The 24-rayed sunstar (heliaster solaris) is likely extinct. It has not been seen for over 25 years following the strong El Nino event of 1983-1984. Photo by: Cleve Hickman, Jr.

By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com, December 03, 2009 We may never see again the Galapagos black-spotted damselfish, the beautiful 24-rayed sunstar, or the Galapagos stringweed. These species from Galapagos waters may all very well be extinct. Other species are on the brink, such as the Galapagos penguin and the Floreana cup coral. A new report in Global Change Biology reveals that in just a matter of decades, overfishing and climate change has devastated the Galapagos’ unique and famous ecosystems. “If marine species are going extinct in one of the most famous, and most cherished World Heritage Sites, what is happening in the rest of the world that has been so little studied?” asks report coauthor Scott Henderson, Conservation International’s Regional Marine Conservation Director in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. …

Extinctions on the rise in the Galapagos: fishing and global warming devastating islands’ species