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)
roughtoothed dolphin Steno bredanensis Marine - Mammals Not Listed T G4 S1 False Inhabits tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters worldwide, including the Gulf of Mexico. Records in Texas are only known from strandings. Commonly found in deep, oceanic water over 1,500-2,000 meters deep and ranging in temperature from 17-25 degrees Celsius. May associate with other cetaceans. Prey on squids and fish. No known migration patterns.
West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus Marine - Mammals LT T G2G3 S1 False Large rivers, brackish water bays, coastal waters. Warm waters of the tropics, in rivers and brackish bays but may also survive in salt water habitats. Very sensitive to cold water temperatures. Rarely occurring as far north as Texas. Gulf and bay system; opportunistic, aquatic herbivore.
bottlenosed dolphin Tursiops truncatus Marine - Mammals Not Listed Not Listed G5 S2 False Gulf of Mexico
Cuvier's beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris Marine - Mammals Not Listed T G4 S1 False Inhabit tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters world wide, including the Gulf of Mexico. Commonly found in water over 3,300 feet deep near the continetal shelf near steep slopes or canyons, avoiding coastal areas. Mostly pelagic apparently confined by the 1,00 meter bthymetric contour. frequenly make deep dives to capture prey (squids and fishes).
Amelia's sand-verbena Abronia ameliae Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 True Endemic to South Texas; Occurs on deep, well-drained sandy soils of the South Texas Sand Sheet in grassy and/or herbaceous dominated openings within coastal live oak woodlands or mesquite-coastal live oak woodlands. Perennial; Flowering Mar-June
large-fruited sand-verbena Abronia macrocarpa Plants LE E G2? S2? True Restricted to sparse herbaceous vegetation in deep, somewhat excessively drained sands in openings in Post oak woodlands, sometimes in active blowouts; all known sites underlain by sandy Eocene strata; Perennial; Flowering late February-May (-June; also in the fall following periods of high rainfall)
Guadalupe needlegrass Achnatherum curvifolium Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S2 False Usually in rocky limestone areas in the Guadalupe, Delaware, and Dead Horse Mountains (Carr 2015).
Havard trumpets Acleisanthes acutifolia Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S1 False In xeric limestone or gypseous habitats; Perennial; Flowering July-Sept
Texas trumpets Acleisanthes crassifolia Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2 S2 False Shallow, well-drained, calcareous, gravelly loams over caliche on gentle to moderate slopes, often in sparsely vegetated openings in cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens) shrublands; known populations occur on Austin Chalk (Cretaceous) or Uvalde Gravel (Pleistocene); Perennial; Flowering March-November; Fruiting April-December
littleleaf moonpod Acleisanthes parvifolia Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False Found on xeric clay or shale exposures; Perennial; Flowering April-Sept; Fruiting June-Sept
Wright's trumpets Acleisanthes wrightii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2 S2 False Open semi-desert grasslands and shrublands on shallow stony soils over limestone on low hills and flats; Perennial; Flowering spring-fall, probably also in response to rains
Vasey's adelia Adelia vaseyi Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False Mostly subtropical evergreen/deciduous woodlands on loamy soils of Rio Grande Delta, but occassionally in shrublands on more xeric sandy to gravelly upland sites; Perennial; Flowering January-June
earleaf false foxglove Agalinis auriculata Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 SH False Known in Texas from one late nineteenth century specimen record labeled -Benbrook-; in Oklahoma, degraded prairies, floodplains, fallow fields, and borders of upland sterile woods; in Arkansas, blackland prairie; Annual; Flowering August - October
Leoncita false-foxglove Agalinis calycina Plants Not Listed T G1 S1 False Grasslands on perennially moist, heavy, alkaline/saline, calcareous silty clays and loams in and around cienegas (desert springs) and seeps; Annual; Flowering September-October
Osage Plains false foxglove Agalinis densiflora Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S2 False Most records are from grasslands on shallow, gravelly, well drained, calcareous soils; Prairies, dry limestone soils; Annual; Flowering Aug-Oct
Navasota false foxglove Agalinis navasotensis Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 S1 True Relatively sparsely vegetated, shallow, sandy soils on calcareous sandstone outcrops of the Oakville Formation, with associated surrounding species more typical of Edwards Plateau, than Post Oak Savanna or Blackland Prairie; also, Catahoula Formation barrens in pine savanna; Annual; Flowering September-October
incised groovebur Agrimonia incisa Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False Sandy soils in dry to mesic pine or mixed pine-oak forests and forest borders; usually in fire-maintained longleaf pine savannas but also in more mesic habitats; Perennial; Flowering July-September
crestless onion Allium canadense var. ecristatum Plants Not Listed Not Listed G5T3 S3 True Occurs on poorly drained sites on sandy substrates within coastal prairies of the Coastal Bend area (Carr 2015).
Elmendorf's onion Allium elmendorfii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2 S2 True Grassland openings in oak woodlands on deep, loose, well-drained sands; in Coastal Bend, on Pleistocene barrier island ridges and Holocene Sand Sheet that support live oak woodlands; to the north it occurs in post oak-black hickory-live oak woodlands over Queen City and similar Eocene formations; one anomalous specimen found on Llano Uplift in wet pockets of granitic loam; Perennial; Flowering March-April, May
Texas false saltgrass Allolepis texana Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2 S1 False Sandy to silty soils of valley bottoms and river floodplains, not generally on alkaline or saline sites; Perennial; Flowering (May-) July-October depending on rainfall
South Texas ambrosia Ambrosia cheiranthifolia Plants LE E G2 S1 False Grasslands and mesquite-dominated shrublands on various soils ranging from heavy clays to lighter textured sandy loams, mostly over the Beaumont Formation on the Coastal Plain; in modified unplowed sites such as railroad and highyway right-of-ways, cemeteries, mowed fields, erosional areas along small creeks; Perennial; Flowering July-November
longstalk heimia Ammannia grayi Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2G3 S2 False Moist or subirrigated alkaline or gypsiferous clayey soils along unshaded margins of cienegas and other wetlands; occurs sparingly on an alkaline, somewhat saline silt loam on terraces of spring-fed streams in grassland; also occurs common in moderately alkaline clay along perennial stream and in subirrigated wetlands atop poorly-defined spring system; also occurs in low, wetland area along highway right-of-way; flowering May-September
smooth indigobush Amorpha laevigata Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3? S1 False Prairies, open woods and creek banks; Perennial; Flowering May-July
panicled indigobush Amorpha paniculata Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False A stout shrub, 3 m (9 ft) tall that grows in acid seep forests, peat bogs, wet floodplain forests, and seasonal wetlands on the edge of Saline Prairies in East Texas. It is distinguished from other Amorpha species by its fuzzy leaflets with prominent raised veins underneath, and the flower panicles, which are 8 to 16 inches long and slender, held above the foliage. Perennial; Flowering summer
Texas amorpha Amorpha roemeriana Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False Juniper-oak woodlands or shrublands on rocky limestone slopes, sometimes on dry shelves above creeks; Perennial; Flowering May-June; Fruiting June-Oct