Monarch Butterfly The Monarch butterfly is a large brightly colored North American native that is distributed over six continents around the globe along with the milkweed plants on which it feeds. Two populations of Monarchs perform long-distance migrations from the northern United States to overwintering grounds in Baja California and Mexico. Standardized surveys of the…
Guadalupe Fatmucket The Guadalupe Fatmucket is a rare mussel that is exclusively found in the Guadalupe River Basin. The mussel was originally thought to be a variation of the Texas Fatmucket, which is found in the Colorado River Basin (Inoue 2018). In September 2021, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed that the…
Guadalupe Orb The Guadalupe Orb is a rare mussel that was first identified as a unique species, exclusively found in the Guadalupe River Basin, in 2018. The mussel was originally thought to be a variation of the Texas pimpleback, which is found in the Colorado River Basin (Burlakova 2018). In September of 2021, the United…
False Spike The False Spike is a medium-sized freshwater mussel that is native to central Texas. The mussel was thought be extinct before being rediscovered in 2011 on the Guadalupe River near Gonzales, Texas. In September of 2021, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed the False Spike mussel for listing as endangered…
Guadalupe Darter The Guadalupe Darter is a freshwater fish that is endemic to the Blanco, Comal, Guadalupe, and San Marcos river drainages of the Guadalupe River Basin. The species was first described as a subspecies of the Dusky Darter (Percina sciera) in 1954 (Hubbs & Hubbs), but was demonstrated to be a separate species in…
Whooping Crane The Whooping Crane is the tallest bird in North America. This species was almost wiped out at the turn of the 19th century due to hunting pressures. The Whooping Crane was listed as endangered in the federal register in 1970 and this listing was carried forward into the 1973 Endangered Species Act. The…
Eastern Black Rail The Black Rail is an elusive, marsh bird that lives in fresh, brackish and salty wetlands of the United States. The Eastern Black Rail subspecies is the smallest rail in North America and has been listed as federally endangered under the ESA, due to potential habitat degradation as a result of climate…
Golden-cheeked Warbler The Golden-cheeked Warbler is a migratory songbird that spends its breeding season from March to June on the Edwards Plateau of central Texas. The bird was listed as endangered under the ESA in 1990. The USFWS completed a five-year status review of the species in 2014, which found that the endangered status was…