Australia states and territories labelled

This is a list of Australian species extinct in the Holocene that covers

extinctions 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 ...

from the Holocene epoch, a geologic epoch that began about 11,650 years before present (about 9700 BCE) and continues to the present day. Most Australian megafauna disappeared in the

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of ...

, considerably earlier than in other continental landmasses. As a result, Australian Holocene extinctions generally are of modest size. Most extinctions occurred after the European settlement of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, which began with the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

in 1788 CE. However, the thylacine (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') was extirpated from

mainland Australia Mainland Australia is the main landmass of the Australian continent, excluding the Aru Islands, New Guinea, Tasmania, and other Australian offshore islands. The landmass also constitutes the mainland of the territory governed by the Commonwealt ...

about 2,000 or 3,000 years ago. The

Norfolk swamphen Norfolk () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern bounda ...

also disappeared before 1788.

Mammals (class
Mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
ia)

Order Dasyuromorphia

Thylacine (family Thylacinidae)

Bandicoots and bilbies (order Peramelemorphia)

Bandicoots (family
Peramelidae The marsupial family Peramelidae contains all of the extant bandicoots. They are found throughout Australia and New Guinea, with at least some species living in every available habitat, from rainforest to desert. Four fossil peramelids are descri ...
)

Bilbies (family Thylacomyidae)

Pig-footed bandicoots (family Chaeropodidae)

Order Diprotodontia

Macropods (family Macropodidae)

Bettongs, potoroos, and rat-kangaroos (family
Potoroidae Potoroidae is a family of marsupials, small Australian animals known as bettongs, potoroos, and rat-kangaroos. All are rabbit-sized, brown, jumping marsupials and resemble a large rodent or a very small wallaby. Taxonomy The potoroids are sm ...
)

Rodents (order Rodentia)

Murids (family
Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. The name Muridae come ...
)

Bats (order Chiroptera)

Megabats (family Pteropodidae)

Vesper bats (family Vespertilionidae)

Order Eulipotyphla

True shrews (family Soricidae)

= Possibly extinct

Birds (class
Aves Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
)

Cassowaries and emus (order Casuariformes)

Cassowaries and emus (family
Casuariidae The bird family Casuariidae has four surviving members: the three species of cassowary and the emu. All living members of the family are very large flightless birds native to Australia-New Guinea.Clements, J (2007) Species *† ''Emuarius'' Bol ...
)

Pigeons and doves (order Columbiformes)

Pigeons and doves (family Columbidae)

Rails and cranes (order
Gruiformes The Gruiformes are an order (biology), order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird family (biology), families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". Traditionally, a number of wading and t ...
)

Rails (family Rallidae)

Boobies, cormorants, and allies (order Suliformes)

Cormorants and shags (family Phalacrocoracidae)

Owls (order Strigiformes)

True owls (family Strigidae)

Parrots (order Psittaciformes)

Kea and kākā (family
Nestoridae The New Zealand parrot family, Strigopidae,Nestoridae and Strigopidae are described in the same article, Bonaparte, C.L. (1849) ''Conspectus Systematis Ornithologiae''. Therefore, under rules of the ICZN, the first reviser determines priority, w ...
)

Old World parrots (family
Psittaculidae Psittaculidae is a family containing Old World parrots. It consists of five subfamilies: Agapornithinae, Loriinae, Platycercinae, Psittacellinae and Psittaculinae. This family has been accepted into ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World' ...
)

Perching birds (order Passeriformes)

Bristlebirds (family
Dasyornithidae The bristlebirds are a family of passerine birds, Dasyornithidae. There are three species in one genus, ''Dasyornis''. The family is endemic to the south-east coast and south-west corner of Australia.Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (edito ...
)

Australian warblers (family Acanthizidae)

Cuckooshrikes and allies (family Campephagidae)

Australasian wrens (family Maluridae)

Fantails and silktails (family
Rhipiduridae The family Rhipiduridae are small insectivorous birds of Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent that includes the fantails and silktails. Taxonomy and systematics There are four genera classified within the family: * Subfamily R ...
)

Australasian robins (family
Petroicidae The bird family Petroicidae includes 51 species in 19 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called th ...
)

White-eyes (family Zosteropidae)

= Possibly extinct, white-eyes (family Zosteropidae)

Thrushes (family Turdidae)

Starlings (family Sturnidae)

Reptiles (class Reptilia)

Squamates (order Squamata)

Skinks (family Scincidae)

=
Extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...
, skinks (family Scincidae)

Common geckos (family Gekkonidae)

=
Extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...

Dragon lizards (family
Agamidae Agamidae is a family (biology), family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview phylogenetics, Phylogenetic ...
)

= Possibly extinct

Amphibians (class Amphibia)

Frogs (order Anura)

Australian ground frogs (family
Myobatrachidae Myobatrachidae, commonly known as Australian ground frogs or Australian water frogs, is a family of frogs found in Australia and New Guinea. Members of this family vary greatly in size, from species less than long, to the second-largest frog in ...
)

Treefrogs and allies (family Hylidae)

Ray-finned fish (class
Actinopterygii Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...
)

Anglerfish (order Lophiiformes)

Handfish (family Brachionichthyidae)

= Data deficient

Galaxias (order Galaxiiformes)

Galaxias (family Galaxiidae)

= Extinct in the wild

Molluscs (phylum
Mollusca Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
)

Gastropods (class
Gastropoda The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. ...
)

Order
Stylommatophora Stylommatophora is an orderPhilippe Bouchet, Jean-Pierre Rocroi, Bernhard Hausdorf, Andrzej Kaim, Yasunori Kano, Alexander Nützel, Pavel Parkhaev, Michael Schrödl and Ellen E. Strong. 2017. Revised Classification, Nomenclator and Typification ...

= Family
Bothriembryontidae Bothriembryontidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Orthalicoidea. Taxonomy This family has been named Placostylidae and had no subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of th ...

= Family Achatinellidae

Segmented worms (phylum
Annelid The annelids (Annelida , from Latin ', "little ring"), also known as the segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecol ...
a)

Clitellates (class Clitellata)

Order Opisthopora

= Family Megascolecidae

Plants (kingdom Plantae)

Notes

References

*Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
EPBC Act List of Threatened Fauna
* World Conservation Union,

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

2006 {{Extinct Animals by Regions , state=autocollapsed Extinct animals of Australia †Extinct

Mammals (class Mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...ia)

Order Dasyuromorphia

Thylacine (family Thylacinidae)

Bandicoots and bilbies (order Peramelemorphia)

Bandicoots (family Peramelidae The marsupial family Peramelidae contains all of the extant bandicoots. They are found throughout Australia and New Guinea, with at least some species living in every available habitat, from rainforest to desert. Four fossil peramelids are descri ...)

Bilbies (family Thylacomyidae)

Pig-footed bandicoots (family Chaeropodidae)

Order Diprotodontia

Macropods (family Macropodidae)

Rodents (order Rodentia)

Murids (family Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. The name Muridae come ...)

Bats (order Chiroptera)

Megabats (family Pteropodidae)

Vesper bats (family Vespertilionidae)

Order Eulipotyphla

True shrews (family Soricidae)

= Possibly extinct

Birds (class Aves Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...)

Cassowaries and emus (order Casuariformes)

Cassowaries and emus (family Casuariidae The bird family Casuariidae has four surviving members: the three species of cassowary and the emu. All living members of the family are very large flightless birds native to Australia-New Guinea.Clements, J (2007) Species *† ''Emuarius'' Bol ...)

Pigeons and doves (order Columbiformes)

Pigeons and doves (family Columbidae)

Rails and cranes (order Gruiformes The Gruiformes are an order (biology), order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird family (biology), families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". Traditionally, a number of wading and t ...)

Rails (family Rallidae)

Boobies, cormorants, and allies (order Suliformes)

Cormorants and shags (family Phalacrocoracidae)

Owls (order Strigiformes)

True owls (family Strigidae)

Parrots (order Psittaciformes)

Kea and kākā (family Nestoridae The New Zealand parrot family, Strigopidae,Nestoridae and Strigopidae are described in the same article, Bonaparte, C.L. (1849) ''Conspectus Systematis Ornithologiae''. Therefore, under rules of the ICZN, the first reviser determines priority, w ...)

Old World parrots (family Psittaculidae Psittaculidae is a family containing Old World parrots. It consists of five subfamilies: Agapornithinae, Loriinae, Platycercinae, Psittacellinae and Psittaculinae. This family has been accepted into ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World' ...)

Perching birds (order Passeriformes)

Bristlebirds (family Dasyornithidae The bristlebirds are a family of passerine birds, Dasyornithidae. There are three species in one genus, ''Dasyornis''. The family is endemic to the south-east coast and south-west corner of Australia.Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (edito ...)

Australian warblers (family Acanthizidae)

Cuckooshrikes and allies (family Campephagidae)

Australasian wrens (family Maluridae)

Fantails and silktails (family Rhipiduridae The family Rhipiduridae are small insectivorous birds of Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent that includes the fantails and silktails. Taxonomy and systematics There are four genera classified within the family: * Subfamily R ...)

Australasian robins (family Petroicidae The bird family Petroicidae includes 51 species in 19 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called th ...)

White-eyes (family Zosteropidae)

= Possibly extinct, white-eyes (family Zosteropidae)

Thrushes (family Turdidae)

Starlings (family Sturnidae)

Reptiles (class Reptilia)

Squamates (order Squamata)

Skinks (family Scincidae)

= Extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ..., skinks (family Scincidae)

Common geckos (family Gekkonidae)

= Extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...

Dragon lizards (family Agamidae Agamidae is a family (biology), family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview phylogenetics, Phylogenetic ...)

= Possibly extinct

Amphibians (class Amphibia)

Frogs (order Anura)

Australian ground frogs (family Myobatrachidae Myobatrachidae, commonly known as Australian ground frogs or Australian water frogs, is a family of frogs found in Australia and New Guinea. Members of this family vary greatly in size, from species less than long, to the second-largest frog in ...)

Treefrogs and allies (family Hylidae)

Ray-finned fish (class Actinopterygii Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...)

Anglerfish (order Lophiiformes)

Handfish (family Brachionichthyidae)

= Data deficient

Galaxias (order Galaxiiformes)

Galaxias (family Galaxiidae)

= Extinct in the wild

Molluscs (phylum Mollusca Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...)

Gastropods (class Gastropoda The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. ...)

Order Stylommatophora Stylommatophora is an orderPhilippe Bouchet, Jean-Pierre Rocroi, Bernhard Hausdorf, Andrzej Kaim, Yasunori Kano, Alexander Nützel, Pavel Parkhaev, Michael Schrödl and Ellen E. Strong. 2017. Revised Classification, Nomenclator and Typification ...

= Family Bothriembryontidae Bothriembryontidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Orthalicoidea. Taxonomy This family has been named Placostylidae and had no subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of th ...

= Family Achatinellidae

Segmented worms (phylum Annelid The annelids (Annelida , from Latin ', "little ring"), also known as the segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecol ...a)

Clitellates (class Clitellata)

Order Opisthopora

= Family Megascolecidae

Plants (kingdom Plantae)

See also

Notes

References

Mammals (class
Mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
ia)

Bandicoots (family
Peramelidae The marsupial family Peramelidae contains all of the extant bandicoots. They are found throughout Australia and New Guinea, with at least some species living in every available habitat, from rainforest to desert. Four fossil peramelids are descri ...
)

Murids (family
Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. The name Muridae come ...
)

Birds (class
Aves Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
)

Cassowaries and emus (family
Casuariidae The bird family Casuariidae has four surviving members: the three species of cassowary and the emu. All living members of the family are very large flightless birds native to Australia-New Guinea.Clements, J (2007) Species *† ''Emuarius'' Bol ...
)

Rails and cranes (order
Gruiformes The Gruiformes are an order (biology), order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird family (biology), families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". Traditionally, a number of wading and t ...
)

Kea and kākā (family
Nestoridae The New Zealand parrot family, Strigopidae,Nestoridae and Strigopidae are described in the same article, Bonaparte, C.L. (1849) ''Conspectus Systematis Ornithologiae''. Therefore, under rules of the ICZN, the first reviser determines priority, w ...
)

Old World parrots (family
Psittaculidae Psittaculidae is a family containing Old World parrots. It consists of five subfamilies: Agapornithinae, Loriinae, Platycercinae, Psittacellinae and Psittaculinae. This family has been accepted into ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World' ...
)

Bristlebirds (family
Dasyornithidae The bristlebirds are a family of passerine birds, Dasyornithidae. There are three species in one genus, ''Dasyornis''. The family is endemic to the south-east coast and south-west corner of Australia.Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (edito ...
)

Fantails and silktails (family
Rhipiduridae The family Rhipiduridae are small insectivorous birds of Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent that includes the fantails and silktails. Taxonomy and systematics There are four genera classified within the family: * Subfamily R ...
)

Australasian robins (family
Petroicidae The bird family Petroicidae includes 51 species in 19 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called th ...
)

=
Extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...
, skinks (family Scincidae)

=
Extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...

Dragon lizards (family
Agamidae Agamidae is a family (biology), family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview phylogenetics, Phylogenetic ...
)

Australian ground frogs (family
Myobatrachidae Myobatrachidae, commonly known as Australian ground frogs or Australian water frogs, is a family of frogs found in Australia and New Guinea. Members of this family vary greatly in size, from species less than long, to the second-largest frog in ...
)

Ray-finned fish (class
Actinopterygii Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...
)

Molluscs (phylum
Mollusca Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
)

Gastropods (class
Gastropoda The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. ...
)

Order
Stylommatophora Stylommatophora is an orderPhilippe Bouchet, Jean-Pierre Rocroi, Bernhard Hausdorf, Andrzej Kaim, Yasunori Kano, Alexander Nützel, Pavel Parkhaev, Michael Schrödl and Ellen E. Strong. 2017. Revised Classification, Nomenclator and Typification ...

= Family
Bothriembryontidae Bothriembryontidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Orthalicoidea. Taxonomy This family has been named Placostylidae and had no subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of th ...

Segmented worms (phylum
Annelid The annelids (Annelida , from Latin ', "little ring"), also known as the segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecol ...
a)