Taxa extirpated from British Columbia, and those not recorded in the province in 50+ years. Project

Species currently or formerly considered 'extirpated' by various authorities but have been rediscovered in the province:

Animals:

• Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis) (post-whaling era recovery)
• North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica) (post-whaling era recovery)
• Short-tailed Albatross - 50 yr absence, recovery of breeding colonies
• Northwestern Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata altifrontalis)
• Washington Southern Red-backed Vole (Myodes gapperi occidentalis)
• Wallis' Tiger Beetle (Cicindela parowana wallisi, only ssp. in Canada) [Link 1, Link 2]
• Nevada Water Mite (Thermacarus nevadensis)
• Glossy Valvata (Valvata humeralis)
• Threeridge Valvata (Valvata tricarinata)
• Swamp Fingernailclam (Musculium partumeium)
• Herrington Fingernailclam (Sphaerium occidentale)
• Shortface Lanx (Fisherola nuttallii)
• Coulee Cricket (Peranabrus scabricollis)
• Undulant-Winged Grasshopper (Circotettix undulatus)
• Mormon Cricket (Anabrus simplex)
• Nevada Red-winged Grasshopper (Cratypedes lateritius)
• Meadow Purple-striped (Snakeweed) Grasshopper (Hesperotettix viridis)
• Huron Short-winged Locust (Melanoplus huroni)
• Dawson's Spur-throat Grasshopper (Melanoplus dawsoni)
• Ashy Pebblesnail (Fluminicola fuscus)
• Dusky Fossaria (Galba dalli)

Plants:

• Pink Sand Verbena (Abronia umbellata acutalata, only ssp. in Canada) (rediscovered 2000, reintroduced in several areas via captive breeding program) [Link]
• Short-flowered Evening Primrose (Taraxia breviflora) [Link]
• Crawe's Sedge (Carex crawei)
• Fringed Pinesap (Pleuricospora fimbriolata)
• Saltwater Cress (Eutrema salsugineum)
• Prairie Buttercup (Ranunculus rhomboideus)
• California Shield Fern (Polystichum californicum)
• Conifer Broomrape (Aphyllon pinorum)
• Canadian Ricegrass (Piptatheropsis canadensis)
• Siberian Polypody (Polypodium sibiricum)
• Pygmy Willowherb (Epilobium campestre)
• Delicate Earth-Moss (Pseudephemerum nitidum)
• Naked Flag-Moss (Discelium nudum)
• Different-nerve (Blackened) Sedge (Carex heteroneura var. epapillosa)
• Dwarf Spikerush (Eleocharis coloradoensis)
• Awnless (Beardless) Wildrye (Elymus curvatus)
• Rock Whitlow-Grass (Draba glabella)
• Rabbitbrush Goldenweed (Ericameria bloomeri)
• Arctic Daisy (Arctanthemum arcticum)
• Blepharostoma arachnoideum (a liverwort)

Fungi:

• Psathyrella quercicola (a brittlestem)
• Troubled Pixie-Cup (Cladonia dimorpha)

Reintroduced:

• Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) (extirpated 1930; reintroduced 1969)
• Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) (extirpated 1979; reintroduced 1983)
• Floating Marsh Pennywort (Hydrocotyle ranunculoides) - Extirpated 1939, unintentional reintroduction via horticulture outside of original range
• Bluehead Gilia (Gilia capitata) - Extirpated 1981, unintentional reintroduction via horticulture outside of original range
• Agastache foeniculum -- Unlikely it ever occured in the province naturally, recently has naturalized from urban gardens.

Extirpated Populations:

• Western Meadowlark (Georgia Straight Depression)
• Lewis's Woodpecker (Georgia Straight Depression)
• Hadley Lake Limnetic & Benthic Sticklebacks
• Dragon Lake Whitefish (Coregonus sp.) - extinct before it could be described
• South Purcell Mountain Caribou

Extirpated Exotics: Successfully breeding introduced species, present for 10+ years, that are since extirpated.

• Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) - Haida Gwaii 1918 - late 1940s [Source]
• Mountain Quail (Oreortyx pictus) - Vancouver Island ~1860s - ~1980
• Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) - Okanagan Valley 1900-1948 [Source]
• Crested Myna (Acridotheres cristatellus) - Vancouver 1890s - 2003
• Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) - 1911 - ? [Source]
• Tomato Looper (Chrysodeixis chalcites) - ? - ? [Source]
• Potato Tuber Moth (Phthorimaea operculella) ? - ? (pest in 1950s-60s) [Source]
• Eastern Oyster Drill (Urosalpinx cinerea) - 1906 - ? (1990s?)
• Oval-leaved Milkweed (Asclepias ovalifolia)

Going, Gone, and Missing in Action: The Extinct, Extirpated, and Historic Wildlife of British Columbia

Extinct and Extirpated Species in British Columbia

Rich Wildlife Poor Protection - The urgent need for strong legal protection of British Columbia's Biodiversity - Appendix 4 (P. 32, 40/47 of pdf) - British Columbia’s Casualty List; Extirpated and Extinct Species list

Taxon-specific links: Silver Hair Moss, Greater Sage-Grouse, White-tailed Jackrabbit, Oregon Vesper Sparrow, Streaked Horned Lark, Western Pond Turtle, Puget Oregonian, Ericameria bloomeri, Columbia Dune Moth, Morrison's Bumble Bee,