Only on Sable?

Two kinds of insects and a freshwater sponge are found nowhere but on Sable Island. Some biologists think these animals survived on the Sable Island Bank during the Ice Age, when the rest of their kind perished under the glaciers.

This is a controversial idea. There is geological evidence that the Sable Island Bank was flooded after the glaciers melted. If the island formed since then, it could not have been a refuge during the Ice Age.

The origin of these unique species is a mystery.

Freshwater sponge Heteromeyenia macounii	Agrotis arenarius	Pyrrhalta sablensis

Shells with a story

Guess the age of these shells from Sable.

Oyster Crassostrea virginica
	Bay Scallop Aequipecten irradians sablensis (a subspecies unique to Sable)

Radiocarbon dating tells us that the shells are thousands of years old. Because these animals need warm water to survive, they suggest a warmer climate in Sable's past. They thrived in Sable's waters and lagoons when temperatures rose after the Ice Age, but died out as the climate cooled again.

Oysters became extinct around Sable Island at least 5000 years ago and Bay Scallops died out about 2000 years ago.