Extinct In The Wild Research Articles

Diversity of turtle and tortoise species and their threats: Evidence from Nagshankar temple, Assam (India)

Northeast India is called the ecological hub of the world’s most rare species which falls under the Indo Burma Biodiversity Hotspot. Out of 356 living species of turtles and tortoises, 34 species are recorded in India. Turtles and tortoises are at a much higher risk of extinction than many other vertebrates. Temple ponds of Assam has a great role to conserve many endemic and endangered species of turtle and tortoise. Nagshankar temple is one of the famous ancient Hindu temples is located at the Biswanath district of Assam which has 9 different types of species of turtle and tortoise. Out of nine species, Nilssonia nigricans species were found in Nagshankar temple pond which is already extinct in wild (EW), two species were endangered viz., Indotestudo elongate, Pangshura sylhetensis, two species were vulnerable viz., Nilssonia gangeticus and Nilssonia hurum, one species of turtle Indian leaf turtle was found which is a nearly threatened species and three species Pangshura tentoria, Pangshura tecta, Lissenys punctata were under least concern category according to the IUCN status. The main aim of this study was to assess the turtle diversity of the Nagshankar temple pond and its threats. The Turtle temple Nagshankar has many opportunities to conserve many endemic and endangered species of turtle and tortoise but some threats were found during the study, therefore it is very essential to make strategies for their conservation.

Assessment of threaten status on the Wild Plants Under State Protection in China

Endangered species threaten status assessment is an important basis for determining protec- tion priorities and establishing conservation strategies, and it has become a key step in biodiversity con- servation. We used IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria to assess threaten status of the Wild Plants Under State Protection in China. The results indicated that 2 of these species were assessed as Extinct (EX), 3 species as Extinct in Wild (EW), 310 species as Critically Endangered (CR), 638 species as Endangered (EN), 911 species as Vulnerable (VU), 117 species as Near Threatened (NT), 162 species as Least Concern (LC), and 34 species as Data Deficient (DD). Our assessment highlighted discrepan- cies between IUCN categories and the corresponding protection categories used in the List of Wild Plants Under State Protection, thus indicating that threaten status might not be the sole criterion as- sessed when determining and assigning protection categories. Our study provides a scientific reference for the establishment of a threaten status hierarchy and the protection of endangered plants.

KOLEKSI TUMBUHAN TERANCAM KEPUNAHAN DI KEBUN RAYA BOGOR

Indonesia possesses 386 plant species that are categorized as threatened. Dipterocarpaceae contributes the largest number, reaching 36.79 % of the total threatened plant species, followed by Myristicaceae (13.73 %) and Nepenthaceae (6.99%). Of these 386 threatened species, 29.27 % are critically endangered, 17.88% are endangered, and 52.85 % are vulnerable. Bogor Botanic Garden recently maintains 68 threathened plant species if Orchidaceae and Nepenthaceae members are not included on the list. Two species have been regarded as extinct, namely Dipterocarpus cinereus and Calamus spectabilis, while two other species are regarded as extinct in the wild (Mangifera casturi, and Mangifera rubropetala). This information can be useful for everyone for different purposes, especially for those who concern in the conservation of threatened plant species in Indonesia.

Geographic distribution patterns and status assessment of threatened plants in China

Large scale heterogeneous distribution of biodiversity has become a hot topic for ecologists and conservationists. A threat status assessment combined with geographic distribution patterns of threatened plants in China has been conducted at a national scale in this study based upon a distribution database that refers to both specimen records and published references. Currently, 302 threatened plant species are cataloged in the “National Protected Key Wild Plants” in China belonging to 92 families and 194 genera. Results of the assessment according to the Categories and Criteria system of The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List indicate that three species have been assessed as Extinct in Wild (EW) while a further 79, 99 and 112 species have been assessed as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), and Vulnerable (VU), respectively. Distribution patterns of threatened plants were analyzed with GIS to identify areas of high species diversity. It was found that threatened plant species occur unevenly within counties and are concentrated in the following eight hotspots: the central and southern Hengduanshan mountain area; the southeast regions of Yunnan as well as Xishuangbanna and southwestern Guangxi; the southern Hainan island; the border mountainous regions of Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi provinces; the mountainous regions of southwestern Hubei and northern Hunan; southwestern Zhejiang and western Fujian; central Sichuan and southern Gansu; and the western mountains of Guangdong. Moreover, the 12 counties with the greatest number of threatened plant species represent cumulatively more than 50% of the total listed species and, therefore, are the regions in China that should be prioritized for conservation efforts. By overlapping the map of threatened plant species with the distribution of national nature reserves, a gap was identified in protected areas. This research will ultimately provide insights for prioritizing biodiversity conservation as well as processing the mechanisms of distribution patterns.

595. FRANKLINIA ALATAMAHA

Summary Franklinia alatamaha Bartram ex Marsh, originally from Georgia, USA is extinct in the wild and has been for some 200 years. Its discovery, dissemination and naming are described and discussed.