The desert rain frog (Breviceps macrops), an internet star known for its high-pitched squeaky defensive call, has been added to a global list of species at high risk of extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Found only in a narrow, roughly 10km-wide strip of coastal sand dunes in Namibia and South Africa, the frog is threatened by diamond mining and planned energy developments, with its numbers expected to fall by around 20% over the next two decades. Because it cannot survive anywhere else, the loss of this specific habitat leaves the species nowhere to relocate.

The listing forms part of a wider IUCN assessment of thousands of at-risk species worldwide. Conservationists warn that the frog's "cute" appearance could also drive demand from pet-trade collectors, though mining remains the immediate threat; experts stress the importance of restoring habitats once mining ends. The assessment also flags a deep-sea snail now listed as Critically Endangered amid deep-sea mining plans, and Wilmott's whitebeam, a rare tree near Bristol reduced to fewer than 50 individuals. Of the 175,909 species assessed, 49,505 are threatened, though the recovering Australian numbat offers a rare conservation success story.