Xerces blue

For other uses, see Xerces (disambiguation).

Xerces blue
Samples of the extinct Glaucopsyche xerces butterfly in the collections of the Field Museum of Natural History

Extinct (early 1940s)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Presumed Extinct (early 1940s)  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Glaucopsyche
Species:
†G. xerces
Binomial name
†Glaucopsyche xerces
(Boisduval, 1852)
Synonyms
  • Glaucopsyche lygdamus xerces

The Xerces blue (Glaucopsyche xerces) is a recently extinct species of butterfly in the gossamer-winged butterfly family, Lycaenidae. The species lived in coastal sand dunes of the Sunset District of the San Francisco Peninsula in California. The Xerces blue is believed to be the first American butterfly species to become extinct as a result of loss of habitat caused by urban development. The last Xerces blue was seen in 1941 or 1943[3] on land that is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.[4]

  1. ^ World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Glaucopsyche xerces". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T9244A12971422. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T9244A12971422.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  3. ^ Powell, J.A.; Hogue, C.L. (1979). California Insects. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03782-3.
  4. ^ Garth, J.S.; Tilden, J.W. (1986). California Butterflies. University of California Press. ISBN 0520052498.