Java stingaree extinct, scientist declare first marine fish extinction due to human activity
Java Stingaree. German naturalist Eduard von Martens found himself in a fish market in the city of Jakarta on the island of Java in 1862.
REPUBLIKA KIDS -- Hello Kids... The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared an extremely rare Java Stingaree (Urolophus javanicus) extinct. The species was first known in 1862 from a fish market in Jakarta.
That specimen became the sole proof of this species’ existence. The announcement was made during the COP29 Climate Summit in Dubai, on Monday (12/11/2023).
In 1862, German naturalist Eduard von Martens was part of a multiyear expedition to what was known then as the Far East. That July, he found himself in a fish market in the city of Jakarta on the island of Java, then part of a Dutch colony. Little did he know he’d be the only scientist ever to see it.
For a naturalist from temperate Germany, such a market must have been full of tropical wonders. Coming upon a strange little stingray, a popular delicacy in Indonesia, Martens purchased the dead fish.
Fast-forward 161 years to December 2023, and that species, which Martens dubbed the Java stingaree or Urolophus javanicus, has been declared extinct. It’s never been recorded since 1862 and may have already been super rare when Martens purchased it.
