Although overexploitation threatens some high-profile medicinal animals, little is known about global patterns in the use of—and threats to—medicinal animals. We examined data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List and a literature survey to identify a diverse catalog of medicinal animals (n = 1660). Most known species (~77%) are chordates in terrestrial habitats (~72%). Intensity of use generally maps to biodiverse regions with low human development. Most (~63%) species are decreasing, and primary threats relate to habitat loss and modification. Many (~62%) species have multiple uses, which is associated with higher endangerment and threats from exploitation than species used solely for medicine. Spiritual use medicinal species have a higher proportion of “at-risk” species (~19%) than those used otherwise (~6%), potentially owing to associations among rarity, perceived efficacy, and demand. These findings can inform spatially and taxonomically explicit biocultural strategies to safeguard not only biodiversity but also important human–animal relationships.

中文翻译：

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全球综合表明，生态系统退化是对世界药用动物的主要威胁

尽管过度开发威胁到一些知名的药用动物，但人们对药用动物的使用和威胁的全球模式知之甚少。我们检查了来自国际自然保护联盟红色名录的数据和一项文献调查，以鉴定各种药用动物（n = 1660）。最著名的物种（〜77％）是陆栖生境中的脊索动物（〜72％）。使用强度通常映射到人类发展水平较低的生物多样性地区。大多数（〜63％）物种正在减少，主要威胁与栖息地的丧失和改变有关。许多（〜62％）物种具有多种用途，与仅用于药物的物种相比，它具有更高的濒临灭绝和来自开发的威胁。精神使用的药用物种具有“高风险”物种的比例（〜19％）比其他方式使用的物种（〜6％）高，可能是由于稀有性，感知的功效和需求之间的关联。这些发现可以为空间和分类学上明确的生物文化策略提供参考，不仅可以保护生物多样性，而且可以保护重要的人与动物之间的关系。