NZL orthographic NaturalEarth labelled en

This is a list of New Zealand 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 The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

epoch, a

geologic epoch The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochronol ...

that began about 11,650 years

before present Before Present (BP) years, or "years before present", is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Becaus ...

(about 9700 BCE) and continues to the present day. New Zealand proper includes the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, offshore islands, and outlying islands like the Chathams. The Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a

dependent territory A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency (sometimes referred as an external territory) is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state, yet remains politically outside the controlli ...

); the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing states in free association with New Zealand); and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica). Only New Zealand proper is represented on this list. For extinctions in dependent territories see the

List of Oceanian animals extinct in the Holocene This list of Oceanian animals extinct in the Holocene features animals known to have become extinct in the last 12,000 years on the Oceanian continent, with the exclusion of Australia-New Guinea, New Zealand, and Hawaii, which are listed in separ ...

. All listed extinctions likely occurred after the human settlement of New Zealand, which was among the last places on earth that humans settled. The first settlers of New Zealand migrated from Polynesia and became the Māori people. According to archeological and genetic research, the ancestors of the Māori arrived in New Zealand no earlier than about 1280 CE, with at least the main settlement period between about 1320 and 1350, consistent with evidence based on genealogical traditions. No credible evidence exists of pre-Māori settlement of New Zealand. The arrival of the Māori resulted in animal extinctions due to deforestation and hunting. The Māori also brought two species of land

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 ...

s, Polynesian rats (''Rattus exulans'') and kurī, a breed of domestic dog (''Canis lupus familiaris''). In pre-human times, bats were the only land mammals found in New Zealand. Polynesian rats definitely contributed to extinctions, and kurī might have contributed as well. In 1642, the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman became the first European explorer known to visit New Zealand. In 1769, British explorer

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

became the first European to map New Zealand and communicate with the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

. From the late

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trad ...

, the country was regularly visited by explorers and other sailors, missionaries, traders and adventurers. In 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi annexed New Zealand into the British Empire. As a result of the influx of settlers, the population of Pākehā (European New Zealanders) grew explosively from fewer than 1,000 in 1831 to 500,000 by 1881. Like the Māori settlers centuries earlier, the European settlers hunted native animals and engaged in habitat destruction. They also introduced numerous invasive species. A few examples are

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

s (''Rattus rattus'') and brown rats (''Rattus norvegicus''),

domestic cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

(''Felis catus''), stoats (''Mustela erminea''), and common brushtail possums (''Trichosurus vulpecula'').

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)

Carnivorans (order
Carnivora Carnivora is a Clade, monophyletic order of Placentalia, placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all felidae, cat-like and canidae, dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are f ...
)

Eared seals (family Otariidae)

Bats (order Chiroptera)

New Zealand short-tailed bats (family
Mystacinidae NOTOC Mystacinidae is a family of unusual bats, the New Zealand short-tailed bats. There is one living genus, '' Mystacina'', with two species, one of which could have possibly become extinct in the 1960s. They are medium-sized bats, about in ...
)

= 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 ...
)

Moa (order Dinornithiformes)

Giant moa (family Dinornithidae)

Lesser moa (family
Emeidae The lesser moa (family Emeidae) were a family in the moa order Dinornithiformes. About two-thirds of all moa species are in the lesser moa family. The moa were ratites from New Zealand. Ratites are flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. ...
)

Upland moa (family
Megalapterygidae The upland moa (''Megalapteryx didinus'') was a species of moa endemic to New Zealand. It was a ratite, a grouping of flightless birds with no keel on the sternum. It was the last moa species to become extinct, vanishing in 1445 CE, and was pr ...
)

Landfowl (order Galliformes)

Megapodes (family Megapodidae)

Pheasants and allies (family
Phasianidae The Phasianidae are a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hunti ...
)

Waterfowl (order
Anseriformes Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...
)

Ducks, geese, and swans (family Anatidae)

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 ...
)

Adzebills (family Aptornithidae)

Rails (family Rallidae)

Shorebirds (order Charadriiformes)

Sandpipers (family
Scolopacidae Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. ...
)

Owlet-nightjars (order Aegotheliformes)

Owlet-nightjars (family Aegothelidae)

Albatrosses and petrels (order Procellariiformes)

Petrels and shearwaters (family Procellariidae)

Penguins (order Sphenisciformes)

Penguins (family Spheniscidae)

Pelicans, herons, and ibises (order Pelecaniformes)

Herons (family Ardeidae)

Hawks and relatives (order Accipitriformes)

Vultures, eagles, harriers, hawks, and kites (family Accipitridae)

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 ...
)

Perching birds (order Passeriformes)

New Zealand wrens (family Acanthisittidae)

Honeyeaters (family Meliphagidae)

Old World orioles (family Oriolidae)

Crows and relatives (family Corvidae)

New Zealand wattlebirds (family
Callaeidae Callaeidae (sometimes Callaeatidae) is a family of passerine birds endemic to New Zealand. It contains three genera, with five species in the family. One species, the huia, became extinct early in the 20th century, while the South Island kokako ...
)

= Possibly extinct, New Zealand wattlebirds (family
Callaeidae Callaeidae (sometimes Callaeatidae) is a family of passerine birds endemic to New Zealand. It contains three genera, with five species in the family. One species, the huia, became extinct early in the 20th century, while the South Island kokako ...
)

Grassbirds and allies (family
Locustellidae Locustellidae is a newly recognized family of small insectivorous songbirds ("warblers"), formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin" family. It contains the grass warblers, grassbirds, and the ''Bradypterus'' "bush warblers". These bird ...
)

Reptiles (class Reptilia)

Lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians (order Squamata)

Stone geckos (family Diplodactylidae)

Skinks (family Scincidae)

Amphibians (class Amphibia)

Frogs (order Anura)

New Zealand primitive frogs (family
Leiopelma NOTOC ''Leiopelma'' is a genus of New Zealand primitive frogs, belonging to the suborder Archaeobatrachia. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Leiopelmatidae. The leiopelmatids' relatively basal form indicates they have an ancient li ...
tidae)

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 ...
)

Smelts (order
Osmeriformes The Osmeriformes are an order of ray-finned fish that includes the true or freshwater smelts and allies, such as the galaxiids and noodlefishes; they are also collectively called osmeriforms. They belong to the teleost superorder Protacanthopte ...
)

Australia-New Zealand smelts and graylings (family
Retropinnidae The Retropinnidae are a family of bony fishes that contains the Southern Hemisphere smelts and graylings. They are closely related to the northern smelts (Osmeridae), which they greatly resemble, but not to the northern graylings (''Thymallus'') ...
)

Insects (class Insecta)

Beetles (order
Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
)

Ground beetles (family Carabidae)

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)

Family Megascolecidae

Plants (kingdom Plantae)

Order Brassicales

Mustard and crucifer family (family Brassicaceae)

Order Santalales

Showy mistletoes (family
Loranthaceae Loranthaceae, commonly known as the showy mistletoes, is a family of flowering plants. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of them hemiparasites. The three terrestrial species are ''Nuytsia floribunda'' (the W ...
)

Order Caryophyllales

Pink and carnation family (family Caryophyllaceae)

Order Gentianales

Family Loganiaceae

Order Boraginales

Borage and forget-me-not family (family Boraginaceae)

Notes

References

External links

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

at TerraNature

at TerraNature {{Extinct Animals by Regions , state=autocollapsed Extinct animals New Zealand Lists of extinct animals by region * Holocene Oceania Extinctions since 1500

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)

Carnivorans (order Carnivora Carnivora is a Clade, monophyletic order of Placentalia, placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all felidae, cat-like and canidae, dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are f ...)