D is for Durango Shiner

Durango Shiner
Notropis aulidion

Where it lived: the Rio Tunal in Durango, Mexico

Last seen in: 1961

Declared extinct by IUCN in: 1990

Extinction causes:

  • population growth in Durango leading to habitat changes, including reduced river flows and pollution

  • the introduction of non-native species that competed with and preyed on the Durango shiner and other fish

“We believe that only 6 of the original 11 species known from the drainage still occur there. … Attempts to locate the Durango shiner as recently as 1985 have failed, and we therefore doubt that the species survives.”

—Robert R. Miller, James D. Williams, and Jack E. Williams, “Extinctions of North American Fishes During the Past Century”