Pinus muricata, the bishop pine, is a pine with a very restricted range: mostly in California, including several offshore Channel Islands, and a few locations in Baja California, Mexico. It is always on or near the coast.
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes is the largest remaining dune system south of San Francisco and the second largest in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses an 18-mile (29 km) stretch of coastline on the Central Coast of California and extends from southern San Luis Obispo County to northern Santa Barbara County.
Estero Bay is a bay located on the Pacific Coast in San Luis Obispo County, central California. It is about 15 miles (24 km) from its south end at Point Buchon/Montana de Oro State Park, to its north end at Point Estero, which is about 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Cayucos. It is indented about 5 miles (8 km) into the California coast.
Cirsium fontinale, the fountain thistle, is a flowering perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to California. The genus Cirsium is commonly known as the "thistle" genus, Cirsium being the Greek word for 'thistle.'
The Morro Bay kangaroo rat, Dipodomys heermanni morroensis, is endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California.
Eriodictyon altissimum is a rare species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name Indian Knob mountainbalm. It is endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, where it is known from only about six occurrences in the Irish Hills on the coast and nearby Indian Knob.
Helminthoglypta allynsmithi, the Merced Canyon shoulderband or Allyn Smith's banded snail, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Helminthoglyptidae. This species is endemic to the United States.
Helminthoglypta is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Helminthoglyptinae of the family Xanthonychidae.
The Victorville shoulderband is a species of land snail in the family Helminthoglyptidae.
Medionidus acutissimus, the Alabama moccasinshell, is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. It is native to Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, and possibly Florida. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.
Branchinecta longiantenna is a rare species of crustacean in the family Branchinectidae and the order Anostraca, the fairy shrimp. Its common name is longhorn fairy shrimp. It is endemic to California in the United States, where there are only four known populations. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Lirceus usdagalun is a rare species of crustacean known by the common name Lee County cave isopod. It is endemic to Virginia in the United States, where it is known from a single network of karst cave systems in Lee County. It is threatened by a number of processes. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States, and is assessed as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Betula uber, the Virginia round-leaf birch, is a rare species of tree in the birch family. One of the most endangered species of North American trees, it is endemic to Smyth County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is part of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome.
Arctostaphylos morroensis is a species of manzanita known by the common name Morro manzanita. This shrub is endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, where it is known only from the vicinity of Morro Bay.
The Elfin Forest Natural Area is a nature preserve protecting a unique plant community in Los Osos-Baywood Park, San Luis Obispo County, central California. It consists of prehistoric sand dunes, rising 150 feet (46 m) above southern Morro Bay, on the north of Los Osos-Baywood Park.
Lupinus nipomensis is a species of lupine known by the common name Nipomo Mesa lupine. It is endemic to the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes on the California Central Coast. Specifically, the plant is limited to the Guadalupe Dunes at the southern border of San Luis Obispo County. There are five to seven colonies growing in a strip of sand dunes measuring less than three square miles in area. These colonies are generally considered to make up a single population. The number of individual plants remaining has been observed to vary between 100 and 1,800, its abundance is not correlated to precipitation, is highly variable and exact mechanisms driving abundance unknown. This is a California state and federally listed endangered species.
The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge is a 2,553-acre (10.33 km2) protected area located along the Central Coast of California, in southern San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara Counties.
Suaeda californica is a rare species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name California seablite. It is now endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, where it is known from a few occurrences in the marshes around Morro Bay, historical populations around San Francisco Bay have been extirpated.
Emarcusia morroensis, common name Morro Bay Aeolid, is a species of sea slug, specifically an aeolid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Helminthoglypta diabloensis, or the silky shoulderband snail, is a North American species of air-breathing land snail. It is found in California, including the California Coast Ranges, Diablo Range, and other areas in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Yolo, Colusa and Napa Counties. The shell of H. diabloensis is described as having six to seven tightly coiled whorls.
