An ivory-billed woodpecker specimen is on a display at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. The iconic and long-searched-for bird was declared extinct in 2021 along with 22 other species of plants and animals. | Haven Daley / AP
“The loss of species, ecosystems, and genetic diversity is already a global and generational threat to human well-being,” said Sir Robert Watson, former chair of the IPBES.
“Protecting the invaluable contributions of nature to people will be the defining challenge of decades to come.
Policies, efforts, and actions at every level will only succeed, however, when based on the best knowledge and evidence.”
Here are the 22 animals in the US that were declared extinct in 2021 — and how we should take action now to protect biodiversity.
Starting from the next number six 6;
6. Bachman’s Warbler
Bachman’s warbler, a yellow-breasted songbird that used to live in the southeastern US and Cuba, was declared endangered in 1967 and the last unconfirmed sighting was in Florida in 1977.
Deforestation, land-clearing, and hurricanes may have wiped out Bachman’s warbler, which was once the rarest songbird in the US, for good.
7. Flat Pigtoe Mussel
Mussels provide filtration to water systems and play integral roles in ecosystems — of the 22 animals being declared extinct this year, eight are freshwater mussels.
The flat pigtoe mussel was last detected in the Tombigbee River in Mississippi, where over 40 species of freshwater mussels have been identified.
The construction of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway is the main factor of the mussels’ disappearance.
Physical destruction of habitats during building, increased sedimentation, and reduced water flow suffocated the flat pigtoe out of existence.
The flat pigtoe mussel has not been collected alive since the completion of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in 1984.
8. Bridled White-Eye
The bridled white-eye, native to Guam, was last observed in 1983 and listed as endangered in 1984.
Based on the available evidence, it’s assumed that the brown tree snake is responsible for the bird’s extinction.
9. Kaua’i akialoa
The Kaua’i akialoa, a honeycreeper native to Hawai’i, was last seen in 1969 and presumed extinct in 1984.
Avian disease is assumed to be the primary driver of its extinction.
10. San Marcos Gambusia
Like many other species on this list, these tiny fish were endemic to their area and were only found in the San Marcos River in Texas.
The San Marcos gambusia was listed as endangered in 1980 and was last seen in the wild in 1983.
The population of San Marcos gambusia was significantly decreased by pollution, farming, drought, and a cumulative effect of human activities.
Extensive efforts were made through the 1970s to breed the fish through captivity but the fish hybridized leaving no pure species offspring.
Attempts to locate the fish since have been unsuccessful.
11. Southern Acornshell Mussel
The southern acornshell, a mussel once found in the upper Coosa River system in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, was listed as endangered in 1993 but the last known specimens were collected in the early 1970s.
Habitat modification such as clearing, sand and gravel mining, waterflow disruption, and asphyxiation from agricultural runoff all factored into the southern acornshell’s extinction.
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