Nearly two dozen endangered species are now extinct, US agency says

“For species proposed to be listed today, the ESA’s protection [Endangered Species Act] came too late, either extinct, functionally extinct, or with a steep decline in listing time,” the Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday. But the species was extinct.

The agency will stop trying to find the species and stop funding their recovery if they are removed from the ESA, spokesman Brian Hires said.

This is the largest batch of species declared extinct by the government, said Tierra Curry, senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit that works to prevent species from becoming extinct.

“It’s really sad because it basically means they think the status of these species is hopeless,” she said, adding that the biggest issue for the species was habitat loss through dam construction or logging.

Ms Curry said one of the conclusions from the government’s announcement is that threatened species need to be listed once endangered, rather than wait for them to decline so much that recovery becomes harder and more expensive. He said it takes about 12 years for a species to appear on the endangered species list.

Martha Williams, principal deputy director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the agency is actively engaged in preventing further extinctions. The agency said the Endangered Species Act has prevented more than 99% of the listed species from becoming extinct.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is asking the public for comment, data and information about its proposal to remove the species by December 29.

Here’s a look at some of the agency’s list:

ivory-billed woodpecker

The ivory-billed woodpecker was last seen in Louisiana in 1944 and was listed as endangered in 1967. One of the largest woodpeckers in the Americas, the bird has black and white plumage on its body and red feathers on the top of its head. The Fish and Wildlife Service said the loss of mature forest habitat and collections were the major threats to its extinction.

freshwater mussels

The Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the flat pigato, southern acornshell, stirrup, upland combshell, green-blossom pearl, turgid-blossom pearl mussel, yellow-blossom pearl mussel and tubercle-blossom pearl mussel are all extinct. Many of these mussels were last seen in the 1960s, 70s and 80s and were often found in the Southeast US.

Bachchan’s Warbler

Bachman’s warbler, once found in Florida and South Carolina, was listed as endangered in 1967. The last confirmed sighting of the little black and yellow bird was in 1988.

San Marcos Gambusia

The San Marcos gambusia, previously found in Texas, was last seen in 1983. The small fish, which is about an inch long, was listed as endangered three years before that.

Little Mariana Fruit Batti

The Little Mariana Fruit Bat was found in Guam and was listed as Endangered in 1984. The last confirmed case of a bat, which can be less than 10 inches long and weigh less than 1 pound, was in 1968. Another species from Guam is the white-eyed bird listed as extinct by the Fish and Wildlife Service, which was listed as endangered in 1984 and was last seen a year earlier.

air bird

The Yellow Kauai Akialoa bird, which has a long, curved beak that points down, was last seen in 1969. Two years before this it was listed as endangered.

Other birds from Hawaii listed as extinct are the Kauai Nukupu, Kauai, Large Kauai Thrush, Maui Akepa, Maui Nukupuu, Molokai Lata and Po’oli. The plant is known as Phylostegia glabra var. lanaensis was also listed as extinct.

Hawaii and the Pacific Islands are home to more than 650 animal and plant species, which are listed as endangered, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.