Extinct Research Articles

Evidence for modern extinction in plants and animals

We summarise evidence of extinction reported in Red List accounts of plants (170 species) and animals (816 species) listed as extinct (EX) or extinct in the wild (EW) under different versions of the Red List. We find that types of evidence and their frequency of use are remarkably consistent across plants, animals and Red List versions. The most common evidence is ‘long time missing, fewer than half of species accounts discuss search effort, and accounts of 15 % of EX/EW plants and 27 % of animals provide no reason for the EX/EW listing. We review use of extinction probability models for EX, EW and Critically Endangered species flagged as possibly extinct, and find that 155 species have been subjects of extinction probability models. Nearly all models applied to birds and mammals agree that the species are extinct. Seventeen statistical models for estimating the probability that a species is extinct based on search effort, traits and detection rate have been published since 1993 and applied to EX, EW, or CR(PE) species. A tiny fraction (0.6 %) of Red List accounts currently include published model results; thus extinction probability modelling has been largely independent of Red Listing. This is likely to change, because since 2019, Red List guidelines provide templates for quantitative estimates of extinction likelihood. Combining statistical models with assessments of species' probability of extinction based on other criteria can strengthen extinction listings of plants and animals, and add to our understanding of the scale of modern species loss.

Studies on the genus Atriplex (Chenopodiaceae) in Italy. IX. Atriplex mollis and note on its occurrence in continental Europe

The typification of the name Atriplex mollis, validly published by R. L. Desfontaines in Flora Atlantica, is discussed. A specimen deposited at G (barcode G00386803) is designated as the lectotype of the name. The distribution in Europe of the species is also discussed. It was indicated for Sardinia only (Italy, Southern Europe) in a single locality (San Paolo pond, Cagliari Province). No specimen that proves the occurrence of the species in Sardinia is in extant. Moreover, the overlapping of a map published in 1912 and the current satellite images, allowed to verify that the area in which A. mollis grew up, including wetlands at the beginning of the XX century, is currently almost totally covered by buildings and commercial/industrial sites. In other words, the habitat where the species occurred was destroyed. As a consequence, at the current state of knowledge, the species is here assessed as extinct (EX) at national level according to the IUCN categories.

How many threatened lice are there? An approximation to the red list of the Spanish Phthiraptera

Although the idea of conserving parasites as part of biodiversity is not new, these in general and lice in particular, are not included in the threatened list of invertebrate fauna. Assuming that the conservation status of a lice species is similar to that of its host, the number of threatened lice within the Spanish entomofauna was estimated based on the known host-lice assemblages. The lice parasitizing many of the Spanish birds and mammals are unknown. Overall, I found 6 extinct (EX) species; 4 critically endangered (CR); 15 endangered (EN), 7 vulnerable (VU) and 1 species near threatened (NT), at regional level. Since the status of hosts varies through time and space, it, (together with those of their lice, must be periodically updated. In addition to a number of reasons that justify the conservation of parasites, lice deserve being conserved, particularly, because of their scientific value.

A review of conservation status of freshwater fish diversity in China.

China harbors a high species diversity of freshwater fishes not shared with any of its neighboring nations. Freshwater fish diversity in the country has been under severe threat from human activities over the past decades, thus conservation freshwater fishes and ecosystems is urgently needed. To accumulate baseline data for guiding protection actions, the third red list assessment of Chinese freshwater fishes was carried out. Among Chinese freshwater fishes assessed, there are 355 at-risk species (22.3% of the total), including 69 ranked as Critically Endangered, 97 as Endangered, and 189 as Vulnerable. Two species are classified as Extinct and one as Regionally Extinct. China's threat level seems to be lower than the known average level found in the IUCN's global assessment of freshwater fishes, but this is an artifact of a high rate of species classified as Data Deficient. Conservation of freshwater fishes is presently facing a grim situation in China. Imperilment of Chinese freshwater fishes is primarily attributed to habitat loss and degradation arising from human perturbations, particularly river damming. Despite the adoption of protected areas setting up, captive breeding and release, and a fishing moratorium, conservation efforts for freshwater fishes are compromised by disproportional attention in China's biodiversity conservation, baseline data deficiency, insufficiently designed protection networks, and inefficient or inadequate implementation of conservation strategies. To achieve the objectives of Chinese freshwater fish conservation, it is proposed to conduct a national-scale survey of fish diversity and reassess their at-risk status, develop systematic conservation planning of freshwater fish diversity and ecosystems, prioritize strategies for protected areas development, perform genetic-based captive breeding for releasing in concert with other protection actions, and implement flexible fishing moratorium strategies in different water bodies.

Freshwater fishes of Israel; a revised and updated annotated checklist2023.

The current status of the freshwater fishes of Israel is revised, and an updated checklist is presented. The confirmed freshwater fishes of Israel comprise 55 species belonging to nine orders, 14 families, and 39 genera. Among these, 19 species (34.6%) are alien, and four species (7.3%) are considered endemic to Israel. The orders with the largest numbers of species in the ichthyofauna of Israel are Cypriniformes (19 species), followed by Cichliformes (14 species), Cyprinodontiformes (seven species), Mugiliformes (six species), Siluriformes (four species), Salmoniformes (two species), and the others represent one species in each. At the family level, the Cichlidae have the greatest number of species (14 species; 25.5% of the total species), followed by Cyprinidae (10 species), Leuciscidae and Mugilidae (six species in each), Aphaniidae (four species), Nemacheilidae and Poecilidae (three species in each). According to IUCN Red List criteria, among 36 naturally distributed species (alien species not included), two species are extinct (EX) and nine species (25.0%) are categorized as threatened extinctions, with two (5.6%) CR, four (11.1%) EN, and three (8.3%) VU.

Freshwater fishes of Syria: a revised and updated annotated checklist-2023.

The current status of the freshwater fishes of Syria is revised, and an updated checklist is presented. The confirmed freshwater fishes of Syria comprise 108 species belonging to 15 orders, 25 families, and 51 genera. Among these, 11 species (10.2%) are alien, and six species (5.6%) are considered endemic to Syria. The orders with the largest numbers of species in the ichthyofauna of Syria are Cypriniformes (68 species), followed by Siluriformes and (nine species), Cichliformes (eight species), Mugiliformes (seven species), Cyprinodontiformes (six species), and others represent one species in each. At the family level, Cyprinidae has the greatest number of species (30 species; 27.8% of the total species), followed by Leuciscidae (21 species), Nemacheilidae (11 species), Cichlidae (eight species), and Mugilidae (seven species). According to IUCN Red List criteria, among 97 naturally distributed species (alien species not included), Tristramella sacra extinct (EX) and 24 species (26.5%) are categorized as threatened extinctions, CR, EN, and VU (eight species in each). A total of 17 species previously reported from Syria have been excluded from the checklist, either in the present study or in previous studies.

Mutilation of the tree of life via mass extinction of animal genera

Mass extinctions during the past 500 million y rapidly removed branches from the phylogenetic tree of life and required millions of years for evolution to generate functional replacements for the extinct (EX) organisms. Here we show, by examining 5,400 vertebrate genera (excluding fishes) comprising 34,600 species, that 73 genera became EX since 1500 AD. Beyond any doubt, the human-driven sixth mass extinction is more severe than previously assessed and is rapidly accelerating. The current generic extinction rates are 35 times higher than expected background rates prevailing in the last million years under the absence of human impacts. The genera lost in the last five centuries would have taken some 18,000 y to vanish in the absence of human beings. Current generic extinction rates will likely greatly accelerate in the next few decades due to drivers accompanying the growth and consumption of the human enterprise such as habitat destruction, illegal trade, and climate disruption. If all now-endangered genera were to vanish by 2,100, extinction rates would be 354 (average) or 511 (for mammals) times higher than background rates, meaning that genera lost in three centuries would have taken 106,000 and 153,000 y to become EX in the absence of humans. Such mutilation of the tree of life and the resulting loss of ecosystem services provided by biodiversity to humanity is a serious threat to the stability of civilization. Immediate political, economic, and social efforts of an unprecedented scale are essential if we are to prevent these extinctions and their societal impacts.

Missing species listing reveals undiagnosed extinction among reptiles, tropical, and island vertebrates

Missing species listing reveals undiagnosed extinction among reptiles, tropical, and island vertebrates

Extinct species of feather mite from the last two native Crested Ibises, Nipponia nippon (Temminck) (Pelecaniformes: Threskiornithidae) in Japan

Currently, in the Red List of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (Hereinafter referred to as RL-MOE) (version 2020), the only terrestrial arthropod other than insects that are classified as Extinct (EX) is the feather mite, Compressalges nipponiae Dubinin (Caudiferidae) (Waki & Shimano, 2022). The feather mite C. nipponiae is a monoxenous ectoparasite of the Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon (Temminck) (original Japanese pronunciation is “Nippon”). The mite species was originally sampled from the Crested Ibis collected at Lake Khanka (Russia) in the 1950s and was described as new species in the papers by Dubinin (1950). The species is not found on birds other than the Crested Ibis, suggesting that it is highly host specific.

Pytinicarpa (Asteraceae, Astereae) in New Caledonia

The genus Pytinicarpa G.L.Nesom is taxonomically revised in New Caledonia with four species recognised. The circumscription of one previously published species, P. sarasinii (Däniker) G.L.Nesom, is discussed and updated, and P. neocaledonica (Guillaumin) G.L.Nesom is placed in its synonymy. The name P. comptonii Gâteblé, Lannuzel & M.Pignal, nom. nov. is proposed to accommodate the former Lagenophora neocaledonica S.Moore in Pytinicarpa, and its lectotype is designated. Two new narrowly endemic species are also described. The first is from the top of Mount Kaala massif with the name P. kaalaensis Lannuzel, Gâteblé & M.Pignal, sp. nov. The second, P. tonitrui Lannuzel, Gateblé & M.Pignal, sp. nov. is from the Babouillat peninsula, and is supposedly extinct, as extensive field research did not allow to find it. The four species are fully described, illustrated, and keyed. The distribution, ecological affinities, and threats for the four species are discussed to support the assessments of conservation status for two of them as Endangered (EN), one as Critically Endangered (CR) and one as Extinct (EX), following the IUCN Red List guidelines and criteria.

Checklist, Red List, and Distribution Pattern of Charophytes (Charophyceae, Charales) in Slovakia Based on Critical Revision of Herbarium Specimens

A critical revision of charophytes collected in Slovakia from 1887 up to present, based on herbaria specimens, provided us with the opportunity to compile an updated checklist and to revaluate their threat status in order to obtain the current red list of charophytes of Slovakia. The data obtained will fill the gap in knowledge about these macroscopic algae in Central Europe. The revised list of charophytes includes 19 representatives of three genera: Chara (11), Nitella (7), and Nitellopsis (1). Following the latest IUCN red-list categories and criteria (version 3.1) and using the modified category regionally extinct (RE), derived from the category extinct (EX), 36.8% of charophytes are classified as RE (Chara connivens, C. subspinosa (=rudis), Nitella capillaris, N. confervacea, N. flexilis, N. gracilis, and N. opaca); 21% as EN (endangered; Chara braunii, Nitella mucronata, N. syncarpa, and Nitellopsis obtusa); 21% as VU (vulnerable; Chara contraria, C. gymnophylla, C. hispida, and C. virgata); 10.6% as NT (near-threatened; Chara globularis, C. vulgaris); and 5.3% as CR (critically endangered; Chara canescens) species; finally, 5.3% species could not be assessed (DD; Chara aspera).

Threatened and extinct amphibians and reptiles in Italian natural history collections are useful conservation tools

Natural history museums are irreplaceable tools to study and preserve the biological diversity around the globe and among the primary actors in the recognition of species and the logical repositories for their type specimens. In this paper we surveyed the consistency of the preserved specimens of amphibians and reptiles housed in the major Italian scientific collections, and verified the presence of threatened species according to the IUCN Red List, including the Extinct (EX), Extinct in the Wild (EW), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), and Vulnerable (VU) categories. Altogether, we analyzed 39 Italian zoological collections. We confirmed the presence of one extinct reptile (Chioninia coctei) and five extinct or extinct in the wild amphibian species (Atelopus longirostris, Nectophrynoides asperginis, Pseudophilautus leucorhinus, P. nasutus, and P. variabilis). Seven CR amphibians, fourteen CR reptile species and the extinct skink C. coctei are shared by more than one institution. Museums which host the highest number of threatened and extinct amphibian species are respectively Turin (17 CR and 1 EX), Florence (13 CR and 1 EX), and Trento (15 CR and 1 EW), while for reptiles the richest museums are those from Genoa (15 CR and 1 EX), Florence (11 CR and 1 EX), and Pisa (7 CR). Finally, we discussed the utility of natural history museums and the strategies to follow for the implementation of their functionality.

Checklist and red list of mosses (Bryophyta) of Slovakia

An updated checklist and Red List of the mosses of Slovakia is presented. The checklist consists of 699 species with two additional subspecies and 21 additional varieties. According to the Red List presented here, 31.0% of the moss flora of Slovakia was evaluated as threatened (categories Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable), 9.2% as near threatened, 7.3% as data deficient taxa and 49.4% of mosses were classified in the Least Concern category. We modified the category Extinct (EX) to Regionally Extinct/Vanished (RE/VA), which now includes 2.9% of the moss flora. Species Grimmia lisae, Hygrohypnum eugyrium, Lewinskya affinis var. bohemica, Niphotrichum elongatum, Oreas martiana, Orthotrichum moravicum, Osculatia bornholmensis, Tortula cernua and T. randii have been reported recently as new for Slovakia.

Possible loss of some species of the family Lamiaceae from the flora of Bangladesh

Present investigation assesses 25 Lamiaceous taxa as possibly Extinct (EX) from the flora of Bangladesh due to various anthropogenic activities. The study based on long term field investigation, examination of preserved herbarium specimens at different national and international herbaria and consultation of relevant floristic literature. These taxa have been previously reported from the area of Bangladesh about 70 to 200 years ago. Since then there have been no subsequent reports of occurrence and no collected specimens are available at any herbaria. Furthermore, this species could not be relocated from elsewhere in Bangladesh. Among these 25 taxa, Leucas mollissima Wall. ex Benth. (=L. decemdentata (Willd.) Sm.) and Elsholtzia incisa Benth. (=E. stachyodes (Link.) Raizada and Saxena) have been reported from the area about 193 and 77 years ago respectively. 18 species (72%) have been reported from Sylhet; of which, 13 species, viz. Aphanochilus blandus Benth. (=Elsholtzia blanda (Benth.) Benth.), Gomphostemma lucidum Wall. ex Benth., G. melissifolium (Roxb.) Wall. ex Benth., Plectranthus hispidus Benth. (=Isodon hispidus (Benth.) Murata), Plectranthus gerardianus Benth. (=Isodon lophanthoides (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) Hara), Leucas vestita Benth., Orthosiphon incurvus Benth., Phlomis rugosa Benth. (=Paraphlomis javanica (Blume) Prain), Geniosporum strobiliferum Wall. ex Benth. (=Platostoma coloratum (D. Don) A.J. Paton), Geniosporum parviflorum Benth. (=Platostoma palustre (Blume) A. J. Paton), Pogostemon parviflorus Benth., Dysophylla strigosa Benth. (=Pogostemon strigosus (Benth.) Benth.), and Scutellaria discolor Wall. ex Benth. were named based on type specimens collected from area by Wallich‟s collectors, and Microtoenia griffithii Prain was named based on Griffith‟s collection from East Bengal (current Bangladesh) Sinne loco. Enumeration of these possibly extinct taxa is prepared with data on habit, habitat, phenology, global distribution, recorded localities, specimens examined, and notes with some photographs of type/herbarium specimens.J. Biodivers. Conserv. Bioresour. Manag. 2017, 3(2): 19-34

Rediscovery of Atelopus subornatus Werner, 1899 (Anura: Bufonidae), with a redescription of the tadpole.

The Neotropical toads of the genus Atelopus are among the most imperiled of all amphibians (La Marca et al. 2005; Gonzalez-Maya et al. 2013; McCaffery et al. 2015). Nowadays, at least 90% of the 93 listed species are threatened and more than 77% are Critically Endangered (McCaffery et al. 2015; IUCN 2016). Colombia has 44 described species of Atelopus (Frost 2017), two of these are categorized as extinct (EX) by the IUCN (2016): A. ignescens and A. longirostris, although they were recently re-discovered in Ecuador (Tapia et al. 2017), 34 as critical endangered (CR), four as endangered (EN), two as vulnerable (VU), one species has data deficient (DD) and another one has not been evaluated. Atelopus subornatus Werner, 1899, is an endemic Colombian harlequin toad described from 2300 to 2800 m.a.s.l in the municipalities of Sibaté (Alto de Sibaté and Agua Bonita) and Fusagasuga (above Fusagasuga and Tierra Negra), in Cundinamarca (Fig. 1A), on the western flank from Cordillera Oriental of Colombia (Werner 1899; Lynch 1986; Lötters 1989, 1992). The last record of this species was in 1993 (Lötters 2005), and it currently is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN (2016). Herein, we report the rediscovery of A. subornatus at a new locality from Tolima, Colombia (Fig. 1A), and redescribe its tadpole. The determination of the species was based on comparisons with material deposited in the amphibian collection of the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia (ICN-UNAL) for all species of Atelopus reported from the same general area in Cundinamarca and relatively similar to A. subornatus. The specimens are housed in the Herpetological collection of the Tolima University (CZUT-A) and amphibian collection of ICN-UNAL.

Considerations on extinct species of Brazilian flora

Extinction risk assessments are important tools for plant conservation. However, misinterpretations can lead to negative consequences for survival of species. Inconsistent categorization as extinction, when the species is still extant, constitutes a Romeo error, and annuls all and any mechanism of existing legal protection. But precisely determining the extinction of a plant species is a challenging task, in that the plants can portray characteristics that permit survival in a state of dormancy. To circumvent this problem, specialists frequently adopt precaution and a comprehensive approach that consider biological, ecological, and geographical parameters as inputs for the assessments. It is also important to include explicit logic arguments, as building-blocks of the rational that will support the assessment. Transparent interpretation of the available data can minimize inconsistent categorization. In Brazil, 23% of the plant species assessed as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild, comprise Romeo errors. The other 77% are cases of Data Deficient. Countries that succeeded in minimizing problems arising from this error developed specific legislation to protect threatened species, including mechanisms to annul an erroneous categorizations. Anyhow, the use of categories Extinct (EX) and Extinct in the Wild (EW) according to IUCN definitions should be avoided when no effort has been made to provide evidence of extinction in the wild.

THE OBSERVATIONS ON TEUCRIUM LEUCOPHYLLUM MONTBRET & AUCHER EX BENTHAM (LAMIACEAE) ENDEMIC TO TURKEY

Teucrium leucophyllum Montbret & Aucher ex Bentham (Lamiaceae) was first collected in 1834 in Upper Euphrates by Montbret and Aucher. It is endemic and only known from this locality. In spite of investigations, it has not been recollected and thus has been evaluated as Extinct. This paper reports the re-discovery of Teucrium leucophyllum Montbret & Aucher ex Bentham (Lamiaceae) which was listed as Extinct (EX) according to the World Conservation Union Red List Categories. This study also provides the re-descriptions of this taxon, and presents field observations. In addition, new IUCN category is suggested for it.

Effect of Intermediate Toxic Product on the Survival of a Resource Dependent Species: A Modeling Study

A nonlinear model is proposed and analysed to study the effect of intermediate to xic product on the survival of a resource dependent species in a polluted environment. It is assumed that when resource bio mass uptakes pollutants/toxicants, a liquid (sap) present in the body of b io mass reacts with such to xicants and as such intermed iate to xic product is formed. Th is to xic substance then affects the biomass and the species dependent on it. The analysis of the model shows that with increase in the cumulative emission rate of toxicants in the atmosphere, the densities of resource biomass and the species dependent on it decrease and attain their lowest equilibriu m. If the rate of emission of to xicants is large enough, the resource biomass may beco me ext inct under certain conditions and the species dependent on it may not survive. The model analysis also suggests that if the fo rmation of intermed iate toxic p roduct is restricted by way of controlling the emission of to xicants in the environment, the resulting gro wth of resource bio mass would lead to survival of species dependent on it.

Red Data Book 2004 of Vietnam

Contributing to the national biodiversity action plan of Vietnam, the new Red species List and Red Data Book 2004 of Vietnam have been compiled by the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, with the participation of 70 scientists from different ministries and agencies of the country. This new Red Data Book 2004 was a revised and updated work, based on the first Red Data Book of Vietnam, published in 1992 (animal part) and 1996 (plant part), using the IUCN Red List Criteria and Categories 1994, updated by new materials of the fauna and the flora of Vietnam, collected in last 10 years. The new Red Data Book 2004 has showed a new situation of the biodiversity of the country after 10 years. The number of threatened species has remarkably increased, from 709 species recorded in the Red Data Book 1992-1996 to 857 species in the Red Data Book 2004. Six animal species were considered as extinct (EX) and extinct in the wild (EW). At the same time, 149 animal species were classified in the endangered category (EN); among them, 46 species were critically endangered (CR). The correspond numbers in plants were 192 endangered species and 45 critically endangered species. The present status of the wild life in Vietnam was caused firstly by the non rational over exploitation in land, as well as in seawaters. Besides, the heavy destruction of the natural environment conditions, including the habitat of wild animals and plants, especially the forest devastation in mountainous regions, the uncontrolled destruction of coral reefs in coastal zone, were also important agents for the degeneration of the biodiversity. In this book, for each animal and plant, suitable protection, conservation and regeneration measures for threatened species were proposed.

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.