"Really, I mean, these are the most Canadian species because they are uniquely Canadian — they only live here," said Dan Kraus, senior conservation biologist with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and a lead author of the report on endemic species released Thursday. There are 120 insect species endemic to Canada, including the salt marsh copper. Kraus hopes the list of endemic species will help prioritize species and habitats for conservation and raise awareness about what Canadians can do about the global extinction crisis. He said he wasn't aware of any other projects like this cataloguing endemic species in Canada. For example, the new report found 64 endemic plant species (not including mosses and liverworts) or 109 species, subspecies and varieties, while He estimates there are about 4,000 plant species in Canada.

Source: CBC News June 04, 2020 07:51 UTC