''Ctenitis pallatangana'' is a species of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

. The only known collection was made more than a century ago, near Pallatanga in Chimborazo province, Ecuador, in high Andean forest above 1 500 m altitude. Lack of any further collections and widespread destruction of its habitat has resulted in it being listed by the IUCN as "Critically Endangered (Possibly

Extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

)". The main threat to the species is believed to be

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

by agricultural expansion.

References

Dryopteridaceae {{Dryopteridaceae-stub