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April 28, 2022

20% of All Reptiles Face Risk of Extinction
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About one-fifth of all reptile species, including crocodiles and
turtles, are at risk of extinction. That's the conclusion of a major new
study published in the journal Nature. Multiple factors are threatening
reptiles, including deforestation, urban encroachment, hunting and the
climate emergency. The zoologist Bruce Young of Nature Serve co-led the
study.

Bruce Young: "Reptiles represent a unique evolutionary heritage on the
tree of life. And if all of those 20% of reptiles that are threatened
today go extinct, we will lose a cumulation of 15 billion years of
evolution that's led to these fascinating creatures that we see around
us today."



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