THE CONCEPT OF THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES AS APPLIED TO TEXAS MAMMALS

Ten species of mammals native to Texas now are extinct there except th at three, all artiodactyls, have been reintroduced. One of the 10, the West Indian monk seal, is believed to be extinct throughout its range ; remnant to healthy populations of the other nine occur elsewhere tha n Texas within the natural range of the species. Six land mammals and several marine species are endangered in Texas or its Gulf waters, and others are listed as threatened. Finally, populations of some mammals are so poorly understood that it is unknown if they are threatened, a nd such species are deserving of timely study. The history of federal and state legislation to protect endangered and threatened biota is br iefly reviewed as a prologue to discussion of individual species.