Eleven years have elapsed since the last evaluation of the status of vertebrates in China. Now, however, a project launched in March 2013 under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has completed an evaluation of the status of the vertebrates of China, using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, Version 3.1, and the Guidelines for Application of Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels, Version 4.0.
The evaluation involved more than 200 zoologists, an advisory panel, workshops and the IUCN Species Survival Commission. Working groups were established for fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, and each group consulted zoologists nationwide, revising checklists and removing out-of-date species records. In total, the evaluation confirmed the existence of 1,499 fish species, 408 amphibian species, 471 reptile species, 1,372 bird species and 656 species of mammals. Each working group then sought comments from specialists on a draft Red List. Following consideration of the feedback, a revised Red List was discussed at two review meetings, followed by a final evaluation panel in June 2014. The summary Red List report was finalized in September 2014.
A comparison with China's 1998 Red Book of Endangered Species and the Species Red List of 2003 indicates that the status of vertebrates has worsened. Of the freshwater fish three species are now categorized as Extinct, one as Regionally Extinct and 292 as threatened (Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable); of the amphibians one species is categorized as Extinct, one as Regionally Extinct and 175 as threatened; of the reptiles two species are categorized as Regionally Extinct and 136 as threatened; of the birds three species are categorized as Regionally Extinct and 146 as threatened; and of the mammals 169 are categorized as threatened. The main threats to China's vertebrates are human activities, habitat loss and overexploitation. For the mammals, overexploitation is the main threat, with 116 mammal species affected, followed by human interference and habitat loss.
