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L3NTON t1_j22hzen wrote

I'd be curious to know how many species there were to begin with and how many have already gone extinct.

Certain great plains states have basically one biome. Other states like California or Florida have a much more diverse set of biomes that can house a much larger variety of species.

It would be cool to see that represented too.

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WrightwoodHiker t1_j22ri2c wrote

The biggest factor is having species with small ranges. Microclimates, sand dunes, islands, and oases are places you might find small-range species. Hawaii doesn’t have a ton of species overall, but obviously has a really high percentage of species with small ranges. CA has the most of the contiguous US. The plains, Midwest, and Northeast have very few.

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waffleslaw t1_j22vhs2 wrote

Fish. A LOT of the south east endangered species are fish. TN and AL both swap which state has the most native species of aquatic fish, they keep finding more. Some populations exist in just one tiny water shed.

I don't know about other regions of the US (my ichthyology degree is decades out of date and I studied in the South East) but I suspect is very similar in California as well.

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thugdout t1_j23mldd wrote

> aquatic fish

As compared to the more common land-dwelling fish?

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waffleslaw t1_j24oyop wrote

As compared to marine fish, freshwater vs saltwater.

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WrightwoodHiker t1_j23zlsd wrote

There are a few (pupfish, golden trout), but CA has much lower freshwater fish diversity, because the water is mostly either cold or ephemeral. CA has a ton of small-range plants compared to the rest of the continental US and I believe it’s at or near the top in rare mammals.

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