Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse - Reithrodontomys raviventris
California Clapper Rail - Rallus longirostris obsoletus
Marbled Murrelet - Brachyramphus marmoratus
Photo Credit: USFWS
Red-legged Frog - Ambystoma californiense
Bay Checkerspot Butterfly - Euphydryas editha bayensis
KQEDQuest / CC BY 2.0
Rare and Endangered Species of San Franscisco Bay Area
Many wildlife species are facing declining numbers all over the world. The Bay Area has its own share of threatened and endangered species. We encourage everybody to do their share to help protect the natural environment for these rare species. We will help you find out more about them. Note: We are using the term "endangered" in a more general sense to include all rare, threatened or vulnerable species.
Endangered Mammals
- Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse - Reithrodontomys raviventris
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- San Joaquin Kit Fox - Vulpes macrotis
- The San Joaquin Kit Fox is one of the eight recognized subspecies of Kit Fox. It is listed as Endangered by the Federal Government and listed as Threatened by the State of California.
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Endangered Birds
- California Brown Pelican - Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
- California Clapper Rail - Rallus longirostris obsoletus
- This is a subspecies of the Clapper Rail.
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- California Least Tern - Sternula antillarum brownii
- A subspecies of the Least Tern, which is U.S. federally listed as endangered. ...link
- Marbled Murrelet - Brachyramphus marmoratus
- It has the distinction of being the last bird species in the United States to have its nesting site discovered - old growth redwood forests!
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- Northern Spotted Owl - Strix occidentalis caurina
- They reach the southern limit of their range in Marin County, where they occur in Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore, and other parts of the county.
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- Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus
- This is one of the success stories of the Endangered Species Act. The Peregrine Falcon population is currently considered secure. There is a monitoring plan which will sample status five times at three-year intervals, beginning in 2003 and ending in 2015.
- Western Snowy Plover - Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus
Endangered Reptiles
- Alameda Striped Racer (Alameda Whipsnake) - Masticophis lateralis euryxanthus
- It is found in Alameda, Contra Costa, western San Joaquin and northern Santa Clara counties.
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- San Francisco Gartersnake - Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia
- It has been called the most beautiful serpent in North America. It is listed as endangered by the state and by the federal government.
Endangered Amphibians
- California Tiger Salamander - Ambystoma californiense
- In the Bay Area, it is considered threatened in parts of Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Alameda Counties.
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- Red-legged Frog - Rana aurora
- In 1996 it became the first Bay Area frog to be federally listed as a "threatened" species.
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Endangered Fish
- Delta Smelt - Hypomesus transpacificus
- It is a small fish found in the upper reaches of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary. An extinction risk analysis in 2006 warned that the Delta smelt could go extinct within 20 years.
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- Steelhead Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss
- Steelhead are a unique form of Rainbow Trout. The ocean-going form is called Steelhead. Like salmon, they spend most of their adult life in the ocean, but spawn and rear in freshwater streams and rivers. Streams along the central California coast and in the San Francisco Bay Area may support both winter-run anadromous Steelhead and resident Tainbow Trout forms.
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- Tidewater Goby - Eucyclogobius newberryi
- It is endemic to lagoons of streams on the California coast. There is a reintroduction and conservation effort in the Point Reyes National Seashore and Tomales Bay State Park region.
Endangered Insects
- Ohlone Tiger Beetle - Cicindela ohlone
- It is endemic to Santa Cruz County and found on coastal terraces in remnant patches of native grasslands with poorly drained soil, It was registered as a federally endangered species in 2001.
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- Zayante Band-Winged Grasshopper - Trimerotropis infantilis
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- Ricksecker's Water Scavenger Beetle - Hydrochara rickseckeri
- A small aquatic beetle known only from pond habitats scattered around the San Francisco Bay area. It has not been sighted in the last few years.
Endangered Butterflies
- San Bruno Elfin - Callophrys mossii bayensis
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- Bay Checkerspot - Euphydryas editha bayensis
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- Callippe Silverspot - Speyeria callippe callippe
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- Myrtle's Silverspot Butterfly - Speyeria zerene myrtleae
- Found in western Marin and southwestern Sonoma counties, including the Point Reyes National Seashore.
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- Lange's Metalmark - Apodemia mormo langei
- Lange's Metalmark is known almost exclusively from the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge.
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- Mission Blue Butterfly - Icaricia icarioides missionensis
- This is now found at only a few sites in the bay area. San Bruno mountain is one of the major sites.
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- Smith's Blue Butterfly - Euphilotes enoptes smithi
- Found along the central California coast in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Mateo counties. Several sites along Monterey Bay are now being managed for preservation, including a preserve established by the U.S. Army at Fort Ord.
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Other Endangered Species
- Syncaris pacifica
- This is an endangered species of freshwater shrimp that occurs only in a limited range within the northern San Francisco Bay Area,
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Articles and Links About Bay Area Endangered Species
General
- Fairly comprehensive list of threatened and endangered species of San Francisco Bay on "Save the Bay" website - includes invertebrates and plants.
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- Sensitive Fauna of the Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregion (March 2004).
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- Endangered Species in Santa Cruz County
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- Imperiled Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Area. An article with photographs and descriptions of the Bay Checkerspot, Mission Blue, San Bruno Elfin, and Callippe, Myrtle’s and Behren’s Silverspot Butterflies.
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Particular Species
- Peregrine Falcon Nest Diary 2009 - Peregrines nesting in the San Francisco financial district.
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