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

How to find information about endangered & threatened species in Illinois

Gallery: a small selection of Illinois' more than 450 listed species.

Piping Plover

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

Fanshell

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

Gray Bat

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

Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

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

Pallid Sturgeon

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

Eastern Massasauga

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

Karner Blue Butterfly

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

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.

Blanding's Turtle

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

Fat Pocketbook

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

Mead's Milkweed

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

Clubshell

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

Orange-foot Pimpleback

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

Least Bittern

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

Higgins Eye

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

Kirtland's Snake

Clonophis kirtlandii (Kennicott, 1856)

Illinois Threatened and not listed federally

Sheepnose Mussel

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

Pink Mucket

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

Hine's Emerald Dragonfly

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

Spectaclecase

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

Snuffbox mussel

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

Northern Riffleshell

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

Rufa Red Knot

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

Scaleshell

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

Gray/Timber Wolf

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

Franklin's Ground Squirrel

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

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.  

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