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SPECIES IDENTIFIED AS SPECIAL TO THE STATE OF TEXAS
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Amphibians
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16
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Arachnids
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11
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Birds
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56
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Crustaceans
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1
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Fishes
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35
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Insects
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44
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Mammals
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34
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Mollusks
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7
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Plants
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32
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Reptiles
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27
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TOTAL
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263
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Based on global rarity or federal and state endangered and threatened
listed,proposed, or candidate status
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Source: Texas Parks and Wildllife Deparmtment August 2002
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Texas is known for its ecological and biological diversity. Texas has 11 distinct ecological regions and is home to 5,500 plant species, 425 of which occur only in Texas. In NatureServe's 2002 States of the Union: Ranking
America's Biodiversity:
- Texas ranks second in the nation in terms of overall biodiversity(California was ranked first.),
- Texas ranks third in the nation in terms of endemism (number of
species unique to the state) and fourth in the number of species lost to extinction.*
- Of the 1,245 vertebrate species (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and
mammals) in Texas, 126 are found nowhere else in the world.
- Texas has more bird species than any other state in the United States.
Over 620 identified species and subspecies of birds regularly breed, migrate, winter, or nest in Texas.
- Sources estimate there are 25,000 to 30,000 insects found in Texas,
though the total number of invertebrate species has not been identified.*
Habitat destruction, fragmentation and degradation as well as the
introduction and spread of invasive or non-native species are the leading threats to species habitat and biodiversity.
- As of August 2002, 161 species were on the State's endangered or threatened list. The number of Texas
species included on the federal endangered list totaled 100. * All of the Texas species on the federal
endangered list are included on the state's list, but the state endangered list includes species that are not recognized as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- Extinction of animal species in Texas has increased dramatically since the turn of the century. Prior to 1900,
three species were known to have disappeared. Between 1901 and 1958, four species are known to have
disappeared. From 1959 to the present, 10 species have disappeared. Of these 17 species, six are globally extinct. The loss of species is directly related to the loss of wildlife habitat.
- The Fish and Wildlife Service report shows that of 63 endangered plants and animals in Texas for which it had
information, 39 percent (25 species) are declining and 24 percent (15 species) are stable or improving. The
status of the remaining 37 percent (24 species) could not be determined due to lack of information.*
- As of 2002, the number of plants on the state's endangered list was 28, all of these are included on the federal
list. In 2002, four Texas plant species were candidates for federal listing. The extinction rate of plant species in
Texas is difficult to ascertain. The survival of plant species has become of public concern only recently, and
inventories are limited. Environmental Defense's analysis of the Fish and Wildlife Service's 1994 report to
Congress (the latest report available) concluded that despite protection afforded plants and animals under the
Endangered Species Act, federally listed endangered plants and animals in Texas continue to decline.*
According to Environmental Defense's analysis of this 1994 report, endangered wildflowers and plants in Texas are
faring worse than federally listed endangered animals.* Of the 27 endangered plant species in Texas studies at that time:
- 67 percent (18 species) were declining,
- 8 percent (2 species) were improving,
- none were considered stable,
- and the status of 26 percent (7 species) was unknown due to lack of information.*
Moreover, endangered plants in Texas are faring worse than endangered plants in the rest of the country; Texas
endangered plants are declining at twice the national rate. On the other hand, endangered animals found in Texas are
doing somewhat better than endangered plant species: 35 percent of the endangered animals in Texas were improving or stable as of 1994.
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FYI
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It is estimated that all wildlife viewing in Texas generates $1.4 billion of
economic activity in Texas per year. In 1997 a study of three birding sites in South Texas found that birding activity brought in $90 million of revenue to the
neighboring communities.
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(Source: Ted Eubanks, Austin-based consultant, as reported in "Only
California and Florida Draw More U.S. Tourists," Austin American-Statesman, February 27, 1997, D8.)
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According to the American Fisheries Society's endangered species
committee, Texas is one of the most inhospitable places in the United States for fish species. The state has lost six species of fish since 1900 and four since 1980.*
- In 1997, 25 fish species were on Texas' endangered and threatened list.
- In 2002, 35 fish species were on the State or Federal Endangered list.
Interestingly, concern over the decline in freshwater fish species in the mid 1800s helped create Texas's first conservation institution—the
Office of Fish Commissioner. Because the Fish Commissioner had limited resources and authority, however, the office did little to
improve conditions for fish species. Instead, the Fish Commissioner attempted to compensate for the decline in native species by introducing European carp to Texas.*
Though scientists understand the importance of habitat to the life of a species, many questions remain to be answered
regarding what constitutes livable space for a species and how species are dependent upon one another for support.
Scientists do agree that the destruction or alteration of habitat can threaten the existence of a species. Biologists also
know that the loss of one species in an ecosystem can sometimes threaten the balance of the entire ecosystem and may cause its demise.*
In Texas, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is responsible for the protection of endangered and threatened
species as well as activities that protect biodiversity. Some states have biodiversity statues or executive orders, but
Texas does not. However, in August 2002, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Commissioners adopted a Land and Water Resources Conservation Plan
which prioritizes--rankings based in part on biodiversity--the 11 ecoregions and specific habitats within those ecoregions that should be protected.*
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RARE SPECIES IN TEXAS
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Source: TNRIS
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