Globally Extinct Mammals

Julvenile Thylacine
Image Credit: Thylacine in Hobart Zoo, by Benjamin A. Sheppard (May 1936). The animal died the day after it was photographed. Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

In 2008, the most comprehensive assessment of the world’s mammals has confirmed an extinction crisis, with almost one in four at risk of disappearing forever, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2008). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Version 2017.2) shows that at least 1196 of the 5644 mammal species on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction (IUCN 2017). According to the IUCN at least 81 mammal species and 9 mammal subspecies have become extinct since the year 1500 and 2 extinct in the wild (IUCN 2017). However, the real situation could be much worse, as 26 mammal species are listed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) and 795 mammal species as Data Deficient (IUCN 2017). As information improves, more mammals may well prove to be in danger of extinction or already extinct (IUCN 2008).

Do you know any species or subspecies that should be added to this list or has been rediscovered? If so, please contact this website.

Species

The subjoined table shows the mammal species that recently became ‘globally extinct’ (EX).

Species (97)
Scientific Name Common Name Last sighting / EED 1 TSEW status IUCN status
Bettongia anhydra Desert Bettong 1933 EX EX
Bettongia pusilla Nullarbor Dwarf Bettong After 1500 EX EX
Boromys offella Oriente Cave Rat After 1500 (1850?) EX EX
Boromys torrei Torre’s Cave Rat After 1500 (1850?) EX EX
Boryptera alba Bory’s White Bat 1801 EX NE
Bos primigenius Aurochs 1627 EX EX
Brotomys voratus Hispaniolan Edible Rat 1536-1546 EX EX
Caloprymnus campestris Desert Rat Kangaroo 1935 2 EX EX
Chaeropus ecaudatus Pig-footed Bandicoot 1950s EX EX
Conilurus albipes White-footed Rabbit Rat 1860-1862 EX EX
Conilurus capricornensis Capricorn Rabbit Rat After 1500? EX EX
Cordimus hooijeri Hooijer’s Mouse After 1500 EX NE
Coryphomys buehleri Buhler’s Rat After 1500 EX EX
Cryptonanus ignitus Red-bellied Gracile Mouse Opossum 1962 EX EX
Cryptoprocta spelea Giant Fossa Before 1658? EX EX
Damaliscus selousi Uasin Gishu Topi 1900s? EX NE
Desmodus draculae Giant Vampire Bat Before 1820? EX NE
Dusicyon australis Falkland Island Wolf 1876 EX EX
Dusicyon avus South American Fox 324–496 years BP EX EX
Ekbletomys hypenemus Barbuda Rice Rat After 1500 EX NE
Equus ferus Tarpan 1918-1919 EX NE
Eudorcas rufina Red Gazelle Before 1894 EX DD
Gazella bilkis Queen of Sheba’s Gazelle 1951 EX EX
Gazella saudiya Saudi Gazelle 1936 (1980s?) EX EX
Geocapromys columbianus Cuban Coney After 1500 EX EX
Geocapromys thoracatus Little Swan Island Hutia 1950s EX EX
Heteropsomys insulans Insular Cave Rat After 1500? EX EX
Hexolobodon phenax Imposter Hutia After 1500 EX EX
Hippopotamus lemerlei Lemerle’s Hippopotamus After 1500 (1976?) EX EX
Hippopotamus madagascariensis Madagascan Dwarf Hippopotamus After 1500 (1976?) EX EX
Hippotragus leucophaeus Bluebuck 1800 EX EX
Hydrodamalis gigas Steller’s Sea Cow 1768 EX EX
Isolobodon montanus Montane Hutia After 1500 EX EX
Isolobodon portoricensis Puerto Rican Hutia 1503-1578 EX EX
Juscelinomys candango Candango Mouse 1960 EX EX
Lagorchestes asomatus Central Hare-wallaby 1960s EX EX
Lagorchestes leporides Eastern Hare-wallaby 1889 EX EX
Lagostomus crassus Peruvian Viscacha Before 1910 EX EX
Leporillus apicalis Lesser Stick-nest Rat 1933 (1970?) EX EX
Lutra nippon Japanese Otter 1979 EX NE
Macropus greyi Toolache Wallaby 1939 (1972?) EX EX
Macrotis leucura Lesser Bilby 1960s EX EX
Megalomys desmarestii Antillean Giant Rice Rat 1897 (1902?) EX EX
Megalomys luciae Santa Lucia Giant Rice Rat Before 1881 EX EX
Megaoryzomys curioi Galapagos Giant Rat 1520-1950 EX EX
Melomys rubicola Bramble Cay Melomys 2009 EX EX
Neomonachus tropicalis Caribbean Monk Seal 1952 EX EX
Neovison macrodon Sea Mink 1860 (1894?) EX EX
Nesophontes edithae Puerto Rican Nesophontes After 1500 EX EX
Nesophontes hypomicrus Atalaye Nesophontes After 1500 EX EX
Nesophontes longirostris Slender Cuban Nesophontes After 1500 EX NE
Nesophontes major Greater Cuban Nesophontes After 1500 EX EX
Nesophontes micrus Western Cuban Nesophontes After 1500 EX EX
Nesophontes paramicrus Saint Michel Nesophontes After 1500 EX EX
Nesophontes submicrus Lesser Cuban Nesophontes After 1500 EX NE
Nesophontes superstes Cuban Nesophontes After 1500 EX NE
Nesophontes zamicrus Haitian Nesophontes After 1500 EX EX
Nesoryzomys darwini Darwin’s Galapagos Mouse After 1500 EX EX
Nesoryzomys indefessus Indefatigable Galapagos Mouse After 1500 EX EX
Noronhomys vespuccii Vespucci’s Rodent 1503 EX EX
Notomys amplus Short-tailed Hopping-mouse Before 1896 EX EX
Notomys longicaudatus Long-tailed Hopping-mouse 1901 EX EX
Notomys macrotis Big-eared Hopping-mouse 1843 EX EX
Notomys mordax Darling Downs Hopping-mouse 1846 EX EX
Notomys robustus Great Hopping Mouse 1850-1900? EX EX
Nyctimene sanctacrucis Nendo Tube-nosed Fruit Bat Before 1892 EX DD
Oligoryzomys victus St. Vincent Pygmy Rice Rat 1892 EX EX
Onychogalea lunata Crescent Nailtail Wallaby 1956 EX EX
Oryzomys antillarum Jamaican Rice Rat 1877 EX EX
Oryzomys nelsoni Nelson’s Rice Rat 1897 EX EX
Oryzomys peninsulae Lower California Rice Rat 1906 EX NE
Palaeopropithecus ingens Large Sloth Lemur 1300-1620 EX EX
Pennatomys nivalis Nevis Rice Rat 1720? (1930s?) EX EX
Perameles eremiana Desert Bandicoot 1960s EX EX
Peromyscus pembertoni Pemberton’s Deer Mouse 1931 EX EX
Pipistrellus murrayi Christmas Island Pipistrelle 2009 EX EX
Plagiodontia ipnaeum Samana Hutia 1536-1546? EX EX
Potorous platyops Broad-faced Potoroo 1875 EX EX
Prolagus sardus Sardinian Pika 1774 EX EX
Pseudomys auritus Long-eared Mouse 1850? EX EX
Pseudomys glaucus Blue-grey Mouse 1956 EX EX
Pseudomys gouldii Gould’s Mouse 1857 EX EX
Pteropus allenorum Small Samoan Flying Fox 1856 EX NE
Pteropus brunneus Dusky Flying Fox 1874 EX EX
Pteropus coxi Large Samoan Flying Fox 1838-1842 (1980s?) EX NE
Pteropus pilosus Large Palau Flying Fox Before 1874 EX EX
Pteropus subniger Lesser Mascarene Flying Fox Before 1866 EX EX
Pteropus tokudae Guam Flying Fox 1968 EX EX
Quemisia gravis Twisted-Toothed Mouse 1536-1546 EX NE
Rattus macleari Maclear’s Rat 1903 EX EX
Rattus nativitatis Bulldog Rat 1903 EX EX
Rucervus schomburgki Schomburgk’s Deer 1938 EX EX
Solenodon marcanoi Marcano’s Solenodon After 1500 EX EX
Sus bucculentus Indo-Chinese Warty Pig 1892 EX EX
Thylacinus cynocephalus Tasmanian Tiger 1936 EX EX
Xenothrix mcgregori Jamaican Monkey After 1500 (1769?) EX EX
Zalophus japonicus Japanese Sea Lion 1951 EX EX

Subspecies

The subjoined table shows the mammal subspecies that recently became ‘globally extinct’ (EX).

Subspecies (57)
Scientific Name Common Name Last sighting / EED 1 TSEW status IUCN status
Alcelaphus buselaphus buselaphus Bubal Hartebeest 1925 EX EX
Alces alces caucasicus Caucasian Elk 1900s (1810?) EX NE
Bettongia gaimardi gaimardi Eastern Bettong 1920s EX NE
Bettongia penicillata penicillata Brush-tailed Bettong 1923 EX NE
Bison bonasus caucasicus Caucasian Wisent 1927 EX NE
Bos gaurus sinhaleyus Sri Lankan Gaur 1812-1841 EX NE
Canis lupus hattai Hokkaido Japanese Wolf 1889 EX NE
Canis lupus hodophilax Honshu Japanese Wolf 1905 EX NE
Canis rufus floridanus Florida Black Wolf 1930 EX NE
Canis rufus greygoryi Mississippi Red Wolf 1970s EX NE
Capra pyrenaica lusitanica Portuguese Ibex 1892 EX NE
Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica Pyrenean Ibex 2000 & 2009 3 EX NE
Chaetodipus rudinoris fornicatus Monserrate Island Pocket Mouse 1975 EX NE
Choeropsis liberiensis heslopi Niger Delta Pygmy Hippopotamus 1945 EX NE
Conepatus leuconotus telmalestes Big Thicket Hog-nosed Skunk 1945 EX NE
Diceros bicornis longipes Western Black Rhinoceros Before 2006 EX EX
Equus hemionus hemippus Syrian Wild Ass 1928 EX NE
Equus quagga quagga Quagga 1883 EX EX
Geocapromys ingrahami abaconis Great Abaco Hutia 1600 EX NE
Geocapromys ingrahami irrectus Crooked Island Hutia 1600 EX NE
Geomys pinetis goffi Goff’s Southeastern Pocket Gopher 1955 EX NE
Geomys pinetis fontanelus Sherman’s Pocket Gopher 1950 EX NE
Kobus leche robertsi Roberts’ Lechwe After 1913 EX EX
Lagorchestes hirsutus hirsutus Rufous Hare-wallaby 1900 EX NE
Lagostrophus fasciatus baudinettei South Australian Banded Hare-Wallaby 1927 EX NE
Leptailurus serval constantinus North African Serval 1936 (1996?) EX NE
Lutra lutra whiteleyi Japanese River Otter 1955-1959 EX NE
Lynx lynx sardiniae Sardinian Lynx 1967? EX NE
Microtus montanus nevadensis Ash Meadows Montane Vole 1933 EX NE
Microtus ochrogaster ludovicianus Louisiana Vole 1899 EX NE
Microtus pennsylvanicus chihuahuensis Chihuahuan Meadow Vole 1988 (2000?) EX NE
Neofelis nebulosa brachyurus Formosan Clouded Leopard 1983 EX NE
Neotoma bryanti anthonyi Anthony’s Woodrat 1926 EX EX
Neotoma bryanti martinensis San Martin Island Woodrat 1950s EX EX
Ourebia ourebi kenyae Kenya Oribi 1980s? EX EX
Panthera leo leo Barbary Lion After 1942? EX VU
Panthera leo melanochaitus Cape Lion 1865 EX NE
Panthera pardus adersi Zanzibar Leopard 1996 EX NE
Panthera tigris balica Bali Tiger 1937 (1972?) EX EX
Panthera tigris sondaica Javan Tiger 1979 EX EX
Panthera tigris virgata Caspian Tiger 1970 EX EX
Perognathus alticolus alticolus White-eared Pocket Mouse 1934 EX NE
Peromyscus guardia harbisoni Granito Island Deer Mouse 1963 EX NE
Peromyscus guardia mejiae Mejía Island Deer Mouse 1973 EX NE
Phacochoerus aethiopicus aethiopicus Cape Warthog 1871 (1896?) EX NE
Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus Vietnamese Javan Rhinoceros 2010 EX NE
Rhinoceros sondaicus inermis Indian Javan Rhinoceros Before 1925 (1892-1908?) EX NE
Rhinolophus cornutus miyakonis Miyako Horseshoe Bat 1971 EX NE
Sigmodon arizonae arizonae Camp Verde Arizona Cotton Rat 1932 EX NE
Sigmodon arizonae jacksoni Yavapai Arizona Cotton Rat 1900s (1918?) EX NE
Sorex ornatus juncensis Tule Shrew 1905 EX NE
Sus cebifrons cebifrons Cebu Warty Pig 1960s EX NE
Tamias umbrinus nevadensis Nevada Uinta Chipmunk 1960 EX NE
Thomomys mazama tacomensis Tacoma Pocket Gopher 1974 EX NE
Ursus arctos californicus California Golden Bear 1924 EX NE
Ursus arctos crowtheri Atlas Bear 1841? EX NE
Vulpes macrotis macrotis Southern California Kit Fox 1903 EX NE

Notes

  1. The Effective Extinction Date (EED) is the last reliable record of collection or observation.
  2. It was first believed extinct in 1841, but rediscovered in 1931 (Fisher & Blomberg 2010). There have been no reliable records of the species since 1935, but there were unconfirmed sightings in Queensland following periods of rain in 1956-1957 and 1974-1975 (Carr & Robinson 1997; Australasian Mammal Assessment Workshop 2008). According MacPhee & Flemming (1999) its EED is 1932.
  3. The very last individual died on 6 January 2000 in Ordesa National Park in Spain (Caprinae Specialist Group 2000). In January 2009 it became the first extinct animal to be resurrected by cloning, but died after 7 minutes (Folch et al. 2009; Gray & Dobson 2009).
  4. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (version 2012.2) includes the Insular Cave Rat (Heteropsomys insulans) as an recent extinction (Turvey & Helgen 2008; IUCN 2012), however radiocarbon dating of the subfossil bones suggest it became extinct arround CE 694-887 (Turvey 2009). Therefore it probably did not persisted until the time of first European arrival in the West Indies.
  5. The population of Deer Mouse from Estanque Island (Peromyscus guardia subsp. indet.), last seen in 1998, may represent an undescribed subspecies (Mellink et al. 2002; Vázquez-Domínguez et al. 2004), but may also be conspecific with the Angel de la Guarda Deer Mouse (Peromyscus guardia guardia).

The Sixth Extinction Database (TSED)

The Sixth Extinction has created a database (TSED 3.0) with currently all known recent mammal, bird, reptile and amphibian extinctions, possible extinctions, extinctions in the wild, rediscoveries, and more. Later versions of this database will include extinctions from all animal and plant groups. The database is free to download in Excel and OpenDocument formats.

Excel XLSXExcel XLSOpen Document ODS

References

Australasian Mammal Assessment Workshop (2008). Caloprymnus campestris. In: IUCN (2012). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 18 May 2013.

Brook, S., Van Coeverden de Groot, P., Mahood, S., Long, B. (2011). Extinction of the Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) from Vietnam. WWF Report.

Caprinae Specialist Group (2000). Capra pyrenaica ssp. pyrenaica. In: IUCN (2004). 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.redlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 October 2005.

Carr, S. G. and Robinson, A. C. (1997). The present status and distribution of the Desert Rat-kangaroo Caloprymnus campestris (Marsupialia: campestris). South Australian Naturalist 72: 4-27.

Cheke, A., Hume, J. (2008). Lost Land of the Dodo, An Ecological History of Mauritius, Réunion & Rordrigues. T & AD Poyser, London.

Fisher, D.O. and Blomberg, S.P. (2010). Correlates of rediscovery and the detectability of extinction in mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Published online 29 September 2010, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1579.

Fisher, Diana O., and Blomberg Simon P. (2012). Inferring Extinction of Mammals from Sighting Records, Threats, and Biological Traits. Conservation Biology, Volume 26, No. 1, 57–67. Article first published online: 2 december 2011. DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01797.x.

Folch, J., et al. (2009) First birth of an animal from an extinct subspecies (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) by cloning. Theriogenology, 71, 1026-1034.

Gray, R. and Dobson, R. (2009). Extinct ibex is resurrected by cloning. Telegraph.co.uk (31 January 2009). Downloaded on 1 February 2009.

Groves, C. and Grubb, P. (2011). Ungulate Taxonomy. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.

IUCN (2008). IUCN Red List reveals world’s mammals in crisis. IUCN Press release 06 October 2008. Downloaded on 18 July 2010 from http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/red_list/index.cfm?uNewsID=1695.

IUCN (2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2017-2. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 22 October 2017.

MacPhee, R.D.E. and Flemming, C. (1999). Requiem Æternam. The last five hundred years of mammalian species extinctions. In: R.D.E. MacPhee (ed.). Extinctions in Near Time. Pp.333-371. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.

Mellink, E., Ceballos, G. and Luevano, J. (2002). Population demise and extinction threat of the Angel de la Guarda deer mouse (Peromyscus guarda). Biological Conservation 108: 107-111.

Mittermeier, R.A.; Rylands, A.B.; Wilson, D.E. (2013). Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Vol. 3. Primates. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Patton J. L., Huckaby D. G., Álvarez-Castañeda S. T. (2007). The Evolutionary History and a Systematic Revision of Woodrats of the Neotoma Lepida Group. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Schipper, J. et al. 2008. The status of the world’s land and marine mammals; diversity, threat, and knowledge. Science 322:225-230.

Turvey, S. (2008). Witness to extinction. How we failed to save the Yangtze River Dolphin. Oxford University Press, New York.

Turvey, S.T. (2009). Holocene mammal extinctions. In: Turvey, S.T. (editor) (2009). Holocene extinctions. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Turvey, S. & Helgen, K. (2008). Heteropsomys insulans. In: IUCN (2012). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 18 May 2013.

Vázquez-Domínguez, E., Ceballos, G., and Cruzado, J. (2004). “Extirpation of an insular subspecies by a single introduced cat: the case of the endemic deer mouse, Peromyscus guardia on Estanque Island, Mexico”. Oryx 38 (3): 347–350. doi:10.1017/S0030605304000602.

Wilson, D.E., Lacher, T.E., Jr & Mittermeier, R.A. eds. (2016). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 6. Lagomorphs and Rodents I. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Wilson, D.E. & Mittermeier R.A. eds. (2009). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 1. Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Wilson, D.E. & Mittermeier R.A. eds. (2011). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 2. Hoofed Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Wilson, D.E. & Mittermeier, R.A. eds. (2014). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 4. Sea Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Wilson, D.E. & Mittermeier, R.A. eds. (2015). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D.M. (editors). (2005). Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2, 142 pp. http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/

WWF (2007). Rare dolphin spotted in the Yangtze River. 31 August 2007 (available online). Downloaded on 16 September 2007.

Citation: Maas, P.H.J. (2017). Globally Extinct Mammals. In: TSEW (2017). The Sixth Extinction. http://petermaas.nl/extinct. Downloaded on .
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Updated: 22 October 2017