The Extinction of the Xerces Blue Butterfly
The Xerces blue butterfly was last spotted around 80 years ago. According to researchers, it is the first U.S. insect species known to go extinct because of humans.
via Science News
Using the genes and the “mitogenomes,” the researchers crafted an evolutionary tree, showing how all of the butterfly species are related to each other. The extinct Xerces blue butterfly was genetically distinct, thus warranting classification as a species, the team found.
“We sort of lost a piece of the biodiversity puzzle that made up the tapestry of the San Francisco Bay area when this species was driven to extinction,” Moreau says.
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