The Java stingray was a small stingray and now scientists have certified its total extinction
Over the millions of years many species that have inhabited our planet have become extinct. Entire branches of animals such as dinosaurs and other reptiles before them disappeared due to the action of climatic or external elements, such as meteorites. However, nowadays there are many animals that disappear due to human action. One more is added to the list, the Javan stingray.
In a recent article published in Ifscience The disappearance of the Java stingray (Urulophus javanicus) has been highlighted, a species of marine fish that says goodbye to the list of living species. Those who have certified its extinction have been scientists from the Charles Darwin University of Australia. The most notable thing is that it is the first marine animal to become extinct due to human action..
This miniature stingray is the first marine fish to disappear by humans
The Javan stingray was a plate-sized species of stingray. An animal so rare that it was only known a specimen collected at a Jakarta fish market in 1862. Apart from this, it was known that uncontrolled fishing was one of the great threats to this species. A threat that has ended up making it extinct from the waters of the eastern Pacific. In short: bad news.
The disappearance of this ray may not have serious consequences for the Pacific marine ecosystems around Java, but It is a terrible precedent for what could come in the coming years. Fishing and water pollution are putting many marine species on the ropes that could irremediably disappear forever.
What has happened to the Javan stingray is just a sample of what can happen to other marine species, many already threatened for years, soon if the authorities do not exercise true control. control over toxic waste and uncontrolled fishing.
The Java Stingaree, a ray species, is the first marine fish extinct due to human activity, concluded the @CDUni in a recently published assessment. https://t.co/7lPTrwFVPM#ExtinctionEndsHere @IUCNRedList
— IUCN Species Survival Commission (@IUCNssc) December 18, 2023
It is true that some projects have managed to save such iconic species as the American bison or the Iberian lynx in the case of Spain from extinction, but these are exceptions. Some scientists They think that the Earth is already experiencing its sixth extinction and that it will wipe out large groups of animals. We can only hope they are wrong.
We deeply regret the disappearance of this stingray, especially because of everything that the extinction of an animal entails on a global level. After this, others may follow that are more famous and known by the general population. It is urgent to put measures in place so that extinctions and various threats are reduced until they disappear.