10 animals and 12 plants added to Australia's threatened species list

Header image - Little tern. Photo: Mike Letnic

More Australian species are being pushed to the brink of extinction.

Last week, 10 animals including a turtle named after the late Steve Irwin, and 12 plants were added to the national threatened species list. A further 6 plants, all from NSW and Queensland, were recognised as moving closer to extinction.

The key threats to these animals and plants include the destruction of their forest, savannah, river or ocean homes and, without exception, climate impacts from burning coal and gas.

Aussie plants and animals can’t take much more.

Here are just a few of the latest additions to the threatened species list:

Murray crayfish (vulnerable)

This spiny critter is the second largest freshwater crayfish in the world and can grow up to 3kg. It’s facing ongoing threats including from the impacts of climate change, and extreme weather that has killed thousands of individuals in just single weather events.

Giant burrowing frog (endangered)

This slow-moving amphibian is only found in the Sydney Basin with a key threat coming from the destruction of its habitat thanks to urban sprawl, agriculture and forestry.

Giant Burrowing Frog. Credit DonglerThongler

Giant Burrowing Frog. Photo: Donglerthrongler.

Australian humpback dolphin (vulnerable)

Not to be confused with a humpback whale, humpback dolphins live in the subtropical waters of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Alongside climate change, one of the biggest threats to these dolphins is being caught as ‘bycatch’ by the fishing industry, as well as entanglement in shark nets.

Irwin’s turtle / White-headed snapping turtle (vulnerable)

Named after iconic nature-loving larrikin, Steve Irwin, the Irwin’s turtle is found in three locations in northern QLD. Unfortunately, this turtle faces multiple threats including the destruction of its habitat for human activities and construction, climate change, feral pigs and bacterial disease.

Irwin's Turtle. Credit: Alistair Freeman

Irwin's turtle. Photo: Alistair Freeman.

Little tern (vulnerable)

This stunning migratory seabird is split into two subpopulations, one along the north coast and one along the south coast of Australia. Their habitat is being destroyed for urban sprawl, industrial developments like sand mining, and their nests are being run over by off-road vehicles and damaged by human activity on and around beaches.

Little Tern. Credit: Mike Letnic

Little tern. Photo: Mike Letnic.

Metcalfe’s greenhood (endangered)

This small orchid is only found in the New England Tablelands in northern NSW and is described as having a single helmet shaped flower. This flower is mainly threatened by weeds, habitat destruction and extreme temperatures caused by climate change.

Metcalfe's greenhood. Credit: Lachlan Copeland

Metcalfe's greenhood. Photo: Lachlan Copeland.

Blackwall Range kurrajong (critically endangered)

A beautiful flowering bottle tree, the Blackwall Range kurrajong is only found in two locations in Queensland. One of the primary threats facing this tree is habitat destruction for agriculture.

How can we protect threatened species?

The good news is, we know Australians like you and I care about nature. 86% of us want new national laws that protect iconic species and places from being wilfully destroyed, and 97% want more action to protect our country's big backyard.

And this year, we are headed to the ballot box.

Now, more than ever, we need to make our demands of the next parliament clear - save nature: stop bulldozing the bush and no more approvals for climate wrecking coal and gas.

Your vote has impact, and together we can protect all threatened species from birds to frogs, to dolphins and turtles, to orchids, trees and shrubs.

Pledge your vote to climate and nature