Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries
PART 17—ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS
Subpart E—Similarity of Appearance
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§ 17.50 General.
(a) Whenever a species which is not Endangered or Threatened closely resembles an Endangered or Threatened species, such species may be treated as either Endangered or Threatened if the director makes such determination in accordance with section 4(e) of the Act and the criteria of paragraph (b) of this section. After the Director has made such determination in accordance with the notification procedures specified in the Act, such species shall appear in the list in §17.11 (Wildlife) or §17.12 (Plants) with the notation “(S/A)” (similarity of appearance) in the “Status” column, following either a letter “E” or a letter “T” to indicate whether the species is being treated as Endangered or Threatened.
(b) In determining whether to treat a species as Endangered or Threatened due to similarity of appearance, the Director shall consider the criteria in section 4(e) of the Act, as indicated below:
(1) The degree of difficulty enforcement personnel would have in distinguishing the species, at the point in question, from an Endangered or Threatened species (including those cases where the criteria for recognition of a species are based on geographical boundaries);
(2) The additional threat posed to the Endangered or Threatened species by the loss of control occasioned because of the similarity of appearance; and
(3) The probability that so designating a similar species will substantially facilitate enforcement and further the purposes and policy of the Act.
Example 1. The ABC sparrow is Endangered wildlife. The ABD sparrow is a subspecies that is so similar to the ABC sparrow that when found outside their normal habitat, the two cannot readily be distinguished by law enforcement personnel. The ABD sparrow is listed in §17.11, after following the proper procedures as follows:
Species and Range-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portion of range Common name Scientific name Population Known distribution where endangered or Status When Special threatened listed rules--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ABC sparrow....................... ABCus................ NA................... North America........ Entire.............. E 7 NAABD sparrow....................... ABDus................ NA................... ......do............. NA.................. E(S/A) 7 NA--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Example 2. Suppose the ABC sparrow is listed as Endangered in only a portion of its range. Within the meaning of the Act, the ABC sparrow as defined by geographic boundaries is a species. The ABC sparrow which occurs beyond those boundaries is a different species, even though it is identical, except in location, to the listed species. If the criteria of this section were met, the two species would be listed as follows:
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Species and Range-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portion of range Common name Scientific name Population Known distribution where endangered or Status When Special threatened listed rules--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ABC sparrow....................... ABCus................ Idaho................ Idaho................ Entire.............. E 7 NA Do............................... ......do............. NA................... United States........ NA.................. E(S/A) 7 NA--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Example 3. The XY cactus has been determined to be an Endangered species. The XZ cactus so closely resembles the XY cactus that enforcement personnel cannot distinguish between the two. The Endangered XY cactus could be illegally sold as the non-endangered XZ species, thus posing an additional threat to the Endangered species. After following the proper procedures, the XZ cactus would be placed on the list and treated as though it was an Endangered species. This entry would appear as follows:
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Species and Range-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portion of range Common name Scientific name Population Known distribution where endangered or Status When Special threatened listed rules--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------XYum.............................. XY cactus............ Arizona.............. Entire............... .................... E 7 NAXZum.............................. ......do............. Arizona and Mexico... NA................... .................... E(S/A) 8 NA--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
