Species of Greatest Conservation Need

1279 species
Taxonomic Group
Federal Status
State Status
Endemic

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Species of Greatest Conservation Need (Updated: 01/31/2024)
Common Name Scientifc Name Taxonomic Group Federal Status State Status Global Rank State Rank Endemic General Habitat Type(s)
Guadalupe Mountains violet Viola guadalupensis Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 S1 True Guadalupe Mountains; bullet hole openings in dolomitized limestone rock faces, in the shade of an open Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) woodland at about 2,450 m (8,000 ft) elevation; flowering March-May
rock grape Vitis rupestris Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S1 False Occurs on rocky limestone slopes and in streambeds; Perennial; Flowering March-May; Fruiting May-July
Texas willkommia Willkommia texana var. texana Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3G4T3 S3 True Mostly in sparsely vegetated shortgrass patches within taller prairies on alkaline or saline soils on the Coastal Plain (Carr 2015).
small-leaved yellow velvet-leaf Wissadula parvifolia Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 S1 True Occurs on sandy loams or clays in shrublands or woodlands on gently undulating terrain of the Holocene sand sheet over the Goliad Formation.
sticky tansy aster Xanthisma viscidum Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S2 False Occurs on calcareous or sandy soils in Chihuahuan Desert shrublands or mesquite grasslands.
Wright's machaeranthera Xylorhiza wrightii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False Desert grasslands in the Trans-Pecos (Carr 2015).
Chapman's yellow-eyed grass Xyris chapmanii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False Mostly in soft, spongy, peaty substrates in deep muck seepage bogs; mostly in muckiest parts of hillside seepage bogs; flowering August-September, with seed maturing September-October
Drummond's yellow-eyed grass Xyris drummondii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3G4 S2 False Wet sand or peaty sand in hillside seepage bogs; in Texas, exclusively over the Catahoula formation, elsewhere also found along contact between Willis and Bentley formations; flowering mid June-mid August, seeds developing mid-late summer and early fall
roughleaf yellow-eyed grass Xyris scabrifolia Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S2 False Wet sand and/or peat in acid seepage areas or hillside seepage bogs on the Catahoula formation or near the contact of the Catahoula and the Willis formations, in open areas and in partial shade of evergreen shrub thickets, often on Sphagnum hummocks; flowering late July-early September
Texas shrimp-plant Yeatesia platystegia Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3G4 S4 False Occurs very sparingly in a variety of shrublands and canyon woodlands at widely scattered locations; Perennial; Flowering/Fruiting April-Dec
nodding yucca Yucca cernua Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 S1 True Openings in and margins of pine-hardwood forests on brownish acid clays of the Redco Series; flowering/fruiting June-November
Glen Rose yucca Yucca necopina Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1G2 S3 True Grasslands on sandy soils and limestone outcrops; flowering April-June
Shinners' tickle-tongue Zanthoxylum parvum Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2 S2 True Understory of maple-oak woodlands or evergreen oak shinnery on rocky, often shallow, well-drained, neutral, non-calcareous loams underlain by rhyolite, tuff trachyandesite, or other igneous rock, at elevations between about 1,350-1,750 m (4,400-5,750 ft); flowering late March-early April, before the leaves have fully expanded
Refugio rainlily Zephyranthes refugiensis Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2G3 S2S3 True Occurs on deep heavy black clay soils or sandy loams in swales or drainages on herbaceous grasslands or shrublands on level to rolling landscapes underlain by the Lissie Formation.
Small's rainlily Zephyranthes smallii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1G2Q S1 True Open low fields, swales and ditches on sandy loam. Flowering early fall (Sep--Oct) (Flagg, Smith & Flory 2002).
Texas wild-rice Zizania texana Plants LE E G1 S1 True Spring-fed river, in clear, cool, swift water mostly less than 1 m deep, with coarse sandy soils rather than finer clays; flowering year-round, peaking March-June
smooth softshell Apalone mutica Reptiles Not Listed Not Listed G5 S3 False Aquatic: Large rivers and streams; in some areas also found in lakes and impoundments (Ernst and Barbour 1972). Usually in water with sandy or mud bottom and few aquatic plants. Often basks on sand bars and mudflats at edge of water. Eggs are laid in nests dug in high open sandbars and banks close to water, usually within 90 m of water (Fitch and Plummer 1975).
gray-checkered whiptail Aspidoscelis dixoni Reptiles Not Listed Not Listed G5 S2 False Terrestrial: The habitat comprises rocky plains, dry washes, canyon bottoms, and desert scrub (ocotillo, creosotebush, opuntia) (Bartlett and Bartlett 1999); generally on rocky soils of desert shrublands and degraded grasslands on alluvial benches, canyon bottoms, and lower southwestern mountain slopes (Scudday 1973, Degenhardt et al. 1996).
northern scarlet snake Cemophora coccinea Reptiles Not Listed T G5 S4 False Terrestrial: Prefers well drained soils with pine, hardwood, or mixed hardwood scrub in addition to open grassland habitats with appropriate soils.
Texas scarlet snake Cemophora lineri Reptiles Not Listed T G2 S1S2 True Terrestrial: Prefers well drained soils with a variety of forest, grassland, and scrub habitats.
reticulated gecko Coleonyx reticulatus Reptiles Not Listed Not Listed G3 S4 False Terrestrial: This lizard occurs in canyons and other rocky areas in desert regions. Apparently favors crevice microhabitats regardless of rock type.
black-striped snake Coniophanes imperialis Reptiles Not Listed T G4G5 S2S3 False Terrestrial: Occurs in native thorn scrub and woodlands a well as modfied urban areas. Prefers warm, moist microhabitats, and sandy soils.
timber (canebrake) rattlesnake Crotalus horridus Reptiles Not Listed Not Listed G4 S4 False Terrestrial: Swamps, floodplains, upland pine and deciduous woodland, riparian zones, abandoned farmland. Limestone bluffs, sandy soil or black clay. Prefers dense ground cover, i.e. grapevines, palmetto.
western rattlesnake Crotalus viridis Reptiles Not Listed Not Listed G5 S5 False Terrestrial: Dry desert and prairie grasslands, shrub desert rocky hillsides; edges of arid and semi-arid river breaks.
reticulate collared lizard Crotaphytus reticulatus Reptiles Not Listed Not Listed G3 S4 False Terresstrial: Requires open brush-grasslands; thorn-scrub vegetation, usually on well-drained rolling terrain of shallow gravel, caliche, or sandy soils; often on scattered flat rocks below escarpments or isolated rock outcrops among scattered clumps of prickly pear and mesquite