A highly specialized fish, home to only San Marcos, was recently removed from the Endangered Species List and classified as extinct. The protections on the San Marcos River, springs as well as Spring Lake, will not be removed due to the loss of the local Gambusia. According to the Meadows Center for the Water and Environment website, the Upper San Marcos River is one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the southwestern U.S. that still contains seven endangered species.
The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment Director of Operations Carrie Thompson said the San Marcos Gambusia was a small fish that was unique in that it gave birth to live fish.
“There are other fish like it in the river that people know as mosquito fish,” Thompson said. “But this one was highly specialized and was only found here in a small portion of the river.”
