List of recently extinct mammals facts for kids

Biodiversity of large mammal species per continent before and after humans' arrival

Recently extinct mammals are types of mammals that have completely disappeared from Earth since the year 1500. Since then, about 80 different kinds of mammals have gone extinct.

It can be tricky to know for sure if an animal species is truly extinct. Sometimes, even after a long time without seeing them, an animal thought to be gone might reappear! This is because it's hard to find animals when their homes are destroyed, as they might just be hiding from humans. For example, a study found that many mammals once thought to be extinct were actually rediscovered.

As of June 2023, many mammal species are still in great danger. About 27% of all mammal species are threatened with extinction.

What "Extinct" Means

When we talk about animals that are "extinct," it means there are no known living individuals left anywhere in the world. This is decided by a group called the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Sometimes, a species is "extinct in the wild." This means that all the remaining animals of that type only live in zoos or special protected areas, not in their natural homes.

If a species is listed as "possibly extinct," it means we don't know for sure if they are gone or if a few are still hiding somewhere. These species are usually in a "critically endangered" state, meaning they are very close to disappearing forever.

Why Mammals Go Extinct

Mammals go extinct for many reasons, but humans are often involved. Here are some of the main causes:

Loss of Homes

The biggest reason animals disappear today is because they lose their homes. This happens when humans change natural areas for their own needs.

• Farms and Cities: A lot of land is cleared for farming or for building cities and towns.
• Logging and Mining: Forests are cut down for wood, and land is dug up for minerals.
• Pollution: Poisons like pesticides can kill animals very quickly. These chemicals can also build up in the food chain, becoming more dangerous for animals higher up, like predators.

Diseases

Diseases can also wipe out animal populations. For example, a sickness called white-nose syndrome is causing a huge drop in bat numbers and could lead to some bat species disappearing.

Overhunting

Hunting too many animals can also lead to extinction.

• Land Animals: Animals like tigers and deer are hunted for their fur or meat.
• Sea Animals: Marine mammals are hunted for their oil and leather.

When one species is hunted too much, it can harm the whole ecosystem. If a "keystone species" (an animal that is super important to its environment) disappears, it can cause other animals to go extinct too. For example, sea otters were hunted a lot. When their numbers dropped, their main food source, sea urchins, grew too much. These sea urchins then ate too much kelp, which was the main food for Steller's sea cows. This chain reaction led to the extinction of the Steller's sea cow.

Australia's Unique Animals

Islands often have animals found nowhere else in the world. These animals are very sensitive to changes because they live in a small area and don't have large populations.

Australia is a huge continent, but it's also very isolated. This means it has many unique animals. Sadly, since Europeans settled there, Australia has lost many mammal species. About 10% of its land mammals have disappeared. This is a much higher rate than in North America. Also, 21% of Australia's mammals are currently threatened. Unlike other places, the main threat to Australian mammals is from wild cats that hunt them.

Mammals That Are Extinct

A species is declared extinct when experts are sure that the very last animal of that kind has died. The animals listed here have gone extinct since the year 1500.

Common name	Binomial name	Order	Date of extinction	Former range	Picture
Broad-faced potoroo	Potorous platyops Gould, 1844	Diprotodontia	1875	Australia
Eastern hare wallaby	Lagorchestes leporides Gould, 1841	Diprotodontia	1889	Australia
Lake Mackay hare-wallaby	Lagorchestes asomatus Finlayson, 1943	Diprotodontia	1932	Australia
Desert rat-kangaroo	Caloprymnus campestris Gould, 1843	Diprotodontia	1935	Australia
Thylacine, or Tasmanian wolf/tiger	Thylacinus cynocephalus Harris, 1808	Dasyuromorphia	1936	Australia, Tasmania
Toolache wallaby	Macropus greyi Waterhouse, 1846	Diprotodontia	1939	Australia
Desert bandicoot	Perameles eremiana Spencer, 1837	Peramelemorphia	1943	Australia
New South Wales barred bandicoot	Perameles fasciata Gray, 1841	Peramelemorphia	mid-19th century	Australia
Southwestern barred bandicoot	Perameles myosuros Wagner, 1841	Peramelemorphia	mid-19th century	Australia
Southern barred bandicoot	Perameles notina Thomas, 1922	Peramelemorphia	mid-19th century	Australia
Nullarbor barred bandicoot	Perameles papillon Travouillon & Phillips, 2018	Peramelemorphia	early 20th century	Australia
Lesser bilby, or Yallara	Macrotis leucura Thomas, 1887	Peramelemorphia	1960s	Australia
Southern pig-footed bandicoot	Chaeropus ecaudatus Ogilby, 1838	Peramelemorphia	1950s	Australia
Northern pig-footed bandicoot	Chaeropus yirratji Travouillon et al., 2019	Peramelemorphia	1950s
Crescent nail-tail wallaby	Onychogalea lunata Gould, 1841	Diprotodontia	1956	Australia (western and central)
Red-bellied gracile opossum, or red-bellied gracile mouse opossum	Cryptonanus ignitus Díaz, Flores and Barquez, 2002	Didelphimorphia	1962	Argentina
Nullarbor dwarf bettong	Bettongia pusilla McNamara, 1997	Diprotodontia	early 1500s	Australia (Nullarbor Plain)
Steller's sea cow	Hydrodamalis gigas von Zimmermann, 1780	Sirenia	1768	Commander Islands (Russia, United States)
Bramble Cay melomys	Melomys rubicola Thomas, 1924	Rodentia	2016	Australia (Bramble Cay)
Oriente cave rat	Boromys offella Miller, 1916	Rodentia	early 1500s	Cuba
Torre's cave rat	Boromys torrei Allen, 1917	Rodentia	early 1500s	Cuba
Imposter hutia	Hexolobodon phenax Miller, 1929	Rodentia	early 1500s	Hispaniola (currently Haiti and the Dominican Republic)
Montane hutia	Isolobodon montanus Miller, 1922	Rodentia	early 1500s	Hispaniola
Dwarf viscacha	Lagostomus crassus Thomas, 1910	Rodentia	early 1900s	Peru
Galápagos giant rat	Megaoryzomys curioi Niethammer, 1964	Rodentia	1500s	Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos)
Cuban coney	Geocapromys columbianus Chapman, 1892	Rodentia	early 1500s	Cuba
Hispaniolan edible rat	Brotomys voratus Miller, 1916	Rodentia	1536–1546	Hispaniola
Puerto Rican hutia	Isolobodon portoricensis Allen, 1916	Rodentia	early 1900s	Hispaniola; introduced to Puerto Rico, Saint Thomas Island, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and Mona Island
Big-eared hopping mouse	Notomys macrotis Thomas, 1921	Rodentia	1843	Australia (central Western Australia)
Darling Downs hopping mouse	Notomys mordax Thomas, 1921	Rodentia	1846	Australia (Darling Downs, Queensland)
White-footed rabbit-rat	Conilurus albipes Lichtenstein, 1829	Rodentia	early 1860s	Australia (eastern coast)
Capricorn rabbit rat	Conilurus capricornensis Cramb and Hocknull, 2010	Rodentia	early 1500s	Australia (Queensland)
Short-tailed hopping mouse	Notomys amplus Brazenor, 1936	Rodentia	1896	Australia (Great Sandy Desert)
Long-tailed hopping mouse	Notomys longicaudatus Gould, 1844	Rodentia	1901	Australia
Great hopping mouse	Notomys robustus Mahoney, Smith and Medlin, 2008	Rodentia	mid-1800s	Australia (Flinders Ranges and Davenport Ranges)
Desmarest's pilorie, or Martinique giant rice rat	Megalomys desmarestii Fischer, 1829	Rodentia	1902	Martinique
Saint Lucia pilorie, or Saint Lucia giant rice rat	Megalomys luciae Major, 1901	Rodentia	1881	Saint Lucia
Bulldog rat	Rattus nativitatis Thomas, 1888	Rodentia	1903	Christmas Island
Maclear's rat	Rattus macleari Thomas, 1887	Rodentia	1903	Christmas Island
Darwin's Galápagos mouse	Nesoryzomys darwini Osgood, 1929	Rodentia	1930	Galápagos Islands
Gould's mouse	Pseudomys gouldii Waterhouse, 1839	Rodentia	1930	Australia (southern half)
Plains rat, or Palyoora	Pseudomys auritus Thomas, 1910	Rodentia	early 1800s	Australia (Kangaroo Island and the Younghusband Peninsula)
Pemberton's deer mouse	Peromyscus pembertoni Burt, 1932	Rodentia	1931	San Pedro Nolasco Island, Mexico
Samaná hutia	Plagiodontia ipnaeum Johnson, 1948	Rodentia	early 1500s	Hispaniola
Hispaniola monkey	Antillothrix bernensis MacPhee, Horovitz, Arredondo, & Jimenez Vasquez, 1995	Primates	early 16th century	Hispaniola (currently Dominican Republic)
Lesser stick-nest rat, or white-tipped stick-nest rat	Leporillus apicalis John Gould, 1854	Rodentia	1933	Australia (west-central)
Indefatigable Galápagos mouse	Nesoryzomys indefessus Thomas, 1899	Rodentia	1934	Galápagos Islands
Little Swan Island hutia	Geocapromys thoracatus True, 1888	Rodentia	1955	Swan Islands, Honduras
Blue-gray mouse	Pseudomys glaucus Thomas, 1910	Rodentia	1956	Australia (Queensland, New South Wales)
Buhler's coryphomys or Buhler's rat	Coryphomys buehleri Schaub, 1937	Rodentia	early 1500s	West Timor, Indonesia
Insular cave rat	Heteropsomys insulans Anthony, 1916	Rodentia	early 1500s	Vieques Island, Puerto Rico
Candango mouse	Juscelinomys candango Moojen, 1965	Rodentia	1960	Central Brazil
Anthony's woodrat	Neotoma anthonyi Allen, 1898	Rodentia	1926	Isla Todos Santos, Mexico
Bunker's woodrat	Neotoma bunkeri Burt, 1932	Rodentia	1931	Coronado Islands, Mexico
Vespucci's rodent	Noronhomys vespuccii Carleton and Olson, 1999	Rodentia	1500	Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
St. Vincent colilargo, or St. Vincent pygmy rice rat	Oligoryzomys victus Thomas, 1898	Rodentia	1892	Saint Vincent
Jamaican rice rat	Oryzomys antillarum Thomas, 1898	Rodentia	1877	Jamaica
Nelson's rice rat	Oryzomys nelsoni Merriam, 1889	Rodentia	1897	Islas Marías, Mexico
Nevis rice rat, or St. Eustatius rice rat, St. Kitts rice rat	Pennatomys nivalis Turvey, Weksler, Morris, and Nokkert, 2010	Rodentia	early 1500s	Sint Eustatius and Saint Kitts and Nevis
Christmas Island pipistrelle	Pipistrellus murrayi Andrews, 1900	Chiroptera	2009	Christmas Island
Sardinian pika	Prolagus sardus Wagner, 1832	Lagomorpha	1774	Corsica and Sardinia
Marcano's solenodon	Solenodon marcanoi Patterson, 1962	Eulipotyphla	1500s	Dominican Republic
Puerto Rican nesophontes	Nesophontes edithae Anthony, 1916	Eulipotyphla	early 1500s	Puerto Rico, Vieques Island, Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Atalaye nesophontes	Nesophontes hypomicrus Miller, 1929	Eulipotyphla	early 1500s	Hispaniola
Greater Cuban nesophontes	Nesophontes major Arredondo, 1970	Eulipotyphla	early 1500s	Cuba
Western Cuban nesophontes	Nesophontes micrus Allen, 1917	Eulipotyphla	early 1500s	Cuba (including Isla de la Juventud)
St. Michel nesophontes	Nesophontes paramicrus Miller, 1929	Eulipotyphla	early 1500s	Hispaniola
Haitian nesophontes	Nesophontes zamicrus Miller, 1929	Eulipotyphla	early 1500s	Haiti
Lesser Mascarene flying fox, or dark flying fox	Pteropus subniger kerr, 1792	Chiroptera	1864	Réunion, Mauritius
Guam flying fox, or Guam fruit bat	Pteropus tokudae Tate, 1934	Chiroptera	1968	Guam
Dusky flying fox, or Percy Island flying fox	Pteropus brunneus Dobson, 1878	Chiroptera	1870	Percy Islands (Australia)
Large Palau flying fox	Pteropus pilosus Andersen, 1908	Chiroptera	1874	Palau
Large sloth lemur	Palaeopropithecus ingens Grandidier, 1899	Primates	1620	In green
Aurochs	Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827	Artiodactyla	1627
Bluebuck	Hippotragus leucophaeus Pallas, 1766	Artiodactyla	1800
Red gazelle	Eudorcas rufina Thomas, 1894	Artiodactyla	late 1800s	Algeria
Schomburgk's deer	Rucervus schomburgki Blyth, 1863	Artiodactyla	1932	Thailand
Queen of Sheba's gazelle, or Yemen gazelle	Gazella bilkis Grover and Lay, 1985	Artiodactyla	1951	Yemen
Madagascan dwarf hippopotamus	Hippopotamus lemerlei Milne-Edwards, 1868	Artiodactyla	early 1500s	Madagascar
Falkland Islands wolf or warrah	Dusicyon australis Kerr, 1792	Carnivora	1876	Falkland Islands
Dusicyon avus	Dusicyon avus Burmeister, 1866	Carnivora	early 1500s	Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay
Sea mink	Neogale macrodon Prentiss, 1903	Carnivora	1894	United States (Maine, Massachusetts) and Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland)
Japanese sea lion	Zalophus japonicus Peters, 1866	Carnivora	1970s	Japan, Korea, Russia
Caribbean monk seal	Neomonachus tropicalis Gray, 1850	Carnivora	1952	Caribbean Sea
Giant fossa	Cryptoprocta spelea Grandidier, 1902	Carnivora	before 1658
Lord Howe long-eared bat	Nyctophilus howensis McKean, 1975	Chiroptera	prior to 1972	Lord Howe Island, Australia

Extinct Subspecies

Sometimes, a specific type or "subspecies" of an animal goes extinct, even if the main species still exists. Here are some examples:

Common name	Binomial name	Species	Order	Date of extinction	Former range	Picture
Mississippi Valley wolf	Canis rufus gregoryi Goldman, 1937	Red wolf (Canis rufus)	Carnivora	1980	North America
Caucasian wisent	Bison bonasus caucasicus Turkin and Satunin, 1904	European bison (Bison bonasus)	Artiodactyla	1927	Europe
Carpathian wisent	Bison bonasus hungarorum Kretzoi, 1946	European bison (Bison bonasus)	Artiodactyla	1852	Europe
Quagga	Equus quagga quagga Boddaert, 1785	Plains zebra (Equus quagga)	Perissodactyla	1883	Africa
Japanese wolf	Canis lupus hodophilax Temminick 1839	Grey wolf (Canis lupus)	Carnivora	1905	Asia
Hokkaido wolf	Canis lupus hattai Kishida, 1931	Grey wolf (Canis lupus)	Carnivora	1889	Asia
Atlas bear	Ursus arctos crowtheri Schinz, 1844	Brown bear (Ursus arctos)	Carnivora	1890	Africa
Bali tiger	Panthera tigris sondaica Shwarz,1912	Tiger (Panthera tigris)	Carnivora	1950s	Asia
Caspian tiger	Panthera tigris tigris Illiger, 1815	Tiger (Panthera tigris)	Carnivora	1970s	Asia
Javan tiger	Panthera tigris sondaica Temminick, 1844	Tiger (Panthera tigris)	Carnivora	1980s	Asia
Bubal hartebeest	Alcelaphus buselaphus buselaphus Pallas 1766	Hartebeest (Alcephalus buselaphus)	Artiodactyla	1925	Africa
Portuguese ibex	Capra pyrenaica lusitanica Schlegel, 1872	Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica)	Artiodactyla	1892	Europe
Pyrenean ibex	Capra pyrenaica pyreneica Schinz, 1838	Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica)	Artiodactyla	2000	Europe
Western black rhinoceros	Diceros bicornis longipes Zukowsky, 1999	Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)	Artiodactyla	2011	Africa
Cape lion	Panthera leo melanochaita Smith, 1842	Lion (Panthera leo)	Carnivora	mid 19th century	Africa
Barbary lion	Panthera leo leo Linnaeus, 1758	Lion (Panthera leo)	Carnivora	1960s	Africa
Southern Rocky Mountain wolf	Canis lupus nubilus Nowak, 1995	Grey wolf (Canis lupus)	Carnivora	1935	North America
Kenai Peninsula wolf	Canis lupus occidentalis Nowak, 1995	Grey wolf (Canis lupus)	Carnivora	1925	North America
Banks Island wolf	Canis lupus arctos Nowak, 1995	Grey wolf (Canis lupus)	Carnivora	1952	North America
Newfoundland wolf	Canis lupus nubilus Nowak, 1995	Grey wolf (Canis lupus)	Carnivora	1911	North America
Florida black wolf	Canis rufus floridanus Miller, 1912	Red wolf (Canis rufus)	Carnivora	1934	North America
Cascade Mountains wolf	Canis lupus nubilus Nowak, 1995	Grey wolf (Canis lupus)	Carnivora	1944	North America
Mogollon mountain wolf	Canis lupus nubilus Nowak, 1995	Grey wolf (Canis lupus)	Carnivora	1970s	North America
Texas wolf	Canis lupus nubilus Nowak, 1995	Grey wolf (Canis lupus)	Carnivora	19th century	North America
Sicilian wolf	Canis lupus cristaldii Angelici and Rossi, 2018	Grey wolf (Canis lupus)	Carnivora	1924	Europe
Mexican grizzly bear	Ursus arctos nelsoni Merriam, 1914	Brown bear (Ursus arctos)	Carnivora	1965	North America
California grizzly bear	Ursus arctos californicus Merriam, 1896	Brown bear (Ursus arctos)	Carnivora	1924	North America
Tarpan	Equus ferus ferus Boddaert, 1785	Wild horse (Equus ferus)	Perissodactyla	1909	Europe

Mammals Extinct in the Wild

These mammals no longer live freely in nature. They only exist in places like zoos or special breeding centers.

Common name	Binomial name	Order	Date of extinction	Former range	Picture
Père David's deer	Elaphurus davidianus Milne-Edwards, 1866	Artiodactyla	1939	China
Scimitar oryx	Oryx dammah Cretzschmar, 1827	Artiodactyla	2000	Sahara Desert

Mammals Possibly Extinct

It's hard to know for sure if an animal species is truly extinct. Sometimes, even after a long time without seeing them, an animal thought to be gone might reappear! For example, a study found that many mammals once thought to be extinct were actually rediscovered. As of December 2015, the IUCN listed 30 mammal species as "critically endangered (possibly extinct)."

Common name	Binomial name	Order	Last confirmed sighting	Range	Picture
Kouprey, or Forest ox	Bos sauveli Urbain, 1937	Artiodactyla	1988
Garrido's hutia	Capromys garridoi Varona, 1970	Rodentia	1989	Cayo Maja, Cuba
Christmas Island shrew	Crocidura trichura Dobson, 1889	Eulipotyphla	1985
Wimmer's shrew	Crocidura wimmeri de Balsac and Aellen, 1958	Eulipotyphla	1976
Baiji, or Yangtze river dolphin	Lipotes vexillifer Miller, 1918	Cetacea	2002
Zuniga's dark rice rat	Melanomys zunigae Sanborn	Rodentia	1949	Peru
Dwarf hutia	Mesocapromys nanus Allen, 1917	Rodentia	1937	Ciénaga de Zapata, Cuba
San Felipe hutia, or Little earth hutia	Mesocapromys sanfelipensis Varona & Garrido, 1970	Rodentia	1978	Cuba
One-striped opossum	Monodelphis unistriata Wagner, 1842	Didelphimorphia	1899
Gloomy tube-nosed bat	Murina tenebrosa Yoshiyuki, 1970	Chiroptera	1962	Tsushima Island and possibly Yaku Island, Japan
New Zealand greater short-tailed bat	Mystacina robusta Dwyer, 1962	Chiroptera	1967	Taukihepa / Big South Cape Island, New Zealand
Ethiopian amphibious rat, or Ethiopian water mouse	Nilopegamys plumbeus Osgood, 1928	Rodentia	1920s	Mouth of the Lesser Abay River, Ethiopia
Angel Island mouse	Peromyscus guardia Townsend, 1912	Rodentia	1991	Isla Ángel de la Guarda, Mexico
Puebla deer mouse	Peromyscus mekisturus Merriam, 1898	Rodentia	1950s	Ciudad Serdan and Tehuacán, Mexico
Telefomin cuscus	Phalanger matanim Flannery, 1987	Diprotodontia	1997
Montane monkey-faced bat	Pteralopex pulchra Flannery, 1991	Chiroptera	1990s
Aru flying fox	Pteropus aruensis Peter, 1867	Chiroptera	1877
Emma's giant rat	Uromys emmae Groves and Flannery, 1994	Rodentia	1990s	Papua Province, Indonesia
Emperor rat	Uromys imperator Thomas, 1888	Rodentia	1888	Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
Guadalcanal rat	Uromys porculus Thomas, 1904	Rodentia	1888	Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
Malabar large-spotted civet, or Malabar civet	Viverra civettina Blyth, 1862	Carnivora	late 1900s

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Mamíferos extintos en época histórica para niños

• Holocene extinction
• List of extinct animals
• List of extinct birds
• Lists of mammals by population