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Endangered and Threatened Species in Illinois, the U.S., and Worldwide

How to find information about endangered & threatened species in Illinois

A small selection of Illinois' more than 450 listed species

Gray and white bird chick searches for food.

Piping Plover

Charadrius melodus Ord 1824
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service

Yellow shell on white background.

Fanshell

Cyprogenia stegaria Rafinesque, 1820
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Gray Bat in flight at night.

Gray Bat

Myotis grisescens A. H. Howell, 1909
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Michael Durham via Illinois Department of Natural Resources

A yellow and black striped bumble bee on a purple flower.

Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

Bombus affinis Cresson 1863
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service

A long and slender fish with whiskers and small ridges along its back and sides swimming along a rocky stream bed.

Pallid Sturgeon

Scaphirhynchus albus (Forbes and Richardson, 1905)
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Ryan Hagerty, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Gray and brown snake curled up in pile of leaves and sticks.

Eastern Massasauga

Sistrurus catenatus (Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1818)
Illinois Endangered and Federally Threatened
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Blue butterfly with orange at tips of wings perched on a stick.

Karner Blue Butterfly

Lycaeides melissa samuelis Nabokov, 1944
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Jill Utrup, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via NatureServe

Drawn image of flower, including full flower and a close-up of the petal and reproductive structure.

Lakeside Daisy, Stemless Hymenoxis

Tetraneuris herbacea Greene
Illinois Endangered and Federally Threatened
image credit: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown, 1913, An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions.

Black turtle walking in grass.

Blanding's Turtle

Emydoidea blandingii (Holbrook, 1838)
Illinois Endangered and under review for federal listing
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Smooth tan shell on white background.

Fat Pocketbook

Potamilus capax (Green, 1832)
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Light green flowers with dark green leaves in background.

Mead's Milkweed

Asclepias meadii Torr. ex A. Gray
Illinois Endangered and Federally Threatened
photo credit: US Forest Service

Yellow shell with black ridges on blue background.

Clubshell

Pleurobema clava (Lamarck, 1819)
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Dark orange shell on blue background.

Orange-foot Pimpleback

Plethobasus cooperianus (Lea, 1834)
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Black and orange bird with white underside and yellow beak perches between two leaves.

Least Bittern

Ixobrychus exilis (Gmelin, 1789)
Illinois Threatened, not listed federally
photo credit: Steve Arena/USFWS

Two dark orange shells on white background.

Higgins Eye

Lampsilis higginsii (Lea, 1857)|
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Brown snake on green leaves.

Kirtland's Snake

Clonophis kirtlandii (Kennicott, 1856)

Illinois Threatened and not listed federally

Orange shell with ridges on blue background.

Sheepnose Mussel

Plethobasus cyphyus (Rafinesque, 1820)
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Two yellow shells on white background.

Pink Mucket

Lampsilis abrupta (Say, 1831)
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Black dragonfly flying in the air.

Hine's Emerald Dragonfly

Somatochlora hineana Williamson, 1931
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Black shell with yellow speckles on blue background.

Spectaclecase

Cumberlandia monodonta (Say, 1829)
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Two yellow shells with black spots on blue background.

Snuffbox mussel

Epioblasma triquetra (Rafinesque, 1820)
Illinois and Federally Endangered
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Two orange shells with black lines on white background.

Northern Riffleshell

Epioblasma rangiana (Lea, 1839)
Illinois and Federally Endangered, extirpated from Illinois
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Bird with orange belly and gray wings stands in the water

Rufa Red Knot

Calidris canutus rufa
Illinois and Federally Threatened
photo credit: Gregory Breese/USFWS

Yellow shell with black lines on blue background.

Scaleshell

Leptodea leptodon (Rafinesque, 1820)
Illinois and Federally Endangered, likely extirpated from Illinois
photo credit: Illinois Natural History Survey

Gray wolf walks in prairie grass.

Gray/Timber Wolf

Canis lupus Liinnaeus, 1u58
Illinois and Federally Endangered 
photo credit: Mary Kay Rubey via Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Gray rodent with brown highlights sits in front of fallen wood.

Franklin's Ground Squirrel

Poliocitellus franklinii (Sabine, 1822)
Illinois Threatened and not listed federally
photo credit: Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Brown fish on brown background- it blends in, but is slightly more green than the background.

Hellbender

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis (Daudin, 1803)
Illinois Endangered, not listed federally
photo credit: C.A. Phillips, Illinois Natural History Survey
 

State Listed Species in Illinois

Federally listed species are by definition listed in Illinois, although not all federally listed species occur in Illinois.  Additional species not listed at the federal level are listed by the state for protection based on the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act and criteria outlined by the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board.

The "Checklist of Illinois Endangered and Threatened Animals and Plants" maintained by the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board currently lists more than Illinois 350 species as endangered and more than 100 species as threatened in Illinois. The majority of Illinois listed species are plants, but Illinois threatened and endangered species also include fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, mollusks, and arthropods.