Special Animals List of California

California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB)

“Special Animals” is a broad term used to refer to all the animal taxa tracked by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB), regardless of their legal or protection status. This list is also referred to as the list of “species at risk” or “special status species.” The Special Animals List includes species, subspecies, Distinct Population Segments (DPS), or Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESU) where at least one of the following conditions applies: • Officially listed or proposed for listing under state and/or federal endangered species acts • Taxa considered by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to be a Species of Special Concern (SSC) • Taxa which meet the criteria for listing, even if not currently included on any list, as described in Section 15380 of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines • Taxa that are biologically rare, very restricted in distribution, or declining throughout their range, but not currently threatened with extirpation • Population(s) in California that may be peripheral to the major portion of a taxon’s range but are threatened with extirpation in California • Taxa closely associated with a habitat that is declining in California at a significant rate (e.g., wetlands, riparian, vernal pools, old growth forests, desert aquatic systems, native grasslands, valley shrubland habitats, etc.) • Taxa designated as a special status, sensitive, or declining species by other state or federal agencies, or a non-governmental organization (NGO), and determined by the CNDDB to be rare, restricted, declining, or threatened across their range in California