last updated : 11th December 2023

Main Dataset Specific Group(s) Description and Species lists

Download

Mammals 

 

Species from the class Mammalia.

 

polygon  1.14GB

Freshwater Mammals

Mammals found within freshwater systems. 

polygon  <100MB

Marine Mammals

Mammals found only in marine habitats. 

polygon 358MB

Mammals - Marine and Terrestrial

Mammals found in both marine and terrestrial habitats.

polygon <50MB

Terrestrial Mammals

Mammals found only in terrestrial habitats.

polygon  833MB

Amphibians

 

Species from the class Amphibia.

 

polygon  1.73GB

Tailless Amphibians

Species from the order Anura.

polygon  1.57GB

Tailed Amphibians

Species from the order Caudata.

polygon  128MB

Caecilian Amphibians

Species from the order Gymnophiona.

polygon  <50MB

Birds

BirdLife International is the IUCN Red List 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 birds, please visit the BirdLife Data Zone.

Reptiles

 

Species from the class Reptilia.

 

polygon  1.39GB 

hydrobasin  <10MB

 

Crocodiles and Alligators

Species from the order Crocodylia.

polygon  <100MB

Scaled Reptiles

Species from the order Squamata.

polygon  1.32GB

Turtles

Species from the order Testudines.

polygon  <50MB

Tuatara

Single species in the order Rhynchocephalia.

Download polygon data from species page.

Fishes

Angelfishes

Species from the family Pomacanthidae.

polygon  <100MB

Blennies

Species from the family Blenniidae.

polygon  337MB

point  <1MB

Bonefishes and Tarpons

Species from the families Albulidae, Elopidae and Megalopidae.

polygon <50MB

point  <1MB

Butterflyfishes

Species from the family Chaetodontidae.

polygon  <250MB

Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays and chimaeras)

Species from the class Chondrichthyes.

polygon  485MB

point  <1MB

hydrobasin <1MB

Clupeiformes

Species from the order Clupeiformes.

polygon  282MB

point  <1MB

Groupers

Species from the family Epinephelidae.

polygon  282MB

Hagfishes

Species from the class Myxini.

polygon  <10MB

Pufferfishes

Species from the family Tetraodontidae.

polygon  <250MB 

point  <1MB

 

Seabreams, Porgies and Picarels

Species from the families Sparidae and Centracanthidae.

polygon  <100MB

Surgeonfishes, Tangs and Unicornfishes

Species from the family Acanthuridae.

polygon  <250MB

Syngnathiform fishes (Seahorses & Pipefishes, Ghost Pipefishes, Shrimpfishes, Trumpetfishes, Cornetfishes)

Species from the families Syngnathidae, Aulostomidae, Centriscidae, Fistulariidae and Solenostomidae.

polygon  <250MB

point  <1MB

Tunas and Billfishes

Species from the family Istiophoridae, Scombridae and Xiphiidae.

polygon  <250MB

Wrasses and Parrotfishes

Species from the families: Labridae and  Scaridae.

polygon  463MB

Marine Fishes

(not comprehensive)

Species from the above groups which are found in marine habitats.

polygon  2.43GB

point  <1MB

Marine Groups

Abalones

Species from the family Haliotidae.

polygon  <50MB

Cone Snails 

Species from the family Conidae.

polygon  475MB

Reef-forming Corals

Includes for all warm water reef-building coral species. 

polygon  1.22GB

Lobsters

Species from the families  Enoplometopidae, Glypheidae, Nephropidae, Palinuridae, Polychelidae and Scyllaridae.

polygon  217MB

Mangroves

Includes all plant species considered to form part of the mangrove ecosystem.

polygon  <100MB

Seagrasses

Includes all seagrass species.

polygon  <100MB

Plants

 

Species from the kingdom Plantae

 

polygon  2.06GB

(not comprehensive)

 

Birches Species from the family Betulaceae.

polygon  <10MB

point  <1MB

Magnolias

Species from the family Magnoliaceae.

polygon  <10MB

point  <1MB

Maples

Species from the genus Acer.

polygon  <10MB

point  <1MB

Southern beeches

Species from the family Nothofagaceae.

point  <1MB

Teas

Species from the family Theaceae.

polygon  <10MB

point  <1MB

Freshwater Groups

 

Crabs

Crab species found within freshwater systems. 

polygon  <100MB

point  <1MB

hydrobasin  <10MB

Crayfishes

Crayfish species found within freshwater systems. 

polygon  <50MB

hydrobasin  <10MB

Fishes

Species from the class Actinopterygii  found within freshwater systems.

polygon  2.04GB

point  <10MB

hydrobasin  <50MB

Molluscs

(not comprehensive)

Species from the phylum Mollusca found within freshwater systems. 

polygon  591MB

point  <1MB

hydrobasin  <50MB

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)

Species from the order Odonata.

polygon  922MB

point  <10MB

hydrobasin  <50MB

Plants

(not comprehensive)

Species from the kingdom Plantae found within freshwater systems. 

polygon  2.06GB

point  <10MB

hydrobasin  <100MB

Shrimps

Shrimp species found within freshwater systems.

polygon  <100MB

point  <1MB

hydrobasin <10MB

Other Species with freshwater hydrobasin data not included in any other hydrobasin group.

polygon  2.40GB

point  <1MB

hydrobasin <1MB

 


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