The IUCN Red List has officially declared Conus lugubris – a marine snail once found only on the north shore of São Vicente, Cape Verde – Extinct. The species, last seen alive in 1987, was driven to extinction by coastal development that destroyed its fragile habitat. While its loss is a sobering reminder of biodiversity’s vulnerability, the story of C. lugubris has already helped inspire stronger environmental protections in Cape Verde and renewed global efforts to assess and conserve marine invertebrates.
Conus lugubris, a cone snail once unique to Cape Verde, has now been assessed as Extinct in the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This tiny marine snail, about the size of a peanut, was restricted to the north shore of São Vicente island. The last confirmed sighting of a living specimen was in 1987, despite annual expert searches led byGuilherme Mascarenhas of @Universidade Técnica do Atlântico since 2011.
Mollusc expert at Universidad de Cadiz and lead assessor, Dr. Manuel J.Tenorio explains:
“No living specimens have been collected of this species for almost 40 years. This represents a timespan of at least six generations where this species has not been found. Based on this, we can confidently and sadly say that Conus lugubris is extinct.”
Habitat Loss Drove the Extinction
Until the late 1980s, C. lugubris was abundant in the Matiota beach area. Its disappearance is attributed to severe habitat degradation from coastal development, which seriously degraded most of its limited habitat. The Red List status has now been revised from Critically Endangered (2011) to Extinct (2025).
From Loss to Action
Although the extinction of C. lugubris is a devastating blow for biodiversity, its story has catalyzed meaningful conservation change. The comprehensive 2011 assessment of cone snails, which highlighted the vulnerability of Cape Verde’s unique biodiversity, played a pivotal role in the government’s decision to pass legislation in 2022 to protect the nation’s endemic species. This important legislation represents the critical collaboration of researchers from the University of Cádiz and the @Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC) in Spain led by Dr. Rafael Zardoya, in cooperation with Rui Freitas from the @Universidade Técnica do Atlântico (UTA) in Mindelo, Cabo Verde.
Scaling Up Marine Conservation
The extinction assessment of C. lugubris is part of a larger initiative led by the @Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance to strengthen representation of marine invertebrates on the IUCN Red List. Currently, only 15% of all species assessed for the Red List of Threatened Species are marine, and just 20% of those are invertebrates. To close this gap, the Marine Invertebrate Red List Authority (MIRLA) was created to accelerate assessments of marine invertebrate species worldwide.
The latest update to the Red List is a step in the right direction: 7,000 species were assessed and over 3,300 were evaluated for the first time. 820 of those first-time assessed species were invertebrates. Dr. Rima Jabado, the Deputy Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission highlighted both the importance and underrepresentation of invertebrates at yesterday’s press briefing at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi: “From insects on land to molluscs under water, invertebrates are essential for ecosystems, but are often overlooked.”
Stories like C. lugubris highlight just how much is at stake and the potential power of these evaluations. Prof. Dr. @Julia Sigwart, head of the Malacology Section at @Senckenberg Nature Research and organizer of MIRLA, emphasized:
“The Red List is an important tool for policy makers to take conservation action. Even though it is tough to assess an animal as Extinct, we are hopeful that the legislation spurred by this cone snail’s story can prevent other animals from meeting the same fate.”
About Cone Snails
Cone snails (family Conidae) are remarkable marine mollusks known for their vividly patterned shells, venomous harpoons, and medically valuable conotoxins. Yet their charisma masks vulnerability: cone snails face mounting threats from habitat loss, and in a much lesser scale, shell collecting. Modern molecular biology techniques have contributed to minimize the impact of samples collected for research and bioprospecting.
