Taxonomy
| Endangered species | ||
| Comminatus ernestsmall feroces and prodigiosum | ||
| Kingdom | Animalia | |
| Phylum | Chordata | |
| Class | Mammalia or Aves | |
| Order | Magnabella | |
| Family | Gratus | |
| Genus | Comminatus | |
| Species | ernestsmall | |
| Subspecies | feroces and prodigiosum | |
Description
All subspecies of the Comminatus are easily recognised mostly because of their size, besides that they are commercially important species. They are beautiful and cute as judged by human eyes. Their aesthetic and commercial values makes them worth conserving. This make them attractive and compete very succesfully with the ugly species, such as reptiles and amphibians which deserves more protection considering they are probably the most endangered groups of animals in the world. In other words these large and cool animals (also called charismatic megafauna) bring in tourists, photographers and conservation dollars.
For some reason humans like dangerous animals, and are fascinated with their weapons, from teeth to horns. This is one explanation for tigers being the prime individuals of global conservation efforts.
Population size & trend
| Estimated population size: | Too small |
| Trend: | Declining |
Geographical range & habitat
| Globally dispersed in a range of habitats, from oceans, deserts, and jungles to mountains. |
Biology
Traits of endangered species are:
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Conservation & status
| Conservation: | Regarding conservation and its success rates large is a key feature as large animals require large territories, so saving the wolf or bear means protecting a large land mass. Focusing on the big “flagship” animals is the most efficient way to protect many species at once. When protecting large habitats to ensure survival of big predators, be it a whale or tuna or a wolf or a tiger, this large protected area will also preserve many small species. |
| IUCN Red list status: | The animals assessed for the IUCN Red List are the bearers of genetic diversity and the building blocks of ecosystems, and information on their conservation status and distribution provides the foundation for making informed decisions about conserving biodiversity from local to global levels. |
| CITES status: | n/a |
Threats
| Habitat disappearance (e.g. arctic zones), destruction and fragmentation, hunting, poaching, prey depletion, infectious diseases. |
Zoos
| Being flagship species which attracts visitors it is a must for any zoo to have endangered species on display. Not only to ensure the zoo's basic financial situation, but also to support their education and conservation efforts. It is one of the objectives of the zoo community to contribute to endangered species survival not only with 'in-situ' conservation projects, but also breeding those species in captivity. Ultimate goal is to reintroduce captive-bred species into the wild. | ||
| Studbooks | Many endangered species survival programmes have been established within the zoo community with studbooks and co-ordinators to conserve genetic diversity and resilience in many species. | |
References
Sources used
- The new Noah's Ark: beautiful and useful species only. Part 2. The chosen species by Ernest Small, 2012; Biodiversity vol 13, issue 1
- National Post, 23.04.2012
More information
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