Photo/Illutration The Great Blue Spotted Mudskipper, or “mutsugoro,” found in Ogi, Saga Prefecture (Kengo Hiyoshi)

A fish species known as the Great Blue Spotted Mudskipper that inhabits tidal mudflats in the Sea of Ariake in Kyushu has made the Red List of threatened wildlife issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

The Swiss-based conservation group said the mudskipper, an amphibious fish of the goby family known in Japan as “mutsugoro,” is “vulnerable,” the third most critical status for a threatened species.

The latest edition of the IUCN Red List assessed that around 47,000 of the 169,000 species in the world face the threat of extinction.

The mutsugoro inhabits coastal tidal wetlands and estuarine areas in Japan, the Korean Peninsula, China, Taiwan and elsewhere in East and Southeast Asia.

According to the Red List, the species is mainly under threat from habitat degradation, fishing and coastal development.

One of the largest mutsugoro habitats in Japan was lost due to a land reclamation project in Isahaya Bay in the Sea of Ariake.

Other goby species, including the dark spear earthworm goby and Tengu-ginpo-haze, were also assessed as vulnerable.

The IUCN Red List also saw a sharp rise in the number of fungi species now at risk.

It said that more than 400 fungi species such as mushrooms and mold are at risk of extinction due to habitat changes caused by human activity, deforestation and climate change.

An international team of researchers from Thailand, Germany and elsewhere noted in a paper published in 2023 that fungi play a key role in the global economy through their use in pharmaceuticals and as food products.

The estimated total market value of fungi was put at $54.57 trillion (7,832 trillion yen).

“Now, it’s time to safeguard the extraordinary fungal kingdom, whose vast underground networks sustain nature and life as we know it,” says part of a comment by Grethel Aguilar, the IUCN director-general.

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