23 Bird, Fish and Other Species Extinct

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23 Bird, Fish and Other Species Extinct

The ivory-billed woodpecker is among 23 species declared extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

The service has proposed removing them from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which protects species under threat.

In all, 11 birds, one bat, two fish, one plant and eight types of mussel have been declared extinct.

 

 

The FWS said it had made the determination based on “rigorous reviews of the best available science for each of these species”.

“Each of these 23 species represents a permanent loss to our nation’s natural heritage and to global biodiversity,” Bridget Fahey, who oversees species classification for the Fish and Wildlife Service, was quoted as saying in the New York Times.

“And it’s a sobering reminder that extinction is a consequence of human-caused environmental change.”

 

 

 

The ivory-billed woodpecker was once the US’s largest woodpecker species but the last commonly agreed sighting was in 1944 in Louisiana. The species was officially listed as endangered in 1967.

Another bird declared extinct is the Bachman’s warbler, which was one of the rarest songbirds in North America. It too has been listed as endangered since 1967.

Eight species of birds from Hawaii and the Little Mariana fruit bat from the Pacific island of Guam are also on the list.

The FWS, in its statement, said the protections afforded by the ESA, which came into effect in 1973, had come too late for these species.

But it stressed the act has been successful at preventing the extinction of more than 99% of species listed, and its protections are needed now more than ever.

 

 

 

 

 

Species Name Where Found When Listed Last Confirmed Sighting
Bachman’s warbler FL, SC 1967 1988
Bridled white-eye (bird) GU (Guam) 1984 1983
Flat pigtoe mussel AL, MS 1987 1984
Green-blossom pearly mussel TN, VA 1984 1982
Ivory-billed woodpecker AR 1967 1944
Kauai akialoa (bird) HI 1967 1969
Kauai nukupuu (bird) HI 1970 1899
Kauaʻi ʻōʻō (bird) HI 1967 1987
Large Kauai thrush (bird) HI 1970 1987
Little Mariana fruit bat GU (Guam) 1984 1968
Maui ākepa (bird) HI 1970 1988
Maui nukupuʻu (bird) HI 1970 1996
Molokai creeper (bird) HI 1970 1963
Phyllostegia glabra var. lanaiensis (plant) HI 1991 1914
Po`ouli (bird) HI 1975 2004
San Marcos gambusia (fish) TX 1980 1983
Scioto madtom (fish) OH 1975 1957
Southern acornshell mussel AL, GA, TN 1993 1973
Stirrupshell mussel AL, MS 1987 1986
Tubercled-blossom pearly mussel AL, IL, IN, KY, OH, TN, WV 1976 1969
Turgid-blossom pearly mussel AL, AR, MO, TN 1976 1972
Upland combshell mussel AL, GA, TN 1993 mid-1980s
Yellow-blossom pearly mussel AL, TN 1985 1980s

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Service is actively engaged with diverse partners across the country to prevent further extinctions, recover listed species and prevent the need for federal protections in the first place,” said Martha Williams, FWS Principal Deputy Director.

“The Endangered Species Act has been incredibly successful at both preventing extinctions and at inspiring the diverse partnerships needed to meet our growing 21st century conservation challenges.”


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Posted in Animals, Nature, News.

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