Red List - Five More Species Now Officially Extinct - Guardian

[hatrack]

Almost 16,000 species are now threatened by extinction, according to the World Conservation Union's annual Red List released today.
Five species have been added to the "extinct" category already, with another 200 described as "possibly extinct" and 3,000 more as "critically endangered" in the report launched at the organisation's conference in Bangkok.

The Red List is regarded as the most comprehensive and authoritative survey of the planet's biodiversity. It is compiled by a worldwide network of more than 8,000 scientists and guides environmental policy around the world.

EDIT

The five species which have been lost include the St Helena olive, a tree native to the British Atlantic island, the golden toad which lived in Costa Rica, the Hawaiian thrush, the Hawaiian crow and a Malagasy freshwater fish known only by its Latin name, Pantanodon madagascariensis."

EDIT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1353129,00.html

[blindpig]

1. They're breaking out the champagne at the Crawford pig farm

everything is going according to plan.

[jpak]

3. Most of Hawaii's native birds are threatened

Mosquitoes are not native to Hawaii. They are vectors for an exotic malaria-like parasite that is deadly to the native birds.

Many of these species only exist as remnant populations at high altitudes where cooler temperatures prevent the establishment of mosquitoes.

As global warming proceeds, these high altitude habitats will also warm.

When the mosquitoes finally invade, these birds will disappear.

I'm a huge birder and spent many days in the mountains of Big Island, Oahu and Kauai trying to get a glimpse of these strikingly beautiful birds.

The passing of the Hawaiian Crow and Thrush is a real tragedy....

[NickB79]

2. Not the golden toad

I had slim hopes a population might still be found elsewhere, they were so beautiful. I wonder, is there any genetic material from specimens saved that could be used for cloning work in the future? Ditto on the Hawaiian crow?

Damn you bastards for destroying these treasures!

[blindpig]

4. please don't put any faith in Jurassic park solutions

Our civilization will probably collapse before we figure that one out, if ever. Maintaining populations in their habitat is the only sure thing, captive breeding, of which I am a strong advocate, is a poor second choice.

For a real informative bummer see http://www.cnah.org

[NickB79]

5. I don't put much faith in it

And I totally agree with you that habitat conservation should be the primary goal. But at this point genetic storage may be all we've got left for some species, as sad as that may sound. It may be a long shot, but I need to have something to keep hope afloat.

[kitkatrose]

6. Man, this is incredibly depressing.

:cry: And people just don't give a flying flip. You try to tell them and they look at you like, "Why do you care? It doesn't affect you."

Environmentalists are warning that the current rate at which the Earth is losing species is similar to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs which saw the rise of mammals. There have been five mass extinctions in the history of the Earth and scientists warn we could now be facing a sixth.

So what would rise up this time? Insects? And is there any possible way we can slow the rate of extinction?

[theoceansnerves]

7. just an fyi

the hawaiian crow is still alive- just in captivity. the new red list update is extinct in the wild. kinda misleading in that article (although just as depressing.)