This list of European animals extinct in the Holocene features animals known to have become extinct in the last 12,000 years on the European continent and its surrounding islands.
Dependent territories of European countries in other continents, like Greenland, are not included, as they should be found in their pertaining list. The Açores are included but not other Macaronesian islands, which are in the List of African animals extinct in the Holocene. Likewise, all large islands in the Mediterranean Sea are included except for Cyprus, which is in the List of Asian animals extinct in the Holocene.
Many extinction dates are unknown due to a lack of relevant information.
Common name/scientific name | Range |
---|---|
Ochotona transcaucasica | Caucasus[1] |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Corsican giant shrew Asoriculus corsicanus |
348 BCE - 283 CE[2] | Corsica, France | ![]() |
Sardinian giant shrew Asoriculus similis |
3050 BCE[3] | Sardinia, Italy | |
Steppe bison Bison priscus |
6300-5880 BCE[4] | Northern Eurasia and North America | ![]() |
Woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis |
7820-7300 BCE[4] | Northern Eurasia | ![]() |
European dhole Cuon alpinus europaeus |
7050-6550 BCE[5] | Central and southern Europe; Caucasus?[6] | ![]() |
Sardinian dhole Cynotherium sardous |
9500-9300 BCE[7] | Corsica and Sardinia | ![]() |
European wild ass Equus hemionus hydruntinus |
3200-2500 BCE[8] | Europe and southwest Asia | ![]() |
Majorcan giant dormouse Hypnomys morpheus |
4840-4690 BCE[9] | Gymnesian Islands, Spain | ![]() |
Woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius |
9290-8970 BCE[4] | Northern Eurasia and North America | ![]() |
Irish elk Megaloceros giganteus |
6085-5995 BCE[10] | Europe and southern Siberia | ![]() |
Balearic Islands cave goat Myotragus balearicus |
2830-2470 BCE[11] | Gymnesian Islands, Spain | |
Balearic giant shrew Nesiotites hidalgo |
3030-2690 BCE[9] | Gymnesian Islands, Spain | ![]() |
Tilos dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon tiliensis |
3040-1840 BCE[12] | Tilos, Greece | ![]() |
Sardinian giant deer Praemegaceros cazioti |
5550 BCE[13] | Corsica and Sardinia[14] | ![]() |
Sardinian pika Prolagus sardus |
348 BCE - 283 CE[2] | Corsica and Sardinia | ![]() |
Tyrrhenian field rat Rhagamys orthodon |
348 BCE - 283 CE[2] | Corsica and Sardinia | ![]() |
Tyrrhenian vole Tyrrhenicola henseli |
348 BCE - 283 CE[2] | Corsica and Sardinia |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Caucasian Moose Alces alces caucasicus |
c. 1900[15] | Northern Caucasus and Transcaucasian coast of the Black Sea | |
Caucasian wisent Bison bonasus caucasicus |
1927[16] | Caucasus Mountains | ![]() |
Eurasian aurochs Bos primigenius primigenius |
1627[17] | Mid-latitude Eurasia | ![]() |
Sicilian wolf Canis lupus cristaldii |
1970[18] | Sicily, Italy | ![]() |
Portuguese ibex Capra pyrenaica lusitanica |
c. 1890[19] | Portuguese-Galician border | ![]() |
Pyrenean ibex Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica |
2000[upper-alpha 1] |
Pyrenees and possibly Cantabrian Mountains[21] | ![]() |
Tarpan Equus ferus ferus |
1909[22] | Europe | ![]() |
St. Kilda house mouse Mus musculus muralis |
1930[23] | St Kilda, Scotland | ![]() |
Caspian tiger Panthera tigris virgata |
1922[24] | Caucasus, western and Central Asia |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Reintroduction | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lowland wisent Bison bonasus bonasus |
1919[25] | Central Europe to southern Siberia | 1946[26] | ![]() |
Turkmenian kulan Equus hemionus kulan |
18th-19th century[27] | Ukraine to Central Asia[28] | 1950[29] | ![]() |
Gray whale Eschrichtius robustus |
550[30] | North Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, and northern Pacific Ocean[31] | 2010[upper-alpha 2] | ![]() |
Barbary macaque Macaca sylvanus |
c. 70,000-60,000 BCE[34] | Central and Southern Europe, and northern Africa | 1704[35] | ![]() |
Narrow-headed vole Microtus gregalis |
Late Holocene[36][37] | Northern Eurasia | ![]() | |
Steppe pika Ochotona pusilla |
Late Holocene[36][37] | Western Europe to Kazakhstan | ![]() | |
Muskox Ovibos moschatus |
7050 BCE[38] | Northern Eurasia and North America | 1947[39][upper-alpha 3] | ![]() |
Lion Panthera leo |
4th century (Balkans)[40] 10th century (Caucasus)[41] |
Africa, the Middle East, northern India, and southeastern Europe | ![]() |
Common name/scientific name | Range |
---|---|
Graciosa rail Rallus carvaoensis |
Graciosa Island, Açores, Portugal[42] |
São Jorge rail Rallus minutus |
São Jorge Island, Açores, Portugal[42] |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range |
---|---|---|
Mediterranean brown fish owl Ketupa zeylonensis lamarmorae |
7433-7035 BCE[2] | Corsica, Sardinia, and Crete[43] |
São Miguel scops owl Otus frutuosoi |
49 BCE - 125 CE[44] | São Miguel Island, Açores, Portugal |
Greater Azores bullfinch Pyrrhula crassa |
1110-1048 BCE[45] | Graciosa Island, Açores, Portugal |
Ibiza rail Rallus eivissensis |
5295-4848 BCE[46] | Ibiza, Spain |
Pico rail Rallus montivagorum |
1400-1450[47] | Pico Island, Açores, Portugal |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Great auk Pinguinus impennis |
1844[48] | Northern Atlantic and western Mediterranean | ![]() |
Pied raven Corvus corax varius morpha leucophaeus |
1902[49] | Faroe Islands, Denmark | ![]() |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Slender-billed curlew Numenius tenuirostris |
2001[50] | Western Eurasia and North Africa | ![]() |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Reintroduction | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|
Marsh owl Asio capensis |
1998[51] | Africa and southwestern Iberian Peninsula | ![]() | |
Northern bald ibis Geronticus eremita |
16th century | Mediterranean region | 2004[52] | ![]() |
Common buttonquail Turnix sylvaticus |
1981[53] | Africa, southern Asia, southwestern Iberian Peninsula, and Sicily | ![]() |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Ratas Island lizard Podarcis lilfordi rodriquezi |
1935[54] | Ratas Island off Mahón, Spain | ![]() |
Santo Stefano lizard Podarcis sicula sanctistephani |
c. 1965[55] | Santo Stefano Island, Italy |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Skadar nase Chondrostoma scodrense |
1900s[56] | Lake Skadar | |
Coregonus bezola | 1960s[57] | Lac du Bourget, France | |
Coregonus fera | 1920[58] | Lake Geneva | ![]() |
Lake Constance whitefish Coregonus gutturosus |
early 1970s[59] | Lake Constance | ![]() |
Gravenche Coregonus hiemalis |
1950[60] | Lake Geneva | ![]() |
Houting Coregonus oxyrinchus |
1940[61] | Southern North Sea, Scheldt, Meuse, and Rhine basin up to Cologne, and southeastern England | ![]() |
Coregonus restrictus | 1890[62] | Lake Morat, Switzerland | |
Ukrainian migratory lamprey Eudontomyzon sp. nov. 'migratory' |
before 1900[63] | Dniestr, Dniepr, and Don River drainages | |
Techirghiol stickleback Gasterosteus crenobiontus |
1960s[64] | Lake Techirghiol, Romania | |
Danube delta gudgeon Romanogobio antipai |
1960s[65] | Lower Danube | ![]() |
Salvelinus neocomensis | 1904[66] | Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Beloribitsa Stenodus leucichthys |
1960s[67] | Caspian Sea, Volga, Ural, and Terek River drainages | ![]() |
Common name/scientific name | Range |
---|---|
Perrin's cave beetle Siettitia balsetensis |
France[68] |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range |
---|---|---|
Tobias' caddisfly Hydropsyche tobiasi |
1938[69] | Rhine and Main River, Germany |
British large copper Lycaena dispar dispar |
1864[70] | British Isles |
Moss-land silver-studded blue Plebejus argus masseyi |
1942[71] | Lancashire and Cumbria, United Kingdom |
Pseudoyersinia brevipennis | 1860[72] | Hyères, France |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range |
---|---|---|
Iberian lynx louse Felicola isidoroi |
1997[73] | Iberian Peninsula |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Ivell's sea anemone Edwardsia ivelli |
1983[74] | Widewater Lagoon, West Sussex, United Kingdom | ![]() |
Common name/scientific name | Range |
---|---|
Zonites siphnicus | Sifnos, Sikinos, and Folegandros, Greece[75] |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range |
---|---|---|
Zonites santoriniensis | c. 1600 BCE[76] | Santorini, Greece |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Graecoanatolica macedonica | 1988[77] | Doiran Lake, Greece-North Macedonia border | ![]() |
Ohridohauffenia drimica | before 1983[78] | Drin River, North Macedonia |
Common name/scientific name | Extinction date | Range |
---|---|---|
Belgrandia varica | 1910[79] | Var River delta, France |
Belgrandiella boetersi | unknown[80] | Tiefsteinschlucht, Austria |
Parmacella gervaisii | 1874[81] | La Crau, Provence, France |
Zonites embolium | 1985[82] | Zaforas, Greece |
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