San Marcos Gambusia, 2022
mixed media on paper with metallic accents
5.125" x 7"
$97 including US shipping
From the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposal for removing 23 species from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants due to extinction:
The San Marcos gambusia was endemic to the San Marcos River in San Marcos, Texas. The San Marcos gambusia has historically only been found in a section of the upper San Marcos River approximately from Rio Vista Dam to a point near the U.S. Geological Survey gaging station immediately downstream from Thompson's Island. Only a limited number of species of Gambusia are native to the United States; of this subset, the San Marcos gambusia had one of the most restricted ranges.
We listed the species as endangered due to decline in population size, low population numbers, and possibility of lowered water tables, pollution, bottom plowing (a farming method that brings subsoil to the top and buries the previous top layer), and cutting of vegetation (43 FR 30316, July 14, 1978, p. 30317). We identified groundwater depletion, reduced spring flows, contamination, habitat impacts resulting from severe drought conditions, and cumulative effects of human activities as threats to the species (45 FR 47355, July 14, 1980, p. 47361). At the time of listing, this species was extremely rare.
All attempts at captive breeding have failed. All available information and field survey data support a determination that the San Marcos gambusia has been extinct in the wild for more than 35 years. We have reviewed the best scientific and commercial data available to conclude that the species is extinct.