List of South American animals extinct in the Holocene

This is a list of South American animals extinct in the Holocene that covers extinctions from the Holocene epoch, a geologic epoch that began about 11,650 years before present (about 9700 BCE)^[A] and continues to the present day.^[1]

Map of South America

The list includes animal extinctions in the Galápagos, Falklands, and other islands near the continent. Extinct animals from the West Indies are covered in List of Antillian and Bermudan animals extinct in the Holocene. Extinctions from Easter Island, a territory of Chile in Polynesia, are covered in the List of Oceanian species extinct in the Holocene.

Many extinction dates are unknown due to a lack of relevant information.

Mammals (class Mammalia)

Opossums (order Didelphimorphia)

Opossums (family Didelphidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Red-bellied gracile opossum	Cryptonanus ignitus	Jujuy, Argentina	Last collected in 1962. The only known locality was destroyed by agriculture and urban development.[2]

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
One-striped opossum	Monodelphis unistriata	Southeastern Brazil and northeastern Argentina	Only collected twice, in 1821 in Brazil and 1899 in Argentina. The causes of decline are unknown, but possibly related to habitat loss through logging and agriculture.[3]

Armadillos, pampatheres, and glyptodonts (order Cingulata)

Long-nosed armadillos (family Dasypodidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Propraopus sulcatus	Eastern South America	Most recent remains at Toca do Serrote do Artur, Brazil dated to 6660-4880 BCE.[4]

Chlamyphorid armadillos and glyptodonts (family Chlamyphoridae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Doedicurus clavicaudatus	South American pampas	Most recent remains at Arroyo Seco, Argentina dated to 4765-4445 BCE.[4]
Eutatus seguini	Northern Argentina and Uruguay	Most recent remains at Arroyo Seco, Argentina dated to 6389-6060 BCE.[5]
Glyptodon clavipes	Eastern Brazil to the Argentinian pampa[6]	Most recent remains at Toca do Serrote do Artur, Brazil dated to 6660-4880 BCE.[4]
Glyptodon reticulatus	Southern Brazil	Found in the late Pleistocene to early Holocene of Upper Ribeira Valley, southeastern Sao Paulo, Brazil but without direct datation.[7]
Glyptotherium cylindricum	Florida and Texas to northeastern Brazil	Found in the late Pleistocene to early Holocene of Serra do Ramalho, Brazil but without direct datation.[8]
Hoplophorus euphractus	Eastern Brazil	Most recent remains at Toca do Serrote do Artur, Brazil dated to 6660-4880 BCE.[4]
Neosclerocalyptus ornatus[9]	Southern South America	Most recent remains in Paraguay dated to 5120 BCE.[10]
Neuryurus sp.	Eastern Argentina and Uruguay	Most recent remains at Lobería, Argentina dated to c. 19050-8050 BCE.[11]
Panochthus tuberculatus	Argentina to southern Brazil	Found in the late Pleistocene to early Holocene of Luján, Argentina but without direct datation.[12]

Pachyarmatheres (family Pachyarmatheriidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Pachyarmatherium brasiliense	Eastern Brazil	Found in the late Pleistocene to early Holocene of Serra do Ramalho, Brazil but without direct datation.[8]

Pampatheres (family Pampatheriidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Holmesina majus	Minas Gerais and Ceará, Brazil	Found in the late Pleistocene to early Holocene of Serra do Ramalho, Brazil but without direct datation.[8]
Pampatherium sp.	Mexico, Central and South America

Anteaters and sloths (order Pilosa)

Megalonychid ground sloths (family Megalonychidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Ahytherium aureum	Eastern Brazil	Found in the late Pleistocene to early Holocene of Upper Ribeira Valley, southeastern Sao Paulo, Brazil but without direct datation.[7]

Giant ground sloths (family Megatheriidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Eremotherium laurillardi	Southern United States to Brazil	Most recent remains in the Miranda River basin, Brazil dated to 5477-4170 BCE.[13]
Megatherium americanum	Temperate South America and the Andes	Most recent remains at Campo Laborde, Argentina were dated to 5270-4310 BCE and show signs of human hunting and processing.[9]

Mylodonts (family Mylodontidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Glossotherium robustum	South America	Most recent remains at El Cautivo, Ecuador dated to 6810-6650 BCE.[4]
Lestodon armatus	Southern Brazil	Found in the late Pleistocene to early Holocene of Upper Ribeira Valley, southeastern Sao Paulo, Brazil but without direct datation.[7]
Mylodon darwini	Pampas and Patagonia	Most recent remains at Cueva del Milodón, Chile dated to 10935-8804 BCE.[14]
Scelidodon chiliensis	Western South America	Most recent remains at Pampa de los Fósiles, Peru, dated to 7160-6760 BCE.[4]

Scelidotherid ground sloths (family Scelidotheriidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Catonyx cuvieri	Eastern South America	Most recent remains at Lagoa Santa, Brazil dated to 7830-7430 BCE.[4]
Scelidotherium leptocephalum	Southern South America	Most recent remains at Río Cuarto, Argentina dated to 5660-5540 BCE.[15]
Valgipes bucklandi	Intertropical region of Brazil[8]	Most recent remains at Lagoa Santa, Brazil dated to 9110-9030 BCE.[16]

Nothrotheriid ground sloths (family Nothrotheriidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Nothrotherium maquinense	Eastern Brazil	Found in the late Pleistocene to early Holocene of Serra do Ramalho, Brazil but without direct datation.[8]

Elephant-like mammals (order Proboscidea)

Gomphotheres (family Gomphotheriidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Notiomastodon platensis	South America	Most recently dated at El Totumo, Colombia, to 4170-4050 BCE; however this date is uncalibrated and the remains are assigned to the Late Glacial. Other remains from Toro, Valle del Cauca are assigned to the Holocene but with no direct date.[17] Calibrated remains at Itapipoca, Brazil were dated to 8209-5886 BCE,[13] and at El Cautivo, Ecuador to 6810-6650 BCE.[4]

Rodents (order Rodentia)

Cavies (family Caviidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
	Galea tixiensis	Río de la Plata basin to southern Bolivia	Most recent remains at the Tandilia mountains, Argentina dated to around 950 CE.[18]
Giant capybara[19]	Neochoerus sp.	Southern United States to Brazil	Found in sites of Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Rondonia, Brazil that date from the Late Pleistocene to early Holocene, but without exact dating.[8]

Tuco-tucos (family Ctenomyidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Ctenomys viarapaensis	Pampa de Achala, Argentina	Most recent remains at Quebrada del Real 1 dated to 5410 BCE - 1590 CE.[20]

Neotropical spiny rats (family Echimyidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Clyomys riograndensis	Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil	Most recent remains dated to 1750 BCE.[21]
Dicolpomys fossor	Río de la Plata basin and southern Brazil	Most recent remains at Sambaquí de Puerto Landa, Argentina dated to 894-953 CE.[22]
Proclinodontomys mordax	Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil	Most recent remains dated to 5250 BCE.[21]

Rock rats, degus, and viscacha rats (family Octodontidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Octomys sp.	Western Argentina	Most recent remains at Vaquerías Gruta 1, Argentina dated to 1150 BCE - 1570 CE. Related to the Mountain viscacha rat but different enough to be a new species.[23]

Hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice (family Cricetidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
	Bibimys massoiai	Piauí, Brazil	Most recent remains at Toca do Serrote do Artur dated to 6943-3656 BCE.[24]
Candango mouse	Juscelinomys candango	Brasília, Brazil	Last collected in 1960. Presumed extinct when the area was urbanized.[25]
Galápagos giant rat	Megaoryzomys curioi	Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador	Known from subfossil remains. Possibly extinct by introduced predators like feral dogs, cats, pigs, and black rats.[26]
Darwin's Galápagos mouse	Nesoryzomys darwini	Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands	Last recorded in 1930. Extinct due to competition, pathogens transmitted by, or predation by black rats, house mice, brown rats, and feral cats.[27]
Indefatigable Galápagos mouse	Nesoryzomys indefessus	Santa Cruz and Baltra, Galápagos Islands	Last collected in 1934. Extinct due to competition, pathogens transmitted by, or predation by black rats, house mice, brown rats, and feral cats.[28]
Vespucci's giant rat	Noronhomys vespuccii	Fernando de Noronha Island, Brazil	Only recorded alive by Amerigo Vespucci in 1503; otherwise known from subfossil remains.[29]

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
	Brucepattersonius talpinus	Lagoa Santa, Brazil	Known from Quaternary fossils.[24]
Fossorial giant rat	Gyldenstolpia fronto	Chaco Basin to southeastern Brazil	Known from the holotype collected in the Argentinian Chaco in 1896, and four Quaternary fossils from Lagoa Santa, Brazil.[30]
	Habrothrix clivigenis	Lagoa Santa, Brazil	Known from Quaternary fossils.[24]
	Juliomys anoblepas
Zuniga's dark rice rat	Melanomys zunigae	Lomas de Atocongo, near Lima, Peru	Last recorded in 1949. Declined due to habitat degradation caused by goat grazing and mining activity.[31]
	Oxymycterus cosmodius	Lagoa Santa, Brazil	Known from Quaternary fossils.[24]

Bats (order Chiroptera)

Leaf-nosed bats (family Phyllostomidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Giant vampire bat	Desmodus draculae	Eastern South America	Most recent remains in Centinela del Mar, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina dated to 1675-1755 AD.[32]

Carnivorans (order Carnivora)

Cats (family Felidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
South American saber-toothed cat	Smilodon populator	Eastern South America	Most recent remains at Itapipoca, Brazil dated to 7129-6239 BCE.[13]

Dogs (family Canidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Dire wolf	Aenocyon dirus	North America and western South America	Most recent remains at Talara, Peru dated to 7320-6840 BCE; however this date is uncalibrated and the age of the remains could be older. Other late remains from Luján, Argentina were older than the most recent stratigraphical section dated to 9050-8050 BCE.[33]
Falkland Islands wolf	Dusicyon australis	Falkland Islands	Exterminated by sheep farmers in 1876.[34]
	Dusicyon avus	Argentina and Uruguay	Most recent remains in the Pampas dated to 1232-1397, and in southernmost Patagonia to 1454-1626.[35]
Fuegian dog	Lycalopex sp.	Tierra del Fuego and possibly southern Patagonia	Only domestic descendant of the culpeo, bred by the Selkʼnam people. Disappeared during the Selkʼnam genocide in the early 20th century.[36][37]
	Protocyon troglodytes	Middle South America[38] to Yucatan[39]	Most recent remains at Toca da Boa Vista, Brazil dated to 20,000-10,000 years ago.[33]

Bears (family Ursidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Arctotherium bonariense	Argentina	Recorded from the Middle Pleistocene to the Early Holocene.[40]
Arctotherium tarijense	Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Chile	Most recent remains at Cueva de los Chingues, Chile dated to 9310-9210 BCE.[41]
Arctotherium wingei	Northeastern South America	Most recent remains at Muaco, Venezuela dated to 7320-6840 BCE. However, this datation is uncalibrated and the remains could be older.[40]

Earless seals (family Phocidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Caribbean monk seal	Neomonachus tropicalis	Caribbean Sea, Bahamas, and Gulf of Mexico	Last recorded in Venezuela before 1700.[42] The species was hunted for its skin, oil, and to remove competition for fishermen.[43]

Notoungulates (order Notoungulata)

Toxodonts (family Toxodontidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Toxodon platensis	South America	One tooth found at Abismo Ponta da Flecha, Brazil was dated to 4650-1450 BCE when testing its enamel, and 6050-3450 BCE when testing its dentine.[4] Other remains at Itapipoca were dated to 7320-6099 BCE.[13]

Litopterns (order Litopterna)

Macrauchenids (family Macraucheniidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Macrauchenia patachonica	Southwestern South America	Most recent remains at Centinela del Mar, Argentina dated to 9381-9281 BCE.[44]
Xenorhinotherium bahiense	North and east South America	Most recent remains at Itapipoca, Brazil dated to 2267-1543 BCE.[13]

Odd-toed ungulates (order Perissodactyla)

Horses and allies (family Equidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Equus neogeus	South America	Most recent remains at Toca do Serrote do Artur, Brazil dated to 6660-4880 BCE.[4]
Hippidion saldiasi	Eastern South America	Most recent remains at Cueva del Medio, Chile dated to 10748-9456 BCE.[14]

Even-toed ungulates (order Artiodactyla)

Camels and llamas (family Camelidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Hemiauchenia paradoxa	Northern Río de la Plata Basin and central Brazil[45]	Found in Holocene sites of Argentina but without exact dates.[41]
Palaeolama major	Northern and eastern South America	Most recent remains at Itapipoca, Brazil dated to 2281-1402 BCE.[13]

Locally extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Chilihueque	Population of Lama guanicoe	Central Chile	A third domestic South American camelid recorded by Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries, bred by the Mapuche and different from llamas and vicuñas. DNA analysis of remains from Mocha Island (where camelids were introduced by people) indicates that it was a population of Patagonian guanaco that was managed, or domesticated independently from the llama. It disappeared when indigenous communities switched to sheep and horse farming after colonization.[46]
Gracile llama	Population of Lama vicugna	Argentina and the Strait of Magellan	Formerly considered a separate species, Lama gracilis. Most recent remains at Piedra Museo, Argentina dated to 7365-7155 BCE, though this datation is not calibrated and the remains could be older.[47]

True deer (family Cervidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Antifer ultra	Río de la Plata Basin to central Chile	Most recent remains in Chile dated to around 7950 BCE. However this datation was not calibrated and the remains could be older.[48]
Morenelaphus brachyceros	Temperate South America	Most recently dated to 8050-5845 BCE; however this datation was not calibrated and the remains could be older. Other remains from southern Uruguay were dated, and calibrated, to 10010-9907 BCE.[6]

Birds (class Aves)

Landfowl (order Galliformes)

Chachalacas, guans, and curassows (family Cracidae)

Extinct in the wild

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Alagoas curassow	Mitu mitu	Alagoas and Pernambuco, Brazil	Declined due to hunting and destruction of its habitat for sugarcane plantation, until the last known individual in the wild was killed near São Miguel dos Campos in either 1987 or 1988. All living individuals descent from three animals captured in 1977, and part of the current captive population is hybridized with the razor-billed curassow.[49] The species was reintroduced to the wild in 2019.[50]

Waterfowl (order Anseriformes)

Ducks, geese, and swans (family Anatidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Niceforo's pintail	Anas georgica niceforoi	Central Colombia	Last recorded in 1952. Possibly extinct due to hunting and habitat degradation.[51]
Fighting shelduck[52]	Neochen pugil	Minas Gerais, Brazil	Known from the late Pleistocene or early Holocene of Lagoa Santa, Brazil.[53]

Grebes (order Podicipediformes)

Grebes (family Podicipedidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Colombian grebe	Podiceps andinus	Bogotá wetlands, Colombia	Last recorded in 1977. Extinct due to wetland drainage, siltation, pesticide pollution, disruption caused by reed harvesting, hunting, and predation by introduced rainbow trout.[54]

Nightjars (order Caprimulgiformes)

Typical nightjars (family Caprimulgidae)

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Cayenne nightjar	Setopagis maculosa	Tamanoir, French Guiana	Only known from the holotype collected in 1917.[55]

Swifts, treeswifts, and hummingbirds (order Apodiformes)

Hummingbirds (family Trochillidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Bogotá sunangel	Heliantelus zusii	Northern Andes?	Only known from one skin purchased in Bogotá in 1909. It could have disappeared due to deforestation, though the original range is unknown.[51]
Alejandro Selkirk Island firecrown	Sephanoides fernandensis leyboldi	Alejandro Selkirk Island?, Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile	Last recorded in 1908 (with doubts).[51]

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Letitia's thorntail	Discosura letitiae	Bolivia	Only known from two males collected at an unknown locality in 1852.[51]
Turquoise-throated puffleg	Eriocnemis godini	Northern Ecuador	Only known from the holotype collected in 1850, with an unconfirmed sighting in 1976. The original habitat at the holotype's location is almost certainly destroyed.[56]

Rails and cranes (order Gruiformes)

Rails (family Rallidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Peruvian rail	Rallus semiplumbeus peruvianus	Peruvian highlands and possibly Ecuador	Only known from the holotype collected in 1886, which is now lost.[51]
	Rallus sp.	Fernando de Noronha Island, Brazil	A flightless species known from subfossil remains, presumably extinct due to predation by introduced mammals.[52]

Shorebirds (order Charadriiformes)

Sandpipers (family Scolopacidae)

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Eskimo curlew	Numenius borealis	Northwestern Canada and Alaska, and Southern Cone	Last recorded in South America in 1939, where it wintered. Likely extinct due to large scale hunting in North America, the conversion of the Great Plains to agriculture, and the extinction of the Rocky Mountain locust, once its prey. The South American pampas were converted to agriculture in the same manner afterward.[57]

Storks and allies (order Ciconiiformes)

Storks (family Ciconiidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Asphalt stork	Ciconia lydekkeri	Contiguous United States to Argentina	Known from the late Pleistocene or early Holocene of Lagoa Santa, Brazil.[53]

New World vultures (order Cathartiformes)

New World vultures and condors (family Cathartidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
	Pleistovultur nevesi	Matozinhos, Brazil	Known from a humerus dated around 10560-8040 BCE. Presumed extinct as a consequence of the disappearance of the megafauna.[52]
Winge's vulture[52]	Wingegyps cartellei	Bahia and Minas Gerais, Brazil	Known from the late Pleistocene or early Holocene of Lagoa Santa.[53]

Owls (order Strigiformes)

True owls (family Strigidae)

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Pernambuco pygmy owl	Glaucidium mooreorum	Northeast coast of Brazil	Last recorded in 2001.[55]

Parrots (order Psittaciformes)

Holotropical parrots (family Psittacidae)

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Glaucous macaw	Anodorhynchus glaucus	Border area of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay	Last recorded in Mbaracayu, Paraguay in 2001. Declined due to clearance of gallery forests for agriculture and livestock grazing, and possibly also hunting and capture of animals for the exotic pet trade.[58]
Sinú parakeet	Pyrrhura subandina	Sinú Valley, Córdoba Department, Colombia	Last recorded in 1949. Declined due to habitat loss to agriculture and cattle grazing, hunting, trapping for the pet trade, and pollution with agrochemicals.[59]

Extinct in the wild

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Spix's macaw	Cyanopsitta spixii	Sao Francisco River, Bahia, Brazil	Last recorded in the wild in 2000. Declined due to capture for the pet trade, and habitat loss caused by deforestation, livestock grazing, and the construction of the Sobradinho Dam.[60]

Perching birds (order Passeriformes)

Antpittas (family Grallariidae)

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Táchira antpitta	Grallaria chtonia	Southwestern Táchira, Venezuela	Last collected in 1955-1956. Declined due to extensive deforestation of its range for agricultural use.[51]
Antioquia brown-banded antpitta	Grallaria milleri gilesi	Santa Helena, Antioquia, Colombia	Only known from the holotype, collected in 1878. The type locality has since been deforested for coffee cultivation and other agriculture.[51]

Ovenbirds (family Furnariidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Cryptic treehunter	Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti	Alagoas and Pernambuco, Brazil	Last recorded in 2007. Extinct due to deforestation.[51]
Alagoas foliage-gleaner	Philydor novaesi		Last recorded in 2011. Extinct due to deforestation.[51]

Antbirds (family Thamnophilidae)

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range
Rio de Janeiro antwren	Myrmotherula fluminensis	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil[55]

Tanagers (family Thraupidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Darwin's ground finch	Geospiza magnirostris magnirostris	Floreana and San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands	Only recorded alive by Charles Darwin in 1835. It was restricted to the lowlands which were the most affected by human settlement starting in 1832; introduced donkeys, cattle, and goats reduced the Opuntia cacti it fed and nested on, while dogs, cats, and rats predated on the birds.[51]

Tyrant flycatchers (family Tyrannidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
San Cristóbal flycatcher	Pyrocephalus dubius	San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands	Last recorded in 1987. Likely extinct due to predation by introduced rats, the avian vampire fly, or avian pox.[61]

Reptiles (class Reptilia)

Turtles and tortoises (order Testudines)

Big-headed turtles (family Podocnemididae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Peltocephalus maturin	Madeira River, Brazil	Only known from a lower jaw dated to 12385-7060 BCE, roughly coinciding with the time when the area was first reached by Paleo-Amerindians.[62]

Tortoises (family Testudinidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Pinta Island tortoise	Chelonoidis niger abingdonii	Pinta, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador	The last wild individual (Lonesome George) was captured in 1972 and died in Santa Cruz's Tortoise Center in 2012, but hybrid descendants survive in northern Isabela Island. Declined due to hunting and habitat destruction by grazing feral goats.[63]
Floreana giant tortoise	Chelonoidis niger niger	Floreana, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador	Disappeared from the wild in the mid-19th century, though hybrids survive in captivity and in northern Isabela Island. Likely extinct due to hunting and the impact of introduced mammals including pigs, dogs, cats, goats, donkeys, cattle, black rats and house mice.[64]
Santa Fe Island tortoise	Chelonoidis niger 'Santa Fe Island'	Santa Fe, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador	Undescribed lineage, known from subfossil bones.[65]

Amphibians (class Amphibia)

Frogs (order Anura)

True toads (family Bufonidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Maracay harlequin frog	Atelopus vogli	Güey River, Aragua, Venezuela	Last collected in 1957. Its habitat was destroyed by agriculture.[66]

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Green and red venter harlequin toad	Atelopus pinangoi	Near Piñango, Mérida, Venezuela	Last recorded in 1997. Declined due to chytridiomycosis, habitat loss caused by logging and ranching, introduced trout, and climate change.[67]
Scarlet harlequin toad	Atelopus sorianoi	Near Guaraque, Mérida, Venezuela	Last recorded in 1990. Possibly extinct due to chytridiomycosis caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, drought, road kills, and habitat loss caused by agriculture.[68]

Tree frogs and allies (family Hylidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Spiny-knee leaf frog	Phrynomedusa fimbriata	Sao Paulo and Paraná states, Brazil	Last collected in the 1950s. Extinct due to air pollution and infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis[69]

Darwin's frogs (family Rhinodermatidae)

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Chile Darwin's frog	Rhinoderma rufum	Valparaíso and Biobío, Chile	Last recorded in 1981. The cause of decline is unknown but chytridiomycosis has been suggested.[70]

Rain frogs (family Strabomantidae)

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Aragua robber frog	Pristimantis anotis	Henri Pittier National Park, Aragua, Venezuela	Last collected in 1974. The cause of decline is unknown, though chytridiomycosis is present in the area.[71]

Ray-finned fish (class Actinopterygii)

Catfishes (order Siluriformes)

Pencil catfishes (family Trichomycteridae)

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Greasefish	Rhizosomichthys totae	Tota Lake, Colombia	Last collected in 1958. Possibly extinct due to exotic fish introductions (Eremophilus mutisii, Grundulus bogotensis, Carassius auratus, Oncorhynchus mykiss) and chemical pollution caused by agriculture.[72]

Toothcarps (order Cyprinodontiformes)

Pupfishes (family Cyprinodontidae)

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Titicaca orestias	Orestias cuvieri	Lake Titicaca	The causes of decline are unknown.[73]

Ovalentaria incertae sedis

Family Pomacentridae

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Galápagos damsel	Azurina eupalama	Galápagos Islands, Ecuador	Last recorded during the 1982-83 El Niño event, which warmed the waters it inhabited and killed off the plankton on which it fed.[74]

Starfishes (class Asteroidea)

Order Forcipulatida

Family Heliasteridae

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
24-rayed sunstar	Heliaster solaris	Galápagos Islands, Ecuador	Last recorded during the 1982-83 El Niño event.[75]

Insects (class Insecta)

Beetles (order Coleoptera)

Predaceous diving beetles (family Dytiscidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Megadytes ducalis	Condeúba, Bahia, Brazil	Only known from individuals collected in the 19th century.[76]
Meridiorhantus orbignyi	Argentina and Brazil[77]

Bark lice, book lice, and parasitic lice (order Psocodea)

Bird body lice (family Menoponidae)

Possibly extinct

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Austromenopon confine	Americas	Parasite of the slender-billed curlew.[78]

Bird chewing lice (family Philopteridae)

Possibly extinct

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Cummingsiella breviclypeata	Americas	Parasite of the slender-billed curlew.[78]

Arachnids (class Arachnida)

Order Mesostigmata

Family Halarachnidae

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Caribbean monk seal nasal mite	Halarachne americana	Caribbean Sea	Extinct with its host.[79]

Clitellates (class Clitellata)

Order Opisthopora

Family Glossoscolecidae

Possibly extinct

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Rhinodrilus fafner	Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil	Only known from the holotype described in 1918.[80]

Slugs and snails (class Gastropoda)

Order Littorinimorpha

Family Cochliopidae

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Littoridina gaudichaudii	Ecuador[81]

Order Stylommatophora

Family Odontostomidae

Scientific name	Range	Pictures
Tomigerus gibberulus	Brazil[82]
Tomigerus turbinatus	Brazil[83]

Family Strophocheilidae

Scientific name	Range
Megalobulimus cardosoi	Brazil[84]

Unassigned order

Family Hemisinidae

Extinct in the wild

Scientific name	Range
Aylacostoma chloroticum	Paraná River[85]

Sea anemones, corals, and zoanthids (class Hexacorallia)

Stony corals (order Scleractinia)

Family Dendrophylliidae

Possibly extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Wellington's solitary coral	Rhizopsammia wellingtoni	Galápagos Islands, Ecuador	Last recorded in 2000. Most colonies were destroyed in the 1982-83 El Niño event.[86]

See also

• Holocene extinction
• List of North American animals extinct in the Holocene
• List of Antillian and Bermudan animals extinct in the Holocene
• Peopling of the Americas

Notes

1. The source gives "11,700 calendar yr b2k (before CE 2000)". But "BP" means "before CE 1950". Therefore, the Holocene began 11,650 BP. Doing the math, that is c. 9700 BCE.