List of extinct animals of Europe

This list of extinct animals in Europe features the animals that have become extinct on the European continent and some in other dependent territories of European countries. While most of the animals in the recent Holocene have a human-caused extinction,[1] Pleistocene extinctions and early Holocene extinctions are contested. Many theories of the cause of their extinction have been presented; some human-caused while others as a product of climate change. The K-T extinction is also contested, with the major cause being either both volcano and meteor or just a meteorite that caused the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs.

Many of the extinct animals were subspecies or color morphs such as the pied raven or disputed species like the tarpan or the gravenche. Most extinctions occurred in prehistoric times. The species gone extinct in the last 500 years were mostly from peripheral regions of Europe like the Caucasus, the North Atlantic or Mediterranean islands. Except for molluscs, the only species extinct in the heartland of Europe in the last 500 years is the aurochs, which survives in the form of primitive cattle breeds that possess similar physical features.

Map of Europe

Prehistoric and earlier extinctions

Mammals

Common name/scientific name Extinction date Range Image
Balearic giant shrew Nesiotites hidalgo unknown
Spain (the Balearic Islands) --
Balearic Islands cave goat

Myotragus balearicus

3,000 BC Spain (the Balearic Islands)
Bison schoetensacki

Bison schoetensacki

Continental Europe
Canary Islands giant rats Canariomys bravoi and Canariomys tamarani before 1500
Spain (the Canary Islands)
Cave bear Ursus spelaeus 27,500 BC
Europe
Cave hyena Crocuta crocuta spelaea 11,000 BC
Europe
European Ice Age leopard Panthera pardus spelaea c. 24,000 BC
Europe
Eurasian cave lion

Panthera spelaea

10,000 BC
Europe
Cretan dwarf megacerine Late Pleistocene
Greece (Crete) --
Dwarf elephant unknown
various Mediterranean islands
Elasmotherium Elasmotherium sp. 10,000 BC
Europe
European ass Equus hydruntinus Holocene
Europe --
European dhole Cuon alpinus europaeus Holocene
Europe --
European gazelle Gazella borbonica Holocene
Europe --
Giant Deer Megaloceros giganteus 5,000 BC
northern Europe
Homotherium Homotherium sp. 10,000 BC
Europe
Majorcan giant dormouse Hypnomys morphaeus unknown
Spain (Majorca) --
Maltese hippopotamus Hippopotamus melitensis unknown
Malta --
Minorcan giant dormouse Hypnomys mahonensis unknown
Spain (Minorca) --
Sardinian dhole Cynotherium sardous unknown
France (Corsica) and Italy (Sardinia) --
Steppe bison
Bison priscus
5,400[2]
British Isles and continental Europe
Stephanorhinus Stephanorhinus sp. unknown
Europe
Woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius earlier than 10,000 BC
Europe
Woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis 10,000 BC
Europe

Birds

Common name/scientific name Extinction date Range Image
Giant swan
Cygnus falconeri
Late Pleistocene
Italy (Sicily) and Malta --
Ibizan rail
Rallus eivissensis
5,000 BC
Spain (the Balearic Islands) --
Cretan owl
Athene cretensis
Late Pleistocene Greece (Crete) --

Recent extinctions

Mammals

Common name/scientific name Extinction date Range Image
Aurochs
Bos primigenius[3]
1627
Europe (native to Poland)
Atlantic gray whale
Eschrichtius robustus
17th Century
North Atlantic (seen in Mediterranean in 2010)
Caspian tiger
Panthera tigris tigris, syn. Panthera tigris virgata[4]
1970s
Turkey to the Caucasus Mountains
Caucasian elk
Alces alces caucasicus
1850s
the Caucasus Mountains
Caucasian wisent
Bison bonasus caucasicus
1925
the Caucasus Mountains
Carpathian wisent
Bison bonasus hungarorum
1790
the Carpathian Mountains
Lion
Panthera leo leo[5][6][7]
1st to 4th century AD - 10th century AD
Balkans - Transcaucasia
Majorcan hare
Lepus granatensis solisi
1980s
Spain (Majorca) --
Portuguese ibex
Capra pyrenaica lusitanica
1892
Portugal and Spain
Pyrenean ibex
Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica
2000[upper-alpha 1]
Andorra, France, Portugal and Spain
Sardinian giant shrew
Nesiotites similis
1500s
Italy (Sardinia) --
Saiga antelope
Saiga tatarica
19th century Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine
Sardinian pika
Prolagus sardus[9]
1774
Italy (Sardinia)
St. Kilda house mouse
Mus musculus muralis
1930
the United Kingdom (St. Kilda)
Tarpan
Equus ferus ferus
1909
Europe

Birds

Common name/scientific name Extinction date Range Image
Great auk
Pinguinus impennis
1854
Iceland and the northern European coast
Pied raven
Corvus corax varius morpha leucophaeus
1950
Denmark (the Faroe Islands)

Reptiles

Common name/scientific name Extinction date Range Image
Ratas Island lizard
Podarcis lilfordi rodriquezi
1950
Spain (Minorca) --
Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard
Gallotia simonyi simonyi
1930s
Spain (the Canary Islands)
Santo Stefano lizard
Podarcis sicula sanctistephani
1965
Italy (Santo Stefano Island) --

Fish

Common name/scientific name Extinction date Range Image
Chondrostoma scodrense[10] late 19th century
Albania and Montenegro --
Coregonus bezola[11] 1960s
Lac du Bourget, France --
Coregonus fera[12] 1950
France and Switzerland --
Coregonus restrictus[13] 1890
Lake Morat, Switzerland --
Gravenche
Coregonus hiemalis[14]
1950
France and Switzerland
Houting
Coregonus oxyrinchus[15]
1940
Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom
Lake Constance whitefish
Coregonus gutturosus[16]
1930s
Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Danube delta gudgeon[17] 1890
the Lower Danube, Romania and Ukraine --
Salvelinus neocomensis[18] 1904
Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland --
Techirghiol stickleback
Gasterosteus crenobiontus[19]
1960s
Lake Techirghiol, Romania --
Ukrainian migratory lamprey
Eudontomyzon sp. nov. 'migratory'[20]
Unknown
Moldova, Russia and Ukraine --

Insects

Common name/scientific name Extinction date Range Image
Madeiran large white
Pieris brassicae wollastoni[21]
1970s
Portugal (Madeira)
British large copper
Lycaena dispar dispar[22]
1864
England
Silver-studded blue subsp. masseyi
Plebejus argus masseyi[23]
1940s England (Cumbria and Lancashire)
Scarce large blue subsp. burdigalensis
Phengaris teleius burdigalensis
? France
Perrin's cave beetle
Siettitia balsetensis[24]
Unknown
France --
Tobias' caddisfly
Hydropsyche tobiasi[25]
1938
Germany --

Sea anemones

Possibly extinct

Common name/scientific name Extinction date Range Image
Ivell's sea anemone
Edwardsia ivelli [26]
1983
Widewater Lagoon, the United Kingdom --

Molluscs

22 species and three subspecies of gastropods have become extinct in Europe since 1500.[27] No species of bivalves are known to have become extinct in Europe after 1500.[27]

See also

Notes

  1. A single cloned individual was born on July 30, 2003, but died several minutes later.[8]

References

  1. Baillie, J.E.M., Hilton-Taylor, C. and Stuart, S.N. (Editors) 2004. 2004 IUCN Red List Threatened Species. A Global Species Assessment. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. xxiv + 191 pp. Online pdf
  2. Zazula, GD, Hall, E., Hare, PG, Thomas, C., Mathewes, R., La Farge, C., et al. (2017). A middle holocene steppe bison and paleoenvironments from the versleuce meadows, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 54(11), pp.1138-1152.
  3. Tikhonov, A. (2008). "Bos primigenius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T136721A4332142. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T136721A4332142.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  4. Jackson, P. & Nowell, K. (2011). "Panthera tigris ssp. virgata (Caspian Tiger, Hyrcanian Tiger, Turan Tiger)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  5. Alden, M. (2005). "Lions in paradise: Lion similes in the Iliad and the Lion Cubs of IL. 18.318-22". The Classical Quarterly (55): 335–342.
  6. Uhm, D.P. van (2016). The Illegal Wildlife Trade: Inside the World of Poachers, Smugglers and Traders. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
  7. Heptner, V. G.; Sludskiy, A. A. (1992) [1972]. "Lion". Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola [Mammals of the Soviet Union, Volume II, Part 2]. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation. pp. 83–95. ISBN 978-90-04-08876-4.
  8. J. Folch; J. Cocero; M. J. Chesne; P. Alabart; J. K. Dominguez; V. Congnie; Y. Roche; A. Fernández-Árias; A. Marti; J. I. Sánchez; P. Echegoyen; E. Beckers; J. F. Sánchez; A. Bonastre; X. Vignon (2009). "First birth of an animal from an extinct subspecies (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) by cloning". Theriogenology. 71 (#6): 1026–1034. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2008.11.005. PMID 19167744.
  9. Smith, A.T. & Johnston, C.H. (2008). "Prolagus sardus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T18338A8103116. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T18338A8103116.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  10. Crivelli, A.J. (2006). "Chondrostoma scodrense". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2006: e.T61345A12465545. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T61345A12465545.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  11. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Coregonus bezola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135556A4144562. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135556A4144562.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  12. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Coregonus fera". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135627A4165119. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135627A4165119.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  13. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Coregonus restrictus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135570A4149314. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135570A4149314.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  14. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Coregonus hiemalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135671A4175929. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135671A4175929.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  15. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Coregonus oxyrinchus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T5380A11126034. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T5380A11126034.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  16. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Coregonus gutturosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135506A4134620. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135506A4134620.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  17. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Romanogobio antipai". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135636A4167651. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135636A4167651.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  18. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Salvelinus neocomensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135421A4127253. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135421A4127253.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  19. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Gasterosteus crenobiontus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135637A4167779. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135637A4167779.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  20. Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Eudontomyzon sp. nov. 'migratory'". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  21. van Swaay, C.; Wynhoff, I.; Verovnik, R.; Wiemers, M.; López Munguira, M.; Maes, D.; Sasic, M.; Verstrael, T.; Warren, M. & Settele, J. (2010). "Pieris wollastoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T39483A10240995. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-1.RLTS.T39483A10240995.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  22. Thomas, J., R. Lewington, 2010. The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland. British Wildlife Publishing, Milton on Stour, U.K..
  23. Emmet, A.M., J. Heath et al. (Ed.), 1990. The Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland Vol. 7 Part 1 (Hesperiidae to Nymphalidae). Harley Books, Colchester, U.K.. 370p.
  24. World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Siettitia balsetensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T20207A9179037. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T20207A9179037.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  25. World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Hydropsyche tobiasi (Tobias' Caddisfly)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996. Retrieved December 25, 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  26. "Missing: Possibly Extinct, The Sixth Extinction". The Sixth Extinction. Extinct.petermaas.nl. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  27. Fontaine B., Bouchet P., Van Achterberg K., Alonso-Zarazaga M. A., Araujo R. et al. (2007). "The European union’s 2010 target: Putting rare species in focus." Biological Conservation 139: 167-185. Table 2 on the page 173. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2007.06.012. PDF.
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