Scientific Papers — Analyses

Spatial Data Download

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ contains global assessments for more than 163,000 species. More than 83% of these (>136,200 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 : 27th June 2024

Main Dataset	Specific Group(s)	Description and Species lists	Download
Mammals    Species from the class Mammalia   polygon  1.13GB	Freshwater Mammals	Mammals found within freshwater systems	polygon  <100MB
	Marine Mammals	Mammals found only in marine habitats	polygon <500MB
	Mammals - Marine and Terrestrial	Mammals found in both marine and terrestrial habitats	polygon <50MB
	Terrestrial Mammals	Mammals found only in terrestrial habitats	polygon  752MB
Amphibians   Species from the class Amphibia   polygon  1.67GB	Tailless Amphibians	Species from the order Anura	polygon  1.52GB
	Tailed Amphibians	Species from the order Caudata	polygon  <250MB
	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  1.38GB  hydrobasin  <10MB	Crocodiles and Alligators	Species from the order Crocodylia	polygon  <100MB
	Scaled Reptiles	Species from the order Squamata	polygon  1.30GB
	Turtles	Species from the order Testudines	polygon  <50MB
	Tuatara	Single species in the order Rhynchocephalia	Download polygon data from species page.
Fishes	Blennies	Species from the families Blenniidae, Chaenopsidae, Clinidae, Dactyloscopidae, Grammatidae, Labrisomidae and Tripterygiidae	polygon  <500MB point  <1MB
	Bonefishes, Tarpons and Ladyfishes	Species from the orders Albuliformes and Elopiformes	polygon <50MB point  <1MB
	Butterflyfishes, Angelfishes and allies	Species from the families listed below: species list	polygon 1.16GB point  <1MB
	Carangiform fishes	Species from the families listed below: species list	polygon  812MB point  <1MB
	Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays and chimaeras)	Species from the class Chondrichthyes	polygon  <500MB point  <1MB hydrobasin <1MB
	Clupeiformes	Species from the order Clupeiformes	polygon  <250MB point  <1MB
	Eels	Species from the orders Anguilliformes and Saccopharyngiformes	polygon  <500MB
	Groupers	Species from the family Epinephelidae	polygon  <500MB
	Hagfishes	Species from the class Myxini	polygon  <10MB
	Pufferfishes and relatives	Species from the order  Tetraodontiformes	polygon  <500MB  point  <1MB
	Sturgeons and Paddlefishes	Species from the order Acipenseriformes	polygon  <50MB
	Syngnathiform fishes (Seahorses & Pipefishes, Ghost Pipefishes, Shrimpfishes, Trumpetfishes, Cornetfishes)	Species from the families Syngnathidae, Aulostomidae, Centriscidae, Fistulariidae and Solenostomidae	polygon  <250MB point  <1MB
	Tunas, Billfishes and Swordfishes	Species from the families Istiophoridae, Scombridae and Xiphiidae	polygon  <250MB
	Wrasses and Parrotfishes	Species from the families: Labridae and Scaridae	polygon  <500MB
	Marine Fishes (not comprehensive)	Species from the above groups which are found in marine habitats	polygon  6.57GB point  <1MB
Marine Groups	Abalones	Species from the family Haliotidae	polygon  <50MB
	Cone Snails  (not comprehensive)	Species from the family Conidae	polygon  <500MB
	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  <250MB
	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  2.12GB (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 classes Actinopterygii, Chondrichthyes, Myxini, Petromyzonti and Sarcopterygii  found within freshwater systems	polygon  2.09GB point  <10MB hydrobasin  <100MB
	Molluscs (not comprehensive)	Species from the phylum Mollusca found within freshwater systems	polygon  <500MB point  <1MB hydrobasin  <50MB
	Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)	Species from the order Odonata	polygon  789MB point  <10MB hydrobasin  <50MB
	Plants (not comprehensive)	Species from the kingdom Plantae found within freshwater systems	polygon  1.03GB 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  3.21GB point  <1MB hydrobasin <1MB

Butterflyfishes, Angelfishes and allies: 

Acanthuridae, Caesionidae, Callanthiidae, Caproidae, Centracanthidae, Cepolidae, Chaetodontidae, Dinopercidae, Drepaneidae, Emmelichthyidae, Ephippidae, Gerreidae, Haemulidae, Hapalogenyidae, Leiognathidae, Lethrinidae, Lobotidae, Lutjanidae, Luvaridae, Malacanthidae, Monodactylidae, Moronidae, Nemipteridae, Pomacanthidae, Priacanthidae, Scatophagidae, Sciaenidae, Siganidae, Sillaginidae, Sparidae, Zanclidae

Carangiform fishes:

Achiridae, Achiropsettidae, Bothidae, Carangidae, Centropomidae, Citharidae, Coryphaenidae, Cynoglossidae, Echeneidae, Istiophoridae, Lactariidae, Latidae, Leptobramidae, Menidae, Nematistiidae, Oncopteridae, Paralichthodidae, Paralichthyidae, Pleuronectidae, Poecilopsettidae, Polynemidae, Psettodidae, Rachycentridae, Rhombosoleidae, Samaridae, Scophthalmidae, Soleidae, Sphyraenidae, Toxotidae, Xiphiidae