Listed Endangered Species and Recommended Water Management Startegies in the 2006 South Central Texas Regional Water Plan

Draft 9/29/2008

Robber Baron Cave meshweaver Scientific Name: Cicurina baronia A small, eyeless cave spider. This species has only been found in the Robber Baron Cave in San Antonio, Bexar County.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Madla Cave meshweaver Scientific Name: Cicurina madla A small cave spider with reduced body pigment and no eyes. This karst species is known to inhabit caves in or near northwest Bexar and northeast Medina Counties.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Braken Bat Cave meshweaver Scientific Name: Cicurina venii A small, eyeless cave spider with reduced body pigment. Known only from Braken Bat Cave in northwestern Bexar County.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Government Canyon Bat Cave meshweaver Scientific Name: Cicurina vespera A small, eyeless cave spider with reduced body pigment. This species is known from two caves located in northwest Bexar County.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Government Canyon Bat Cave spider Scientific Name: Neoleptoneta microps A small, essentially eyeless* cave spider with short legs and a yellowish coloration. This species is only known from two caves in the Government Canyon State Natural Area in northwest Bexar County. * Residual portions of eyes are present, but do not function for sight.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Cokendolpher cave harvestman Scientific Name: Texella cokendolpheri This harvestman (daddy-longlegs) is eyeless, with very long, thin legs and a pale orange body. Known only from Robber Baron cave in San Antonio, Bexar County.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Helotes mold beetle Scientific Name: Batrisodes venyivi A tiny (0.1 in), eyeless, reddish-brown beetle that, at first glance, resembles an ant. A karst species, this beetle is known to inhabit at least eight caves near Helotes, in northwestern Bexar County.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

A ground beetle (no common name) Scientific Name: Rhadine exilis Basically eyeless, this small (0.3 inch) cave ground beetle has an extremely slender body. This species prefers the darker and deeper parts of caves in karst areas of north and northwest Bexar County. Residual portions of eyes are present, but do not function for sight.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

A ground beetle (no common name) Scientific Name: Rhadine infernalis This small (0.3 in), essentially eyeless, cave ground beetle has a slender body with reddish coloration and a slender neck. This species is found only in karst areas of north and northwest Bexar County. * Residual portions of eyes are present, but do not function for sight.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Peck’s cave amphipod Scientific Name: Stygobromus pecki Exclusively subterranean, this species is aquatic, eyeless, and unpigmented. Most specimens of this amphipod are collected from crevices in rock and gravel near spring openings. This species is known only from the Edwards Aquifer in Comal County.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Fountain darter Scientific Name: Etheostoma fonticola A small, reddish-brown fish, this species has an average length of 1 inch. It displays dark horizontal stitch-like lines along its sides and three dark spots at the base of the tail. Their primary food includes aquatic insect larvae and small crustaceans. This species is found only in the San Marcos (Hays County) and Comal River (Comal County) headwaters.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Comal Springs riffle beetle Scientific Name: Heterelmis comalensis This small, aquatic, reddish-brown beetle is about 0.1 inches long with a narrow body. Highly dependent on the constant and narrow range of habitat conditions associated with spring flows issuing from the Edwards Aquifer, this species has primarily been collected from Comal Springs in Comal County.	`
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Comal Springs dryopid beetle Scientific Name: Stygoparnus comalensis This beetle is about 0.1 inches long and is the only known subterranean member of the beetle family Dryopidae. They have vestigial (non-functional) eyes, and are translucent, weakly pigmented, and thin-skinned. This species has a mass of tiny, hairs on its underside where it maintains a thin bubble of air through which breathing occurs. This species has been collected from springs in Comal and Hays Counties.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Texas blind salamander Scientific Name: Eurycea rathbuni This salamander is a sightless and cave-dwelling species whose mature length is about 5 inches. It is frail-legged and slender, and white or pinkish in color, with a fringe of red-colored external gills. Native only to the limestone caverns of the Edwards Aquifer found near San Marcos (Hays County), this species spends its entire life in total darkness.
Edwards Aquifer—The Edwards Aquifer is an underground layer of porous, honeycombed, water-bearing rock that typically ranges from 300 feet to 700 feet in thickness. The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Aquifer extends in a 160 mile arch-shaped curve from Brackettville in the west to near Kyle in the northeast. This segment of the Edwards Aquifer is the primary source of water supply for over 1.5 million people in south-central Texas and for several major springs, including Comal and San Marcos Springs which are the two largest in Texas. The recharge zone, aquifer, springs, and stream segments below the springs provide unique habitats for a number of listed endangered species potentially affected by water management strategies recommended in the Region L Water Plan.
Karst—an area distinguished by landforms and subsurface features such as sinkholes and caves, which are produced by the action of water dissolving bedrock. Limestone formations which contain caves, sinks, fractures, and fissures.

Black-capped vireo Scientific Name: Vireo atricapilla Only 4.5 inches long, this vireo is an insect-eating songbird. It nests only in central and southwest areas of Texas in dense underbrush within semi-open woodlands containing distinct upper and lower levels. Within the Region L Water Planning area they have been documented in Medina, Uvalde, Bexar and Hays Counties. This species winters on the western coast of Mexico.

Golden-cheeked warbler Scientific Name: Dendroica chrysoparia Small (5 inch), migratory songbirds nesting only in central Texas' mixed Ashe-juniper and oak woodlands, within ravines and canyons. They eat insects and spiders found on plants, and use long strips of cedar bark and spider webs to build their nests. Migrating to Texas in March to nest and raise their young, they leave around July to spend the winter in Mexico and Central America. Of the nearly 360 bird species that breed in Texas, the Golden-cheeked Warbler is the only one that nests exclusively in Texas. Found in the hill county counties of Uvalde, Medina, Bexar, Kendall, Hays, Travis, and Comal within Region L.

Attwater’s Greater Prairie-Chicken Scientific Name: Tympanuchus cupido attwateri Unique to the Texas gulf coast area, these birds are brownish-colored with strong black bars and a short, rounded blackish tail. The males have large orange air sacs on the sides of their neck that help them make a “booming” sound during mating season that can be heard up to one-half mile away. This species occurs in coastal prairie grasslands in habitats which include both tall and short grasses. Populations of this species are found in Goliad, Refugio and Victoria Counties.

Whooping Crane Scientific Name: Grus americana The tallest bird in North America at nearly 5 feet, with a wingspan of over seven feet, this crane was once at the brink of extinction. As of February 2008, there were approximately 260 whooping cranes wintering in or near the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Breeding in Canada, these birds migrate south to spend the winter in Aransas and Calhoun Counties.

Texas Wild Rice Scientific Name: Zizania texana This perennial aquatic grass has long green leaves up to 45 inches in length and 1/4 to 1 inch wide. The main body of this plant is generally found underwater, rooted firmly in gravel shallows near the middle of the river. Once abundant in the San Marcos River, this plant is now distributed only along the upper four miles of the river in and near the city of San Marcos, in Hays County.

San Marcos Gambusia Scientific Name: Gambusia georgei This species has an average length of 1 inch and is similar in appearance to the common mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis). It has a prominent dark stripe along the upper edges of its top fin, yellow middle fins and a thin stripe along the center of its body. Livebearers, their primary food includes small invertebrates. Preferring shallow, quiet water, along with partial shade, this species is found only in the headwaters of the San Marcos River in Hays County and was last collected in the wild in 1983.