Twenty-one species found across 16 states and in the U.S. territory of Guam are officially extinct, federal wildlife officials declared on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023.
The species – several birds, mussels, two species of fish and the Little Mariana fruit bat last seen in Guam in 1968 – have been listed as endangered for decades, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Now, because of extinction, they are being removed from their Endangered Species Act listings after “rigorous reviews,” the agency said in a news release.
“Federal protection came too late to reverse these species’ decline, and it’s a wake-up call on the importance of conserving imperiled species before it’s too late,” FWS Director Martha Williams said in a statement.
The agency proposed delisting the 21 species from the ESA in September 2021 because of their likely extinction, according to the release, which says the ESA has been in effect for the past 50 years.
The majority of the species were considered endangered in the 1970s and 1980s when they “were in very low numbers or likely already extinct at the time of listing,” the release said.
A total of 650 species in the U.S. have already been deemed extinct, according to the Centre for Biological Diversity, a national U.S. nonprofit wildlife conservation organisation.
“My heart breaks over the loss of these 21 species,” Noah Greenwald, the center’s endangered species director, said in an Oct. 16 statement.
Species that are now extinct
Ten birds are officially considered extinct, including the Bachman’s warbler, which was known to inhabit Florida and South Carolina and was last seen in the 1980s, according to FWS.
Eight of the extinct bird species were found in Hawaii, including the Po`ouli, which was last seen in 2004. The Po`ouli is the most recently seen species of all 21 animals on the list.
Another bird on the list, the Bridled white-eye found in Guam, became extinct from being hunted by brown tree snakes on the island, according to the Centre for Biological Diversity.
Two species of fish – the San Marcos gambusia from Texas and the Scioto madtom found in Ohio – were also declared extinct, FWS said.
Eight species of mussels are now extinct, according to FWS:
- Flat pigtoe found in Alabama and Mississippi
- Southern acornshell found in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee
- Stirrupshell found in Alabama and Mississippi
- Upland combshell found in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee
- Green-blossom pearly mussel found in Tennessee and Virginia
- Tubercled-blossom pearly mussel found in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia
- Turgid-blossom pearly mussel found in Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee
- Yellow-blossom pearly mussel found in Alabama and Tennessee
In September 2021, the FWS also proposed delisting two other species from the ESA because of likely extinction, including the ivory-billed woodpecker, according to the release.
However, FWS will “continue to analyze and review the information before deciding whether to delist” this bird, the agency said.
The proposal to delist the other species — a Hawaiian perennial herb formally named Phyllostegia glabra var. Lanaiensis — has been withdrawn because there may be “potentially suitable habitats” for the herb to grow, according to the release.
The rule that delists the 21 species from the ESA will be published in the Federal Register on Oct. 17, according to FWS.
“As we commemorate 50 years of the Endangered Species Act this year, we are reminded of the Act’s purpose to be a safety net that stops the journey toward extinction,” Williams said. “The ultimate goal is to recover these species, so they no longer need the Act’s protection.”
