QUICK FACT: Likely helpful to its host, feeding on oils, mold, and microbes rather than blood or skin.

THREATS: Declines as its endangered host bird faces habitat loss and feral cat predation.

IMPORTANCE: A powerful lesson in “co-extinction” when one species falls, its symbionts can vanish, too.

photo: Professor Tsukasa Waki/Toho University

QUICK FACT: Likely helpful to its host, feeding on oils, mold, and microbes rather than blood or skin.

THREATS: Declines as its endangered host bird faces habitat loss and feral cat predation.

IMPORTANCE: A powerful lesson in “co-extinction” when one species falls, its symbionts can vanish, too.

photo: Professor Tsukasa Waki/Toho University