Nevada’s ‘lost’ species raise extinction fears as new journal tracks missing plants and animals

Nevada’s wildlife agency has seen a 38% staffing decline, while more than 4,300 species globally remain undocumented for over a decade. (Photo: NNSS) A rare wildflower once found in the scrublands of Las Vegas has not been reliably recorded in the area for nearly a century, highlighting growing concerns about species that may be disappearing before scientists can determine whether they are extinct. The plant, Oreocarya insolita, is believed to exist nowhere else in the world. Now, researchers are documenting such missing plants and animals through a new scientific publication, the Journal of Lost Species, co-edited by University of Nevada, Reno entomologist Matthew Forister. The initiative aims to track species not observed for a decade or more and encourage efforts to find them before they vanish unnoticed.Scientists seek to document species in limboForister and an international team of scientists are focusing on species described as “lost” - those that have not been seen for years but cannot yet be declared extinct. The journal aims to give these plants and animals greater scientific attention and encourage researchers to investigate whether they still survive.“Nevada is a state ...