This list of South American animals extinct in the Holocene features animals known to have become extinct in the last 12,000 years on the South American continent. The list includes animal extinctions in the Galápagos, Falklands, and other islands near the continent, but not Easter Island (politically part of Chile) which is considered in the List of Oceanian animals extinct in the Holocene, nor Caribbean islands which are on the List of Antillian and Bermudan animals extinct in the Holocene.
Many extinction dates are unknown due to a lack of relevant information.
Common name scientific name |
Range | Image |
---|---|---|
Ahytherium aureum | Bahia, Brazil | |
Glyptotherium sp. | Florida and Texas to northeastern Brazil | |
Holmesina majus | Minas Gerais and Ceará, Brazil | |
Lestodon armatus | Southern Brazil | |
Neochoerus sp. | Middle Brazil | |
Nothrotherium maquinense | Eastern Brazil | |
Pachyarmatherium brasiliense | Eastern Brazil | |
Pampatherium sp. | Brazil | |
Panochthus tuberculatus | Luján, Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
Xenorhinotherium bahiense | North and east South America |
Common name scientific name |
Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Dire wolf Aenocyon dirus |
7320-6840 BCE[4] | North America and western South America | |
Antifer ultra | c. 7950 BCE[5] | Río de la Plata Basin and central Chile | |
Arctotherium tarijense | 8470-8320 BCE[6] | Argentina | |
Arctotherium wingei | 14825-6840 BCE[7] | Northeastern South America | |
Catonyx cuvieri | 7830-7430 BCE[6] | Eastern South America | |
Cuvieronius hyodon | 9790 BCE[8] | Northern and central Andes | |
Doedicurus clavicaudatus | 4765-4445 BCE[9] | South American Pampas | |
Equus neogeus | 6660-4880 BCE[10] | South America | |
Eremotherium laurillardi | 7800-7740 BCE[11] | Southern United States to Brazil | |
Eutatus seguini | 6389-6060 BCE[12] | Northern Argentina and Uruguay | |
Glossotherium sp. | 6810-6650 BCE[10] | South America | |
Glyptodon sp.[A] | 6660-4880 BCE[10] | Eastern South America | |
Hippidion saldiasi | 8059 BCE[14] | Eastern South America | |
Hoplophorus euphractus | 6660-4880 BCE[10] | Eastern Brazil | |
Macrauchenia patachonica | 9381-9281 BCE[15] | Southwestern South America | |
Giant ground sloth Megatherium americanum |
5270-4310 BCE[9] | Temperate South America and the Andes | |
Morenelaphus brachyceros | 8050-5845 BCE[16] | Temperate South America | |
Darwin's ground sloth Mylodon darwini |
6689 BCE[17] | Pampas and Patagonia | |
Neosclerocalyptus paskoensis | 5120 BCE[13] | Southern South America | |
Notiomastodon platensis | 4170-4050 BCE[18] | South America | |
Palaeolama major | 6660-4880 BCE[10] | North and east South America | |
Panthera onca mesembrina | 9705-9545 BCE[6] | Patagonia | |
Propraopus sulcatus | 6660-4880 BCE[10] | Eastern South America | |
Scelidodon chiliensis | 7160-6760 BCE[10] | Western South America | |
Scelidotherium leptocephalum | 5660-5540 BCE[19] | Southern South America | |
South American saber-toothed cat Smilodon populator |
7330-7030 BCE[10] | Eastern South America | |
Toxodon platensis | 4650-1450 BCE[10] | South America | |
Valgipes bucklandi | 9110-9030 BCE[20] | Intertropical region of Brazil[1] |
Common name scientific name |
Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Red-bellied gracile opossum Cryptonanus ignitus |
1962[21] | Jujuy, Argentina | |
Giant vampire bat Desmodus draculae |
1675-1755[22] | Eastern South America | |
Falkland Islands wolf Dusicyon australis |
1876[23] | Falkland Islands | |
Dusicyon avus | 1454-1626[24] | Argentina and Uruguay | |
Candango mouse Juscelinomys candango |
1960[25] | Brasilia, Brazil | |
Chilihueque Lama cf. guanicoe |
17th century[26] | Mocha Island, Chile | |
Fuegian dog Lycalopex cf. culpaeus |
20th century[27] | Tierra del Fuego | |
Galápagos giant rat Megaoryzomys curioi |
1520-1950[28] | Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador | |
Caribbean monk seal Neomonachus tropicalis |
17th century[29] | Caribbean Sea, Bahamas, and Gulf of Mexico | |
Darwin's Galápagos mouse Nesoryzomys darwini |
1930[30] | Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador | |
Indefatigable Galápagos mouse Nesoryzomys indefessus |
1934[31] | Santa Cruz and Baltra, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador | |
Vespucci's giant rat Noronhomys vespuccii |
1503[32] | Fernando de Noronha Island, Brazil |
Common name scientific name |
Extinction date | Range |
---|---|---|
Zuniga's dark rice rat Melanomys zunigae |
1949[33] | Lomas de Atocongo, near Lima, Peru |
One-striped opossum Monodelphis unistriata |
1899[34] | Southeastern Brazil and northeastern Argentina |
Pacific degu Octodon pacificus |
1994[35] | Mocha Island, Chile |
Common name scientific name |
Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Niceforo's pintail Anas georgica niceforoi |
1952[36] | Central Colombia | |
Magdalena tinamou Crypturellus erythropus saltuarius |
1990s[36] | Magdalena River Valley, Colombia | |
Darwin's ground finch Geospiza magnirostris magnirostris |
1835[36] | Floreana and San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador | |
Antioquia brown-banded antpitta Grallaria milleri gilesi |
1878[36] | Santa Helena, Antioquia Department, Colombia | |
Bogotá sunangel Heliantelus zusii |
1909[36] | Northern Andes? | |
Alagoas foliage-gleaner Philydor novaesi |
2011[36] | Alagoas and Pernambuco, Brazil | |
Colombian grebe Podiceps andinus |
1977[37] | Bogotá wetlands, Colombia | |
San Cristóbal flycatcher Pyrocephalus dubius |
1987[38] | San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador | |
Peruvian rail Rallus semiplumbeus peruvianus |
1886[36] | Peruvian highlands and possibly Ecuador | |
Alejandro Selkirk Island firecrown Sephanoides fernandensis leyboldi |
1908[36] | Alejandro Selkirk Island?, Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile |
Common name scientific name |
Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Glaucous macaw Anodorhynchus glaucus |
2001[39] | Border area of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay | |
Letitia's thorntail Discosura letitiae |
1852[36] | Bolivia | |
Turquoise-throated puffleg Eriocnemis godini |
1850[40] | Northern Ecuador | |
Eskimo curlew Numenius borealis |
1939[41] | Northwestern Canada and Alaska, and Southern Cone | |
Sinú parakeet Pyrrhura subandina |
1949[42] | Sinú Valley, Córdoba Department, Colombia |
Common name scientific name |
Extinction date | Range | Reintroduction | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|
Spix's macaw Cyanopsitta spixii |
2000[43] | Sao Francisco River, Bahia, Brazil | ||
Alagoas curassow Mitu mitu |
1988[44] | Alagoas and Pernambuco, Brazil | 2019[45] |
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.[46] |
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.[47] | |
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.[48] | |
Santa Fe Island tortoise | Chelonoidis niger 'Santa Fe Island' | Santa Fe, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador | Undescribed lineage, known from subfossil bones.[49] |
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.[50] |
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.[51] |
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[52] |
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.[53] |
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.[54] |
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.[55] |
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|---|---|---|---|
Titicaca orestias | Orestias cuvieri | Lake Titicaca | The causes of decline are unknown.[56] |
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.[57] |
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
24-rayed sunstar | Heliaster solaris | Galápagos Islands, Ecuador | Last recorded during the 1982-83 El Niño event.[58] |
Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|---|---|---|
Megadytes ducalis | Condeúba, Bahia, Brazil | Only known from individuals collected in the 19th century.[59] | |
Meridiorhantus orbignyi | Argentina and Brazil[60] |
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|---|---|---|---|
Caribbean monk seal nasal mite | Halarachne americana | Caribbean Sea | Extinct with its host.[61] |
Common name scientific name |
Extinction date | Range |
---|---|---|
Rhinodrilus fafner | 1912[62] | Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
Common name scientific name |
Range | Image |
---|---|---|
Littoridina gaudichaudii | Ecuador[63] | |
Megalobulimus cardosoi | Brazil[64] | |
Tomigerus gibberulus | Brazil[65] | |
Tomigerus turbinatus | Brazil[66] |
Common name scientific name |
Range |
---|---|
Aylacostoma chloroticum | Paraná River[67] |