List of extinct animals of Europe
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
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.
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
Contents
Prehistoric extinctions
Mammals
| Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balearic giant shrew Nesiotites hidalgo |
Unknown |
Spain (Balearic Islands) | -- |
| Balearic Islands cave goat Myotragus balearicus |
3000 BC |
Spain (Balearic Islands) |  |
| Canary Islands giant rats Canariomys bravoi and Canariomys tamarani |
Before 1500 AD |
Spain (Canary Islands) |  |
| Cave bear Ursus spelaeus |
27,500 BC |
Europe | Cave bear |
| Cave hyena Crocuta crocuta spelaea |
11,000 BC |
Europe |  |
| Cave lion Panthera leo spelaea |
10,000 BC |
Europe |  |
| Cretan dwarf megacerine Candiacervus cretensis |
Late Pleistocene |
Greece (Crete) | -- |
| Cretan dwarf hippopotamus Hippopotamus creutzburgi |
Middle Pleistocene |
Greece (Crete) |  |
| Dwarf elephant |
Unknown |
Mediterranean Islands Sea |  |
| Elasmotherium Elasmotherium sp. |
10,000 BC |
Europe |  |
| European ass Equus hydruntinus |
Holocene Epoch |
Europe | -- |
| Irish elk Megaloceros giganteus |
5000 BC |
Northern Europe |  |
| Homotherium Homotherium sp. |
10,000 BC |
Europe | Homotherium |
| 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) | -- |
| Stephanorhinus Stephanorhinus sp. |
Unknown |
Europe |  |
| Woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius |
2000 BC |
Europe | Woolly mammoth |
| 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 | -- |
| Ibiza rail Rallus eivissensis |
5000 BC |
Spain (Balearic Islands) | -- |
Recent extinctions
Mammals
| Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aurochs Bos primigenius[2] |
1627 |
Europe (native to Poland) |  |
| Caspian tiger Panthera tigris virgata[3] |
1970s |
Turkey to Caucasus Mountains |  |
| Caucasian moose Alces alces caucasicus |
1850s |
Caucasus Mountains | -- |
| Caucasian wisent Bison bonasus caucasicus |
1925 |
Caucasus Mountains |  |
| Carpathian wisent Bison bonasus hungarorum |
1790 |
Carpathian Mountains | Carpathian wisent |
| Majorcan hare Lepus granatensis solisi |
1980s |
Spain (Majorca) | -- |
| Portuguese ibex Capra pyrenaica lusitanica |
1892 |
Portugal and Spain | Portuguese ibex |
| Pyrenean ibex Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica |
2000 and 2009 |
Andorra, France, Portugal and Spain |  |
| Sardinian giant shrew Nesiotites similis |
1500s |
Italy (Sardinia) | -- |
| Sardinian lynx Lynx lynx sardiniae |
1900s |
Italy (Sardinia) | -- |
| Sardinian pika Prolagus sardus[4] |
1774 |
Italy (Sardinia) | Sardinian pika |
| St Kilda house mouse Mus musculus muralis |
1930 |
United Kingdom (St Kilda) | St Kilda house mouse |
| Tarpan Equus ferus ferus |
1909 |
Europe |  |
Birds
| Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great auk Pinguinus impennis |
1854 |
Iceland and Northern European Coast |  |
| Pied raven Corvus corax varius morpha leucophaeus |
1950 |
Denmark (Faroe Islands) | Pied raven |
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 (Canary Islands) |  |
| Santo Stefano lizard Podarcis sicula sanctistephani |
1965 |
Italy (Santo Stefano Island) | -- |
Fish
| Common name/scientific name | extinction date | Range | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chondrostoma scodrense[5] | late 19th century |
Albania and Montenegro | -- |
| Coregonus bezola[6] | 1960s |
Lac du Bourget, France | -- |
| Coregonus fera[7] | 1950 |
France and Switzerland | -- |
| Coregonus restrictus[8] | 1890 |
Lake Morat, Switzerland | -- |
| Deepwater char Salvelinus profundus [9] |
1970s |
Austria, Germany and Switzerland | -- |
| Gravenche Coregonus hiemalis[10] |
1950 |
France and Switzerland | Gravenche |
| Houting Coregonus oxyrinchus [11] |
1940 |
Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and United Kingdom |  |
| Lake Constance whitefish Coregonus gutturosus[12] |
1930s |
Austria, Germany and Switzerland | Lake Constance whitefish |
| Romanogobio antipai[13] | 1890 |
Lower Danube, Romania and Ukraine | -- |
| Salvelinus neocomensis[14] | 1904 |
Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland | -- |
| Techirghiol stickleback Gasterosteus crenobiontus [15] |
1960s |
Lake Techirghiol, Romania | -- |
| Ukrainian migratory lamprey Eudontomyzon sp. nov. 'migratory' [16] |
Unknown |
Moldova, Russia and Ukraine | -- |
Insect
| Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madeiran large white Pieris brassicae wollastoni[17] |
1970s |
Portugal (Madeira) |  |
| British large copper Lycaena dispar dispar[18] |
1864 |
England | |
| Silver-studded blue subsp. masseyi Plebejus argus masseyi[19] |
1940s | England (Cumbria and Lancashire) | |
| British large blue Maculinea arion eutyphron[19] |
1979 |
England | |
| Scarce large blue subsp. burdigalensis Phengaris teleius burdigalensis |
? | France | |
| Perrin's cave beetle Siettitia balsetensis[20] |
Unknown |
France | -- |
| Tobias' caddisfly Hydropsyche tobiasi[21] |
1938 |
Germany | -- |
Sea anemone
Possibly extinct
| Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivell's sea anemone Edwardsia ivelli [22] |
1983 |
Widewater Lagoon, United Kingdom | -- |
Molluscs
Twenty-two species and three subspecies of gastropods have become extinct in Europe since the year 1500.[23] No species of bivalves are known to be extinct in Europe since 1500.[23]
- Belgrandia varica (J. Paget, 1854),[23] already said CR on IUCN Red List [1]
- Belgrandiella boetersi (P. Reischutz & Falkner, 1998) = Belgrandiella intermedia (Austria)[23]
- Bythiospeum pfeifferi (Clessin, 1890)[23]
- Caseolus calvus galeatus (R. T. Lowe, 1862)[23]
- Discula lyelliana (R. T. Lowe, 1852)[23]
- Discula tetrica (R. T. Lowe, 1862)[23]
- Discus engonatus (Shuttleworth, 1852)[23]
- Discus retextus (Shuttleworth, 1852)[23]
- Discus textilis (Shuttleworth, 1852)[23]
- Geomitra delphinuloides (R. T. Lowe 1860)[23]
- Geomitra grabhami (Wollaston, 1878)[23]
- Graecoanatolica macedonica Radoman & Stankovic, 1979 - (Lake Dorjan, Macedonia, Greece)[23]
- Gyralina hausdorfi Riedel, 1990[23]
- Janulus pompylius (Shuttleworth, 1852)[23]
- Keraea garachicoensis (Wollaston, 1878)[23]
- Leiostyla abbreviata (R. T. Lowe, 1852)[23]
- Leiostyla gibba (R. T. Lowe, 1852)[23]
- Leiostyla lamellosa (R. T. Lowe, 1852)[23]
- Leptaxis simia hyaena (R. T. Lowe, 1852)[23]
- Ohridohauffenia drimica (Radoman, 1964) - (Macedonia)[23]
- Parmacella gervaisii Moquin-Tandon, 1850[23]
- Pseudocampylaea loweii (A. Ferussac, 1835)[23]
- Zonites embolium elevatus Riedel & Mylonas, 1997[23]
- Zonites santoriniensis Riedel & Norris, 1987[23]
- Zonites siphnicus Fuchs & Käufel, 1936[23]
See also
- List of extinct animals of Catalonia
- List of extinct animals of Caucasus
- List of extinct animals of Great Britain
- List of extinct and endangered species of Italy
- List of extinct and endangered animals of Lithuania
- List of extinct animals of the Netherlands
- List of extinct animals
- List of extinct birds
- Extinct in the wild
- Lazarus taxon
References
- ↑ 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
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- ↑ Thomas, J., R. Lewington, 2010. The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland. British Wildlife Publishing, Milton on Stour, UK.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 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, Colechester, UK. 370p.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 23.00 23.01 23.02 23.03 23.04 23.05 23.06 23.07 23.08 23.09 23.10 23.11 23.12 23.13 23.14 23.15 23.16 23.17 23.18 23.19 23.20 23.21 23.22 23.23 23.24 23.25 23.26 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.
