’S UNIQUE BIODIVERSITY AND

8. Threatened Note for ‘Extinct’. This refers to species that are globally extinct. All mammals over 50 kg were hunted out in Cape Town by the year General: It is a sad reality that Cape Town leads the world in terms 1700, but most still survive in southern Africa. Large mammals of species that are threatened with extinction or extinct. Some 13 currently present (such as at ) have been reintroduced species that used to occur in Cape Town are now globally from elsewhere. extinct in the wild. A further 306 of Cape Town’s plant species, and 27 of its species, are in immediate danger of extinction. What are the Extinct species? The following species that used to Contrary to what most people think, it is not in the tropics that the occur in Cape Town are now listed in the IUCN Red List as “Globally greatest concentration of threatened species occurs, but in Cape Extinct”. Below, the date and cause of extinction are given for each: Town. Buchu family: Hairy Buchu Macrostylis villosa subsp. minor (1960s; What are they? Most threatened species in Cape Town are plants: vineyards in the Bottelary Hills) almost 320 species are threatened with extinction, of which 13 are Daisy family: Hairy Boneseed Osteospermum hirsutum (1800s; already extinct. A quarter of the city’s and toads () urbanisation) are threatened with extinction. Unfortunately, we know very little about the ‘creepy crawlies’, and Cape Town probably has many Heath family – six species: threatened invertebrates as well. The table below summarises the Heath bolusiae var. cyathiformis (1970s; statistics of threatened species in Cape Town according to the global urbanisation of northern suburbs; in cultivation at Kirstenbosch); IUCN Red List status for these species. Showy Heath Erica turgida (1970s; housing at Kenilworth; in cultivation at Kirstenbosch and reintroduced to Kenilworth, Rondevlei Taxon Total EW/X CR EN VU NT and Tokai); Rupert Koopman Higher plants 319 13 85 112 122 67 Whorl Heath (1950s; flower picking and wetland Rupert Koopman Birds 9 0 0 2 7 13 destruction; in cultivation and reintroduced to Rondevlei, Kenilworth Bearded Disa Viooltjie (Hyacinth Family) Amphibians 7 0 2 2 3 3 and Tokai); (Orchid Family) Mammals 6 0 0 1 5 9 Endangered Alexander’s Heath Erica alexandri subsp. acockii (1940s; Critically Endangered Reptiles 3 0 1 1 1 3 urbanisation of Kraaifontein); Fish 2 0 0 2 0 0 Steenbras Heath Erica foliacea subsp. fulgens (1890s; pine Other threatened taxa: Apart from plants which have a whopping EW = Extinct in wild, EX = Extinct, CR = Critically Endangered, plantations); and 85 species in immediate danger of extinction, other groups with EN = Endangered, VU = Vulnerable & NT = Near Threatened. Pyramid Heath Erica pyramidalis (1950s; urbanisation of southern Critically Endangered species include amphibians ( suburbs). Ghost and Micro Frog), reptiles (Geometric Tortoise) and butterflies (Dicksons Monkey Blue Lepidochrysops methymna Pea family – two species: Gorse Aspalathus variegata dicksoni; these have not been seen for 40 years in ). (1890s; urbanisation of southern suburbs); and Some species are precariously close to extinction: the Kraaifontein Grass Mountain Pea Liparia graminifolia (1820s; urbanisation of Spiderhead Serruria furcellata exists as only a single plant on the Mowbray). commonage. Such ‘living dead’ species are as good as extinct, family: Wynberg Conebush Leucadendron grandiflorum unless rescued by conservation authorities. (1800s; vineyards at Wynberg) Threats: Urbanization is the largest threat to the plants and animals Reed family: Table Mountain Window Reed Willdenowia affinis in Cape Town. Historically, cultivation was the main cause of species (1910s; pine plantations at Kloof Corner) loss (mainly wheat in the , and pines and vines in Granite ). Currently, the second-greatest threat is invasive Sedge family: Green-and-red Isolepis Isolepis bulbifera (1950s; alien plants (such as wattles, pines, hakeas and gums). There are urbanisation of southern suburbs) many other threats, such as fire, grazing, picking, climate change and ling dumping. However, these threats are minor compared to the big Snapdragon family: Peninsula Snapdragon Nemesia micrantha three, which result in habitat transformation. Through this (date and cause of extinction unknown) transformation, natural ecosystem processes become compromised, Velvetworm: Lion Velvetworm Peripatopsis leonina (1950s; Signal with fire ecology changing, water tables being abstracted, wetlands Hill; cause of extinction unknown) destroyed, and water, soils and air polluted. Felicity Grunh

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Ismail Ebrahim Nigel Forshaw Ismail Ebrahim