Oryx

The Uzbek endemic Astragalus centralis E. Sheld. is Critically Endangered and at serious risk of extinction without urgent conservation action | Oryx | Cambridge Core The Uzbek endemic Astragalus centralis E. Sheld. is Critically Endangered and at serious risk of extinction without urgent conservation action

🔓️ Read the full article, Open Access, in Oryx here: doi.org/10.1017/S003...

🔴 New research in Oryx assesses Astragalus centralis as Critically Endangered under the IUCN Red List criteria.

With only a single known declining population, the species urgently requires habitat protection, ex situ propagation, conservation translocation and regulated grazing.

Oryx: Volume 59 - Issue 4 | Cambridge Core Cambridge Core - Oryx - Volume 59 - Issue 4

Read our issue, Open Access, here:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Read the issue blog here: www.oryxthejournal.org/blog/latest-...

Oryx: Volume 59 - Issue 4 | Cambridge Core Cambridge Core - Oryx - Volume 59 - Issue 4

🪾Today, its rich mosaic of habitats face mounting threats from land-use change, invasive species and overexploitation. This issue features research on rediscovered endemic Brazilian species, hybridization threatening primate conservation, and the first record of the elusive bush dog in Minas Gerais.

🌳The latest issue of Oryx focuses on one of the world’s most diverse yet vulnerable biomes—the Atlantic Forest. Once spanning 1.3 million km² across Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, this biodiversity hotspot has lost nearly 90% of its original vegetation.

Indigenous Peoples and local communities report a consistent decline in the body mass of birds across three continents | Oryx | Cambridge Core Indigenous Peoples and local communities report a consistent decline in the body mass of birds across three continents

You can read Fernández-Llamazares et al.'s article, Open Access:
doi.org/10.1017/S003...

📸 Photos by Joan de la Malla

A global study combining data with insights from Indigenous and local communities across three continents has revealed that commonly observed bird species today are smaller-bodied than those remembered from past decades, highlighting the avian biodiversity crisis and the importance of collaboration.

Like needles in a haystack—searching for snails in the Polynesian forest By Justin Gerlach, 4th February 2026

Read more about the Partula story in the Oryx blog, and in Gerlach et al.'s article, 'Re-establishment of Partula tohiveana tree snails in French Polynesia after 40 years of extinction in the wild':

🖊️: www.oryxthejournal.org/blog/like-ne...

🔓️: doi.org/10.1017/S003...

@jstgerlach.bsky.social @zslofficial.bsky.social @edinburghzoo.bsky.social

🐌Justin Gerlach's blog post traces the remarkable journey of Partula conservation from the near‑total collapse of wild populations in the 1970s, following the introduction of the predatory rosy wolf snail, to successful reintroduction efforts.

📣 We are seeking a full-time Editor to lead and manage the Journal.

Apply here: www.fauna-flora.org/about/career...

Scaling cliffs and chasing shadows: in search of the elusive long-tailed goral By Yeong-Seok Jo, 30th January 2026

Read more about their field work in their blog: www.oryxthejournal.org/blog/scaling...

Jo et al.'s open‑access article is available in Oryx: doi.org/10.1017/S003...

Jo et al. have produced the first comprehensive distribution map for South Korea’s endangered long‑tailed goral.

For this elusive, cliff‑dwelling species, they combined species distribution modelling with three years of rigorous field surveys across the Baekdudaegan Mountains ⛰️

🐸 Oryx Conservation News 📣

Borzée et al. report that the IUCN World Conservation Congress adopted a resolution on 9 October 2025 to guide global amphibian conservation.

Read the article in full, Open Access, in Oryx here:
doi.org/qkgq

Photo by Diego Rastelli on Unsplash.

📣 Oryx Conservation News:
Henriques et al. report on the rapid rise of an international ant pet trade and call on CITES Parties to act 🐜

Read about it in their Oryx piece here:
doi.org/qkgp

Photo by Tao Yuan on Unsplash.

Emerging mauve stinger bloom in the Pagasetic Gulf, central Greece | Oryx | Cambridge Core Emerging mauve stinger bloom in the Pagasetic Gulf, central Greece

You can read the Conservation News piece, Open Access, in Oryx here: doi.org/qkgk

Photo: Emma Birdsey CC BY-SA 4.0

🪼 Taklis' Conservation News piece in Oryx reports a significant aggregation of mauve stinger jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca) in the Pagasetic Gulf, central Greece, observed in May 2025.

🦆 Poland has strengthened legal protection for five bird species—the common pochard, tufted duck, Eurasian coot, Eurasian woodcock and hazel grouse—by removing them from the game list!

Full protection takes effect today, January 2026 🎉

📖 Read about it in Marchowski & Chara's piece: doi.org/qkgn

🐈 Jakher et al.'s Conservation News piece in Oryx shows the first photographic confirmation of the melanistic leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) in the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve.

Read the Conservation News piece, Open Access, in Oryx here: doi.org/qkgg

Fankem et al.'s article, recently published in Oryx, places an estimated ≈11,787 great apes across the ~11,000 km² Dja‑Ngoyla Complex in south‑eastern Cameroon, where western lowland gorillas and central chimpanzees live in sympatry.

doi.org/qkgm
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash.

🌿Read about the first confirmed records of Catasetum arietinum in Paraíba, extending this rare Brazilian orchid’s known range.

The findings highlight the fragility of these forest remnants and the need for expanded botanical surveys and conservation efforts in under‑studied areas.

doi.org/qkgc

A new chapter for soil biodiversity: launch of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Woodlouse Specialist Group | Oryx | Cambridge Core A new chapter for soil biodiversity: launch of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Woodlouse Specialist Group

You can read more about the establishment of this group in Oryx's Conservation News piece by De Smedt et al.:
doi.org/qjcr

Photo by burak emre cıra on Unsplash.

🗞️ The IUCN SSC has launched a Woodlouse Specialist Group. Woodlice are a group of 4,100+ species that drive litter decomposition, nutrient cycling and soil water retention, and yet have been largely overlooked in conservation planning🪵

The the Indian mongoose Herpestes auropunctatus, has been declared successfully eradicated from the World Heritage Site, Amami Oshima, after 31 years of sustained efforts.

Read about this conservation milestone in Oryx:
doi.org/qjc9

Photo by Arya Tulsyan on Unsplash.

In search of the elusive bear cuscus

Read the blog here: www.oryxthejournal.org/blog/in-sear...

📖 Read the article, “A species under siege: modelling habitat suitability for the bear cuscus Ailurops ursinus in South Sulawesi”, in Oryx here: doi.org/qjwn

Marliana & Nugraha's blog discusses their research on the bear cuscus in South Sulawesi. Over 92% of the landscape is unsuitable habitat, with remaining areas fragmented and threatened by mining, deforestation, and poaching. Legal protection and reassessment of its IUCN status are urgently needed🌿

🌱 365 individuals of Jeju endemic Salix blinii were recorded in a survey on Mt Halla, with 34 flowering. The authors confirm S blinii's Vulnerable status and recommend targeted micro‑reserves and ongoing monitoring⛰️

You can read the full Short Communication Open Access in Oryx:
doi.org/qjcj

🌿 Cycas orixensis, a rare cycad from Odisha, is Critically Endangered.

In 2024, seeds & saplings were collected and nurtured at CSIR‑NBRI, Lucknow. By 2025, healthy growth emerged, a breakthrough in ex situ conservation.
Hope is alive for reintroduction of this ancient species.

doi.org/qjcd

More than 520 chemicals found in English soil, including long-banned medical substances Fertilising arable land with human waste leaves array of toxins that could re-enter food chain, study finds

More than 520 chemicals found in English soil, including long-banned medical substances

- Fertilising arable land with human waste leaves array of toxins that could re-enter food chain, study finds

#pollution
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

👀 The authors of our recently published article on Red-footed boobies have written about their experience surveying the birds in the mangroves of Aldabra Atoll for the Oryx blog! 🖋️😍

📖 Read their wonderful blog here: www.oryxthejournal.org/blog/when-pr...