UCSC Rare Species Fact Sheets
The rich biodiversity found on the UCSC campus includes several rare species, including some that have been found nowhere else on Earth. With a few exceptions, each of the species listed below has some kind of conservation status on a federal, state, or international level. These range from the IUCN Red List to the Federal Endangered Species Act to the California Endangered Species Act to the California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Rankings to other state, federal, or international rankings.
Click on species names below to download pdfs created by UCSC undergraduate students during a remote-learning internship during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021 academic year).
AMPHIBIANS | |
Aneides niger | Santa Cruz black salamander |
Dicamptodon ensatus | California giant salamander |
Rana draytonii | California red-legged frog |
BIRDS | |
Ammodramus savannarum | grasshopper sparrow (nesting) |
Aquila chrysaetos | golden eagle |
Athene cunicularia | burrowing owl |
Contopus cooperi | olive-sided flycatcher |
Elanus leucurus | white-tailed kite |
Passerculus sandwichensis alaudinus | Bryant's savannah sparrow |
MOSS | |
Dacryophyllum falcifolium | Tear drop moss |
FUNGI | |
Hygrocybe/Gliophorus flavifolia/flavifolius | Golden-gilled Waxy cap |
Leptonia carnea | |
Porpolomopsis calyptriformis | Pink Waxcap |
Pouzarella spp. | |
INVERTEBRATES | |
Cicindela ohlone | Ohlone tiger beetle |
Danaus plexippus pop. 1 | Monarch butterfly--CA overwintering population |
Fissiicreagris imperialis | Empire Cave pseudoscorpion |
Meta dolloff | Dolloff cave spider |
Stygobromus imperialis | Empire Cave amphipod |
Stygobromus mackenziei | MacKenzie's cave amphipod |
Telema sp. | Santa Cruz telemid spider |
MAMMALS | |
Antrozous pallidus | pallid bat |
Corynorhinus townsendii | Townsend's big-eared bat |
Lasiurus blossevillii | Western red bat |
Neotoma fuscipes annectans | San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat |
Puma concolor | mountain lion |
Taxidea taxus | American badger |
FLOWERING PLANTS | |
Arctostaphylos andersonii | Santa Cruz manzanita |
Calochortus uniflorus | Monterey mariposa |
Carex saliniformis | salt sedge |
Horkelia marinensis | Point Reyes horkelia |
Hosackia gracilis | Harlequin lotus, Witch's teeth |
Microseris paludosa | marsh microseris |
Perideridia gairdneri | Gairdner's yampah |
Plagiobothrys diffusus | San Francisco popcorn flower |
Toxicoscordion fontanum | marsh zigadenous |
Trifolium buckwestorium | Santa Cruz clover |
Trifolium polyodon | Pacific Grove Clover |
REPTILE | |
Actinemys pallida | Southwestern pond turtle |