Species	1980	1985	1987	1989
Mammals	3	4	7	6
Birds	3	3	10	7
Reptiles	10	8	18	14
Fishes	12	14	30	25
Plants	7	10	44	42
Total	49	52	123	112

Source: Council on Environmental Quality, 20^th Annual Report 1990, Washington, D.C. p. 490

The above table shows how many of each type of species was endangered in the given years during the 1980s.  The figures are for the United States only.

The most clear, and perhaps concerning, statement that the statistics make is that the total number of endangered species rose greatly from the beginning of the decade to the end.

Plants and fish were the most common to become endangered.  This is in part because there are so many species of them, and because they can be easily threatened by habitat destruction.  The threat of endangering a mammal is more commonly noted and opposed by the public.