State and Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Animals of California

This is a list of animals found within California or off the coast of the State that have been classified as Endangered or Threatened by the California Fish & Game Commission (state list) or by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior or the U.S. Secretary of Commerce (federal list). The federal agencies responsible for listing are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

The official California listing of Endangered and Threatened animals is contained in the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 670.5. The official federal listing of Endangered and Threatened animals is published in the Federal Register, 50 CFR 17.11. The California Endangered Species Act of 1970 created the categories of “Endangered” and “Rare.” The California Endangered Species Act of 1984 created the categories of “Endangered” and “Threatened.” On January 1, 1985, all animal species designated as “Rare” were reclassified as “Threatened.”

Also included on this list are animal “Candidates” for state listing and animals “Proposed” for federal listing; federal “Candidates” are currently not included. A state Candidate species is one that the Fish and Game Commission (FGC) has formally declared a candidate species. A federal Proposed species is one that has had a published proposed rule to list in the Federal Register.