creatures that evolved to withstand 450-degree heat cannot survive sediment
Across millions of years, life has engineered itself into the planet's most inhospitable corners — creatures that thrive beside superheated ocean vents, frogs that survive on almost no water, marsupials that carved out existence in arid Australian scrub. The IUCN's latest red list, released as international bodies debate the future of deep-sea mining, reveals that human industry and ecological disruption are now moving faster than evolution can answer, pushing nearly fifty thousand species toward extinction. Yet the same assessment carries a quieter truth: where human will has been sustained and deliberate, as with Australia's numbat, species have come back from the edge. The question the red list poses is not whether recovery is possible, but whether the resolve to pursue it will arrive in time.
- Creatures that evolved over millions of years to endure 450°C hydrothermal vents cannot survive the sediment stirred up by seabed mining — two-thirds of deep-sea mollusc species now face extinction from an industry still seeking its regulatory framework.
- A viral video of a desert rain frog's distress call turned the animal into an exotic pet trend, compounding the habitat destruction already carving into its narrow coastal range across South Africa and Namibia.
- Five Australian marsupials — four mulgaras and one little bettong — have been formally confirmed extinct, their evolutionary lines erased by feral cats and foxes in a continent that has already lost more than forty modern mammal species to invasive predators.
- The International Seabed Authority is meeting in Jamaica right now to set mining rules, while the IUCN — which voted for a moratorium on deep-sea mining in 2021 — warns that regulatory decisions made in the coming months will determine whether vent species survive at all.
- The numbat's rebound from fewer than 300 individuals to between 2,000 and 3,000 — achieved through predator culling, captive breeding, and predator-proof fencing — demonstrates that extinction trajectories can be reversed when effort is sustained across decades.
- With 49,505 of the red list's 175,909 assessed species now threatened, the assessment lands not as an obituary but as an urgent ledger: the losses are real, the path forward is proven, and the margin for delay is narrowing.
Life has pressed itself into the planet's most extreme places — snails and clams clustered around hydrothermal vents where water erupts at 450 degrees Celsius, desert frogs that bury themselves in sand and survive on almost no moisture. These are millions of years of adaptation made flesh. But the IUCN's latest red list makes a sobering argument: human activity is now outpacing what evolution can absorb.
For the deep-sea molluscs, the threat is seabed mining. More than two hundred species live exclusively on hydrothermal vents, many discovered only within the last decade. Two-thirds face extinction — not from the scalding temperatures they were built to endure, but from mining sediment that settles over them and smothers them. One snail, Lirapex felix, is critically endangered from operations in the Indian Ocean. The irony is difficult to ignore.
The desert rain frog arrived at a similar endpoint by a different route. Already squeezed by diamond mining and energy infrastructure along the coasts of South Africa and Namibia, the frog's fate was complicated further when a video of its high-pitched distress call went viral. Demand from the exotic pet trade surged. The frog is now classified as vulnerable — undone not by a single pressure but by several arriving at once.
In Australia, five small marsupials have been formally confirmed extinct on the red list, none seen for at least sixty years. Feral cats and foxes, invasive predators responsible for more than forty modern mammal extinctions across the continent, are the likely cause. Each lost species represents an evolutionary line that took millions of years to develop.
The red list, however, does not read only as loss. The numbat — a striped termite-eater that numbered fewer than three hundred individuals in the late 1970s — now has a population of two to three thousand. Conservationists baited predators, erected predator-proof fencing, bred numbats at Perth Zoo, and relocated animals to establish new colonies. At least five self-sustaining groups exist today, and the species has moved from endangered to near threatened. The numbat is also the last member of its entire family, Myrmecobiidae, and its digging behaviour improves soil water penetration, benefiting the broader woodland ecosystem.
The IUCN's director general noted that even the most ingeniously adapted creatures now face extinction as pressures mount — but that conservation, pursued with patience and resources, demonstrably works. With the International Seabed Authority meeting in Jamaica to discuss mining regulations, and more than thirty vent species already sheltered in marine protected areas, the red list arrives as both a warning and a map: the losses are real, the tools for reversal exist, and the window for using them is open — for now.
Life has found a way into nearly every corner of the planet—creatures have evolved to survive in places that seem impossible. Snails and clams live on the ocean floor where water shoots from hydrothermal vents at 450 degrees Celsius, hot enough to boil flesh in seconds. Desert frogs have learned to live on almost no water at all, burying themselves in sand during the day and emerging only at night. These are not accidents of nature but the result of millions of years of adaptation, each species a solution to an extreme problem. Yet according to the latest assessment from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, these ingenious survival strategies are no longer enough.
The threat is not always what you might expect. For the deep-sea molluscs—snails, limpets, clams—the danger comes from mining. More than two hundred species of these creatures live only on hydrothermal vents, many discovered within the last decade. Two-thirds of them now face extinction. When mining operations extract minerals from the seabed, they stir up sediment that settles over the animals and smothers them. One snail, Lirapex felix, is classified as critically endangered because of mining activity in the Indian Ocean. The irony is sharp: creatures that evolved to withstand temperatures that would incinerate most life on Earth cannot survive the sediment from human industry.
The desert rain frog tells a different story but arrives at the same endpoint. This bulbous creature, found along the coasts of South Africa and Namibia, has adapted to need almost no water—a remarkable feat in an arid landscape. But diamond mining and energy infrastructure have carved into its habitat. Then came a viral video of the frog's distress call, a high-pitched squeak that became a curiosity. Demand from the exotic pet trade surged. The frog is now classified as vulnerable, its survival threatened not by one pressure but by several converging at once.
In Australia, the story has grown darker. Five small marsupials—four species of mulgaras, rat-sized carnivores, and one little bettong, a rabbit-sized jumper—have been confirmed extinct on the red list. None have been seen for at least sixty years. They were likely hunted to extinction by feral cats and foxes, invasive predators that have driven more than forty modern mammal extinctions across the continent. The loss is not merely numerical; it represents the erasure of evolutionary lines that took millions of years to develop.
Yet the red list also carries a counterweight. The numbat, a striped termite-eater from Australia, has been pulled back from the edge. In the late 1970s, fewer than three hundred remained. Today, between two thousand and three thousand survive. This recovery did not happen by accident. Conservationists baited and killed feral predators, built predator-proof fencing, bred numbats in captivity at Perth Zoo, and relocated healthy animals to establish new populations. At least five self-sustaining groups now exist. The numbat has moved from endangered to near threatened on the red list—a reclassification that represents decades of sustained effort.
The numbat's recovery matters beyond the species itself. As a termite-eater, the numbat digs constantly, and this digging increases water penetration into the soil, helping protect woodlands and the broader ecosystem. It is also the last surviving member of its family, Myrmecobiidae, a unique evolutionary line that would be lost forever if the species vanished. The numbat occupies only 0.04 percent of its original range across southern Australia, meaning the work is far from finished. But the principle is clear: long-term conservation works.
Dr. Grethel Aguilar, director general of the IUCN, framed the moment this way: life on Earth has adapted to survive in the most hostile and unusual habitats imaginable, yet as pressures mount, even creatures with the most ingenious survival strategies face extinction. But there is a path forward. Nature conservation works. The red list now includes 175,909 species, of which 49,505 are threatened with extinction. The assessment of deep-sea molluscs comes as the International Seabed Authority meets in Jamaica to discuss mining regulations. The IUCN voted for a moratorium on deep-sea mining in 2021. Some vent species are already protected—more than thirty live in marine protected areas where mining is prohibited, including an ornately shelled snail, Provanna exquisita, that exists only in the Mariana Arc of Fire national wildlife refuge in the Pacific. The question now is whether protection will expand before more species slip away.
Notable Quotes
Life on Earth has adapted to survive in the most hostile and unusual habitats, but as pressures on biodiversity mount across the planet, even the creatures with the most ingenious survival strategies are under threat. There is a clear path out of the biodiversity crisis: nature conservation works.— Dr. Grethel Aguilar, IUCN director general
Long-term conservation effort works; without it, invasive cats and foxes will continue to drive Australia's small marsupials and native rodents to extinction.— Prof. John Woinarski, IUCN species survival commission
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does the deep-sea mining threat feel different from the others—habitat loss, climate change, invasive species?
Because these creatures evolved to survive in one of the most extreme environments on Earth, and that adaptation is useless against sediment. They solved the problem of crushing pressure and boiling water. They didn't evolve defenses against being smothered by mining debris.
The numbat recovery is presented as a success story, but it only occupies 0.04 percent of its original range. Is that really success?
It's success in the sense that extinction was prevented and populations are growing. But you're right to notice the qualifier. Without continued management, the numbat could still disappear. It's not a victory lap—it's proof that the work has to continue indefinitely.
The desert rain frog went from being threatened by mining to being threatened by a viral video. That seems almost absurd.
It is absurd, but it's also how modern extinction works. Multiple pressures converge. The frog was already vulnerable. The video just added another weight to an already burdened species.
Five Australian marsupials are now confirmed extinct. How does that happen without anyone noticing?
They're small creatures in a vast landscape. Feral cats and foxes are efficient predators. Once populations drop below a certain threshold, recovery becomes nearly impossible. By the time anyone realizes they're gone, they've been gone for decades.
What does the numbat's digging have to do with conservation?
It's a reminder that species aren't isolated. The numbat eats termites, which means it digs constantly. That digging changes soil structure, affects water retention, protects woodlands. Losing the numbat would have rippled through the ecosystem in ways we might not have fully understood until it was too late.
Is the moratorium on deep-sea mining actually being enforced?
The IUCN voted for one in 2021, but enforcement is complicated. The International Seabed Authority is meeting now to discuss regulations. Some species are protected in marine reserves, but many aren't. The assessment of vent molluscs is partly meant to inform that conversation.