CANBERRA—Ten species in Australia, ranging from unique animals to distinct plants, have been identified as seriously at risk of extinction, highlighting ongoing conservation challenges in a country known for its high rate of mammal extinctions.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) released findings from a consultation with ecologists and biologists that pinpoint the ten most imperiled species. These include Tasmania's Maugean skate, the swift parrot, the regent honeyeater, the Top End nabarlek (a small wallaby), the Baw Baw frog, Victoria's grassland earless dragon, the central rock-rat, the Kangaroo Island assassin spider, and two plants: the Tunbridge leek-orchid and the Coffs Harbour Fontainea.

Darcie Carruthers, a nature campaigner at ACF, expressed urgent concern over the fate of these species, attributing their peril to inadequate environmental protections under current law. “Without the full reform of Australia's unfit-for-purpose nature law and no sign of an independent agency to enforce the law, these ten highly imperilled plants and animals are staring down the barrel of extinction,” Carruthers stated.

Specific threats include intensive salmon farming practices in Macquarie Harbour, which jeopardize the Maugean skate, and commercial logging activities that destroy the essential breeding trees needed for the survival of the swift parrot. “In virtually every case, destruction of the species’ habitat is the defining problem,” Carruthers added, underlining the widespread impact of habitat destruction on these species.

As of September 2024, Australia's national list of threatened flora, fauna, and ecological communities includes a total of 2,245 species, as reported by the ACF’s Extinction Roulette report, painting a grim picture of biodiversity under threat.