Question

Name the animal and plant species belonging to the following categories?
(a) Endangered
(b) Region-specific
(c) Extinct in natural habitat
(d) Extinct

Answer 1

Hint: Animal and plant species are constantly on the verge of extinction due to human activities which lead to the destruction of their habitat and food. Extinctions have happened before humans such as the extinction of dinosaurs, but this time the rate of extinction is much much faster than the previous times.

Complete Answer:
Let us study the categories mentioned in the question and the species belonging to them.
Endangered: Endangered species are the species that are close to the threat of extinction. A very low number of such species is present and if proper precautions are not taken, their extinction will happen soon. All such species are documented in the IUCN Red List of Threatened species.
- Gorillas, North Atlantic right whales, and Gharials are also examples of endangered animal species.
- Pitcher plant, the jellyfish tree, and Wood’s cycad are examples of endangered plant species.
Region- specific: Region- specific species are known as endemic species. Endemic species are defined as species that can grow only in particular regions of the world such as an island, nation, or any other defined zone.
- Indian purple frogs and fan throated lizards are endemic to India.
- Rafflesia arnoldii which is known to produce the largest flower is endemic to the rainforests of Sumatra.
Extinct in a natural habitat: Such species are also known as Extinct in the Wild and it means that they are no longer naturally present in their habitat due to massive habitat loss and are kept in captivity of protection to prevent their further extinction.
- Hawaiian crow and Kihansi spray toad are examples of animal species extinct in their natural habitat.
- Escarpment cycad is one such plant species that is extinct in its natural habitat.
Extinct: The term extinction is used to define a species whose last member is dead and that species can no longer be seen in nature anymore.
- Extinct animal species include the Dodo bird from Mauritius and Steller's sea cow from Russia.
- Extinct plant species include Archaeopteris and Lepidodendron.

Note:
- Four major causes known as ‘The Evil Quartet’ are used to describe the reasons for the extinction of species.
- One of the major reasons is habitat loss and fragmentation.
- Overexploitation of nature by humans for fulfilling their demands is another major reason.