CANBERRA, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Twenty animals and plants, including an iconic flower, have been added to Australia's list of wildlife threatened with extinction.

The federal government on Wednesday added 15 plants and five animals to the threatened species list for the first time, taking the total number of species on the list to almost 2,250.

Among those species newly added to the list are the Gibraltar Range waratah, a flowering shrub endemic to the east coast state of New South Wales (NSW). Fewer than 2,500 mature adult plants of the species are believed to be left in the wild.

"It's hard to imagine that the Gibraltar Range waratah, a symbol of our nation, is under threat in Australia from disease and predators," Tanya Plibersek, the Minister for the Environment, said in a statement.

The animals added to the list on Wednesday include two lizards, one sea snake, one crayfish and one fish.

Additionally, one ecological community, a scrub complex on King Island off the Australian mainland's south coast, was added to the list.

Plibersek said that invasive weeds and pests and the ongoing impacts of the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires, which caused widespread ecological damage, are the biggest threats to the newly-listed species.

She said that listing the species would give them better protection from threats.

"Our government is committed to giving our precious threatened plants and animals a brighter future. That's why today we've listed 20 species and 1 ecological community under national environment law for the first time, giving them stronger protection under law," Plibersek said.

It came after 13 plants and animals were added to the threatened species list in August, including three freshwater fishes that were listed as critically endangered, three lizards and one frog. Enditem

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