Nevada researchers track ‘lost’ species to prevent unrecorded extinctions

Researchers are implementing a new approach to track species that fall into a scientific gray area between being endangered and extinct. These organisms, categorized as ‘lost,’ are those that have not been observed in surveys for a decade or more.

Matthew Forister, an entomologist at the University of Nevada, Reno, is co-editing the Journal of Lost Species to document these cases. The initiative aims to provide a formal scientific record for species that might otherwise vanish without notice, prompting renewed searches by field teams and volunteers.

In Nevada, the biological stakes are significant. Approximately 20 animal species have been extirpated from the state, and nearly 50 plants and animals hold federal endangered or threatened status. One example is Oreocarya insolita, a wildflower that has not been sighted in the Las Vegas area for nearly a century and may be endemic to the region.