What crucial detail does the gap between the last known capture (around 2007) and the last visual confirmation (2002) highlight?
Answer
The challenge of assessing extinction in real-time
This discrepancy highlights the difficulty in assessing extinction in real-time, as a species can remain functionally extinct for years while isolated individuals are occasionally spotted before a definitive declaration can be made.
Related Questions
Which organization officially declared the Chinese paddlefish (*Psephurus gladius*) as Extinct in 2020?What physical characteristic gave the Chinese paddlefish its common name?What year is cited in some records as the last time a specimen of the Chinese paddlefish was caught and documented?What primary function did the construction of major dams, like the Gezhouba Dam, disrupt for the paddlefish?How large could fully grown Chinese paddlefish historically reach in length?What two synergistic environmental pressures are chiefly responsible for the demise of the Chinese paddlefish?Before the IUCN officially declared the species Extinct, what status had some conservation groups already moved to classify it under?What biological era is the Chinese paddlefish considered a relic from, surviving until wiped out by modern pressures?What crucial detail does the gap between the last known capture (around 2007) and the last visual confirmation (2002) highlight?The scientific description of the Chinese paddlefish by Wilhelm Peters occurred in what year?Scientifically, what category did the Chinese paddlefish belong to, despite being commonly noted as sturgeon-like?