Several starlet corals (Siderastrea siderea). (Photo by D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0)
(CN) — Thrust into the limelight by a botched biology experiment, a little-known coral species considered endangered is on the verge of vanishing. But unlike actually endangered species, this creature’s pending demise isn’t the result of climate change or ocean acidification — it’s a simple case of mistaken identity.
That’s why the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday proposed the erasure of Siderastrea glynni
not only from the federal Endangered Species Act, but as a species in general.
Decades after being first discovered near Panama, NOAA researchers now conclude the stony coral was planted during a science experiment and is actually the Caribbean species known as Siderastrea siderea