List of Australia-New Guinea species extinct in the Holocene

6,209 words updated Jun 18, 2026, 7:07 AM

thumb|right|The [[Australia (continent)|Australian continent, also called Australia-New Guinea or Sahul]]

thumb|The [[thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is a large, carnivorous marsupial last seen in 1936.]]

This is a list of Australia-New Guinea species 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) and continues to the present day.

The Australian continent is also called Australia-New Guinea or Sahul to avoid confusion with the country of Australia. The continent includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, the island of New Guinea, the Aru Islands, and other nearby islands. Australia-New Guinea is divided between three countries: Australia (mainland Australia and Tasmania), Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea), and Indonesia (Western New Guinea and the Aru Islands). Extinct species from the rest of Indonesia are covered in List of Asian animals extinct in the Holocene. Species from the outlying islands of the country of Australia and the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea are included below. The Solomon Islands archipelago, split between Papua New Guinea (Autonomous Region of Bougainville) and the country of Solomon Islands, is covered in List of Oceanian species extinct in the Holocene.

The fauna of Australia-New Guinea is unique. Marsupials and monotremes also existed on other continents, but only in Australia-New Guinea did they come to dominate. Aside from marine mammals, only two orders of placental mammals are native to Australia-New Guinea: rodents and bats. Dingoes and New Guinea singing dogs are considered feral dogs (Canis familiaris) introduced by humans. The Christmas Island shrew is related to Asian shrews; no members of the order Eulipotyphla are native to Australia-New Guinea proper.

New Zealand species extinct in the Holocene are listed separately. The fauna of New Zealand is distinct from Australia-New Guinea. Birds, including numerous flightless birds, are the most important part of New Zealand's vertebrate fauna. Bats are New Zealand's only native land mammals.

Numerous species have disappeared from Australia-New Guinea as part of the ongoing Holocene extinction, driven by human activity. Most Australian megafauna disappeared in the Late Pleistocene, considerably earlier than in other continental landmasses. As a result, Australian Holocene extinctions generally are of modest size. Most Holocene extinctions occurred after the European settlement of Australia, which began with the First Fleet in 1788 CE. However, the thylacine, Tasmanian devil, and Tasmanian nativehen were extirpated from mainland Australia thousands of years before European settlement, although they survived in Tasmania.

Mammals (class Mammalia)

Platypus and echidnas (order Monotremata)

Echidnas (family Tachyglossidae)

Locally extinct (disputed)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

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|Western long-beaked echidna

|Zaglossus bruijnii

|Western New Guinea, Indonesia and possibly Kimberley, Western Australia

|This critically endangered species occurs in Western New Guinea, Indonesia. The existence of Zaglossus in mainland Australia during the Late Pleistocene is proven by fossils and cave paintings. A more recent presence in mainland Australia is disputed.

A 2012 study reported the existence of a previously overlooked specimen in the Natural History Museum, London. The label notes it was collected by John T. Tunney from Mount Anderson in Kimberley, Western Australia in 1901. The study argues that the western long-beaked echidna survived as a rare species in Kimberley into the 20th century based on the circumstantial improbability of a collection label misassignment, the uniqueness of ectoparasites found on the specimen, the similarity of some Kimberley forests to known habitat in New Guinea, and the testimony of an Aboriginal elder. Additional research such as ancient DNA, stable isotopes, and trace elements may shed more light on this specimen, and targeted studies of relevant Kimberley Pleistocene and Holocene subfossil assemblages would be worthwhile. and the last in captivity died at Hobart Zoo in 1936. Contrary to the consensus, a 2023 statistical analysis of alleged sightings suggested that thylacines survived in remote Tasmanian wilderness for decades past the 1930s. The peak likelihood for thylacine extinction was from the late 1980s through the early 2000s.

There is extensive evidence for thylacines in mainland Australia from paleontology and rock art. The scientific consensus is that thylacines were extirpated from mainland Australia around 1277-1229 BCE, Thylacines were also present in New Guinea until 3050 BCE.

The extinction of the thylacine in mainland Australia was likely caused by competition with human hunters and dingos, while in Tasmania it was deliberately exterminated by sheep farmers.

|Dasycercus cristicauda

|Southern Australia?

|Formerly considered a subspecies of the crest-tailed mulgara (D. hillieri).

|rowspan="2"|Only known from subfossil remains.

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Bandicoots and bilbies (order Peramelemorphia)

Bandicoots (family Peramelidae)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

!class="unsortable"|Pictures

|Desert bandicoot

|Perameles eremiana

|Central Australia

|Last known individual was collected in 1943, with unconfirmed sightings continuing until the 1960s. The extinction was caused by predation by introduced feral cats, red foxes, competition with European rabbits, and changes to the fire regime after the British colonization of Australia.

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|New South Wales barred bandicoot

|Perameles fasciata

|New South Wales The last individual was collected in 1846.

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|Southwestern barred bandicoot

|Perameles myosuros

|Western Australia

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|Southern barred bandicoot

|Perameles notina

|South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales

|Nullarbor barred bandicoot

|Perameles papillon

|Nullarbor Plain, southern Australia

|Described in a 2018 study.

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|Peroryctes aruensis

|Pulau Kobroor, Aru Islands

|Most recent remains dated to 9105-8482 BCE.

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Pig-footed bandicoots (family Chaeropodidae)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

!class="unsortable"|Pictures

|Southern pig-footed bandicoot

|Chaeropus ecaudatus

|Southern and western Australia

|rowspan="2"|The last reliably dated individual was collected in 1901, though Pintupi people recalled it surviving in the Gibson desert until the 1950s. The cause of extinction was predation by feral cats and foxes. The two species were considered one until 2019.

|Western Australia

|Not considered to be a valid subspecies by some sources.

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|Lake Mackay hare-wallaby

|Lagorchestes asomatus

|Between Mount Farewell and Lake Mackay, Northern Territory; possibly Great Sandy, Gibson, and Tanami Deserts

|Also known as kuluwarri. The only known specimen was collected in 1932. Western Aboriginal Australians stated that it disappeared between 1940 and 1960. It was possibly driven to extinction by predation by feral cats and foxes, and changes to the fire regime.

|South-western rufous hare-wallaby

|Lagorchestes hirsutus hirsutus

|South-west of Western Australia

|The south-western subspecies (L. h. hirsutus) is extinct. Two other subspecies survive: L. h. bernieri and L. h. 'central Australian subspecies'. The species was possibly driven to extinction by habitat loss caused by livestock grazing and increased summer wildfires after the end of native controlled fires in the winter.

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|Toolache wallaby

|Notamacropus greyi

|Southeastern Australia

|The last confirmed records in the wild happened in 1924. Unconfirmed sightings happened in 1943 and 1950s-1970s, but extensive searching in the 1970s failed to locate any. The last captive animal died in 1939.

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|Crescent nailtail wallaby

|Onychogalea lunata

|Western and central Australia

|Last recorded individual was killed in 1956. Extinction caused by predation by feral cats and foxes, and human-induced habitat degradation.

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|Christensen's pademelon

|Thylogale christenseni

|rowspan="2"|New Guinea

|rowspan="2"|Most recent remains dated to 1738-1385 BCE.

|Thylogale sp.

Bettongs, potoroos, and rat-kangaroos (family Potoroidae)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

!class="unsortable"|Pictures

|Desert bettong

|Bettongia anhydra

|Tanami Desert and Nullarbor Plain

|Only known from one specimen collected in the Tanami in 1933 and subfossil material from the Nullarbor. The causes of extinction are presumed to be predation by feral cats and foxes, and changes to the fire regime.

|Bettongia haoucharae

|Nullarbor Plain

|rowspan="3"|Only known from subfossil remains.

|South-eastern Australia

|Declined due to extensive land clearing and the introduction of feral cats and red foxes.

|Desert rat-kangaroo

|Caloprymnus campestris

|Channel Country and possibly southeastern Queensland

|Last confirmed record in 1935 near Ooroowilanie, east of Lake Eyre, though several unconfirmed sightings were recorded in South Australia and Queensland between 1957 and 2011. It is considered to have become extinct due to predation by feral cats and foxes, though habitat degradation by herbivores could have contributed.

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|Broad-faced potoroo

|Potorous platyops

|From the Swan Coastal Plain to the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas, and Kangaroo Island

|Last recorded in 1875. Presumed to have become extinct due to predation by feral cats, exotic diseases, inappropriate fire regimes, habitat loss and degradation due to grazing livestock.

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Rodents (order Rodentia)

Old World rats and mice (family Muridae)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

!class="unsortable"|Pictures

|White-footed rabbit rat

|Conilurus albipes

|South-eastern South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and eastern Queensland

|Last recorded 1860-1862 in Victoria, where it was at one time common and even regarded as a pest, though a possible observational record was made near Deniliquin, New South Wales, in the early 1940s. It probably disappeared due to predation by cats, though human-induced habitat degradation could have contributed.

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|Capricorn rabbit rat

|Conilurus capricornensis

|Queensland

|Known only from subfossil remains but considered to have survived until European settlement. Since there has not been a targeted survey for the Capricorn rabbit rat, there is a thin hope of its survival, although this is unlikely.

|Lesser stick-nest rat

|Leporillus apicalis

|Arid and semiarid central Australia

|The last two specimens were collected south of the Musgrave Ranges in 1933, and the last unconfirmed sighting happened in 1970 in a cave along Canning Stock Route. Considered to have become extinct due to predation by feral cats, possibly helped by habitat degradation caused by introduced grazers.

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|Bramble Cay melomys

|Melomys rubicola

|Bramble Cay, Queensland

|Last recorded in 2009. Disappeared due to increasing storms that depleted the island of vegetation. Its extinction was described as the first extinction of a mammal species due to anthropogenic climate change.

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|Short-tailed hopping mouse

|Notomys amplus

|From north-eastern South Australia and south-eastern Northern Territory to North West Cape

|The only known specimens came from Charlotte Waters, Northern Territory in 1896. Subfossils indicate that it had a wide distribution in the central and western arid zone. Reasons for extinction are unknown, but could have been predation by feral cats and foxes.

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|Long-tailed hopping-mouse

|Notomys longicaudatus

|From north-western New South Wales to North West Cape

|Last collected in Barrow Creek, Northern Territory in 1901-1902. Extinction attributed to predation by feral cats.

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|Big-eared hopping-mouse

|Notomys macrotis

|Western central wheatbelt of Western Australia

|Last collected in 1843 near New Norcia. Considered to have been driven to extinction primarily by epizootic disease or predation by feral cats, with habitat degradation by sheep grazing as secondary factor.

|Darling Downs hopping mouse

|Notomys mordax

|Darling Downs, Queensland

|Known from a single skull purchased in 1846. Considered extinct because of predation by feral cats, with habitat destruction by agriculture and livestock farming as possible contributors.

|Great hopping mouse

|Notomys robustus

|Davenport and Flinders Ranges, South Australia

|Known only from skulls taken in old owl roosts.

|Blue-gray mouse

|Pseudomys glaucus

|South-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales

|Last collected with certainty before 1892. Extinction considered to have been due to habitat clearance, predation by feral cats and possibly red foxes.

|Maclear's rat

|Rattus macleari

|Christmas Island

|Last collected in 1901-1902. Became extinct after being infected by trypanosome carried by fleas hosted by black rats, which were accidentally introduced by the SS Hindustan in 1900.

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|Bulldog rat

|Rattus nativitatis

|Christmas Island

|Last recorded in 1897-1898. Became extinct after being infected by trypanosome carried by fleas hosted by black rats introduced in 1900. It was rarer than R. macleari and disappeared first.

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

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|Gould's mouse

|Pseudomys gouldii

|Arid zones of central, southern, and western Australia

|Last collected on the mainland in Alice Springs, in 1895. Survived on Bernier Island, from where it was reintroduced to Faure Island, the Montebello Islands, and Lorna Glen in the Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara National Park of Western Australia.

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True insectivores (order Eulipotyphla)

True shrews (family Soricidae)

Possibly extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

|Christmas Island shrew

|Crocidura trichura

|Christmas Island

|Last seen in 1985. The reasons for its decline are unknown.

Bats (order Chiroptera)

Megabats (family Pteropodidae)

{| class="wikitable"

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|Percy Island flying fox

|Pteropus brunneus

|Percy Islands, Queensland

|Known from a single specimen collected in 1874, though bats were reported as plentiful in the islands at the end of the 19th century. Possibly disappeared because of habitat loss.

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Possibly extinct, megabats (family Pteropodidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

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|Aru flying fox

|Pteropus aruensis

|Aru Islands, Indonesia

|Described in the mid-19th century. No sightings were made in the 20th century, but a jawbone found in a kitchen midden in 1992 probably belongs to this species.

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Vesper bats (family Vespertilionidae)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Christmas Island pipistrelle

|Pipistrellus murrayi

|Christmas Island

|Last recorded in 2009 following a 90% decline in three generations (10–15 years). The reasons are unclear, though predation and competition by introduced species, and exotic diseases have been suggested.

|Lord Howe long-eared bat

|Nyctophilus howensis

|Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

|Known from a single skull found in 1972 and believed to be between 50 and 100 years old. The reasons of extinction are unclear but could have been predated on by introduced rats and owls.

Carnivorans (order Carnivora)

Earless seals (family Phocidae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

!class="unsortable"|Pictures

|Southern elephant seal

|Mirounga leonina

|Antarctic

|Most recent remains in mainland Tasmania dated to c. 950 AD; it was hunted by Aboriginal Tasmanians. Survived in King Island until the 19th century, when it was extirpated by Europeans. Survives in Macquarie Island.

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Birds (class Aves)

Cassowaries and emus (order Casuariiformes)

Cassowaries and emus (family Casuariidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

!class="unsortable"|Pictures

|Kangaroo Island emu

|Dromaius novaehollandiae baudinianus

|Kangaroo Island

|Last recorded in 1819. One egg found in 1830 could have been laid by an Australian emu introduced in 1826, or a hybrid. It was hunted to extinction. It lived in Tikopia, Solomon Islands until the Lapita period, and survives in the Indonesian Raja Ampat Islands, northwest of New Guinea, but connected to Sahul during the Last Glacial Period.

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Waterfowl (order Anseriformes)

Ducks, geese, and swans (family Anatidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Macquarie Islands teal

|Anas cf. chlorotis

|Macquarie Island, Tasmania

|Prehistoric

Pigeons and doves (order Columbiformes)

Pigeons and doves (family Columbidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

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|Lord Howe pigeon

|Columba vitiensis godmanae

|Lord Howe Island

|Hunted to extinction in 1853.

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|Norfolk ground dove

|Pampusana norfolkensis

|Norfolk and possibly Nepean Island

|Known from a 1788-1790 painting and descriptions. No remains survive, though bones found in the islands may belong to this species.

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Rails and cranes (order Gruiformes)

Rails (family Rallidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

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!class="unsortable"|Comments

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|New Ireland rail

|Hypotaenidia ernstmayri

|New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago

|Known from fragmentary subfossil remains.

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|Giant swamphen

|Porphyrio sp.

|New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago

|Prehistoric

|New Ireland swamphen

|Porphyrio sp.

|New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago

|Prehistoric

|Norfolk swamphen

|Porphyrio sp.

|Norfolk Island

|Known from remains in Polynesian middens. It was extinct by the time of European colonisation in 1788.

Possibly extinct, rails (family Rallidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

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!class="unsortable"|Comments

|Bismarck red-necked crake

|Rallina tricolor convicta

|New Ireland and New Hannover islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea

|Last collected in 1944. Fossil records indicate that it was found on the Australian mainland until around 4700 years ago. Suggested reasons for its extirpation have included human overhunting, the introduction of the dingo, or an extremely dry period.

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Shorebirds (order Charadriiformes)

Sandpipers (family Scolopacidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Norfolk snipe

|Coenocorypha sp.

|Norfolk Island

|Prehistoric

Albatrosses and petrels (order Procellariiformes)

Petrels and shearwaters (family Procellariidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Mount Pitt petrel

|Pterodroma sp.

|Norfolk Island

|Believed to be a third nesting population of the Providence petrel (P. solandri), which only nests in Lord Howe and Philip Island, a subspecies, or a related species. It was discovered in 1777 and wiped out by hunting between 1788 and 1790.

Hawks and relatives (order Accipitriformes)

Hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures (family Accipitridae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Accipiter sp. 1

|New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago

|Prehistoric. One of the two New Ireland species may be the extant Meyer's goshawk.

|Accipiter sp. 2

|New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago

|Prehistoric. One of the two New Ireland species may be the extant Meyer's goshawk.

Owls (order Strigiformes)

True owls (family Strigidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Images

|Lord Howe boobook

|Ninox novaeseelandiae albaria

|Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

|Probably disappeared in the 1940s or 1950s due to deforestation, predation by introduced black rats, and predation or competition with southern boobooks, barn owls, and masked owls (all introduced in unsuccessful attempts to control the invasive rat population). The last in captivity died in London in 1851. Disappeared because of hunting and habitat destruction by introduced rabbits, pigs, and goats.

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|Moseley's parrot

|Psittrichas sp.

|Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea

|Only known from Henry Nottidge Moseley's 1879 description, who compared it to Pesquet's parrot from inland New Guinea.

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Cuckooshrikes and allies (family Campephagidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

! class="unsortable" |Pictures

|Norfolk triller

|Lalage leucopyga leucopyga

|Norfolk Island

|Last recorded in 1942. Probably driven to extinction by invasive black rats and deforestation.

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Fantails and silktails (family Rhipiduridae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

! class="unsortable" |Pictures

|Lord Howe fantail

|Rhipidura fuliginosa cervina

|Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

|Last recorded in 1924. Probably disappeared due to predation by introduced black rats.

Possibly extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Tiwi Islands hooded robin

|Melanodryas cucullata melvillensis

|Melville and Bathurst Islands, Northern Territory

|Last recorded in 1992. Could have disappeared due to changes in the fire regime.

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|Lord Howe starling

|Aplonis fusca hulliana

|Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

|Last seen in 1918. Probably disappeared due to predation by black rats, which were introduced to the island in that year.

Skinks (family Scincidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

|Christmas Island forest skink

|Emoia nativitatis

|Christmas Island

|Last seen in the wild in 2010. An attempted captivity breeding program in 2009 failed because only females could be captured, and the last captive animal died in 2014. Became extinct due to predation by introduced Indian wolf snakes, possibly hastened by deforestation.

Extinct in the wild, skinks (family Scincidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

|Christmas Island blue-tailed skink

|Cryptoblepharus egeriae

|Christmas Island

|Last seen in the wild in 2010, likely as a result of predation by introduced Indian wolf snakes.

Amphibians (class Amphibia)

Toads and frogs (order Anura)

Australian ground frogs (family Myobatrachidae)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

!class="unsortable"|Pictures

|Southern gastric-brooding frog

|Rheobatrachus silus

|Conondale and Blackall Ranges, Queensland

|Last captured from the wild in 1981, the last captive specimen died in 1983. Reasons for extinction unknown, but chytridiomycosis is suspected.

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|Northern gastric-brooding frog

|Rheobatrachus vitellinus

|Eungella National Park, Queensland

|Last recorded in 1985. Reasons for extinction unknown, but chytridiomycosis is suspected.

|Sharp snouted day frog

|Taudactylus acutirostris

|Coastal north Queensland from Mount Graham to the Big Tableland

|Last seen in 1997, apparently exterminated by chytridiomycosis.

Australian treefrogs (family Pelodryadidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

|Mountain mist frog

|Mosleyia nyakalensis

|Wet Tropics of Queensland

|Last recorded in 1990, declared extinct in 2022. Rapidly declined, likely due to chytridiomycosis.

Ray-finned fish (class Actinopterygii)

Anglerfish (order Lophiiformes)

Handfish (family Brachionichthyidae)

Data deficient

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

|Smooth handfish

|Sympterichthys unipennis

|Southeastern Tasmania

|Last recorded in 1802. Possibly disappeared due to habitat destruction and accidental capture at scallop and oyster fisheries.

Galaxias (order Galaxiiformes)

Galaxias (family Galaxiidae)

Extinct in the wild

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!class="unsortable"|Pictures

|Pedder galaxias

|Galaxias pedderensis

|Lake Pedder, Tasmania

|Initially, the species expanded its range after the area was inundated for hydroelectric power generation in 1972. Introduced trout were a significant factor in the decline of this species. It was scarce by 1980, and the last wild specimen was captured in 1996. The species survives in two translocated populations outside its original range, one at Lake Oberon in the Western Arthurs mountain range and one at a modified water supply dam near Strathgordon.

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Insects (class Insecta)

Beetles (order Coleoptera)

Predaceous diving beetles (family Dytiscidae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

|Rhantus papuanus

|Papua New Guinea

Fleas (order Siphonaptera)

Family Pulicidae

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

!Comments

|Xenopsylla nesiotes

|Christmas Island

|Parasite of Maclear's rat.

Book lice, bark lice, and sucking lice (order Psocodea)

Chicken body lice (family Menoponidae)

Possibly extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Titanolichus seemani

|Southeastern Australia

|Known only from the holotype collected from a museum specimen of critically endangered orange-bellied parrot.

|Coloceras restinctus

Arachnids (class Arachnida)

Ticks (order Ixodida)

Hard ticks (family Ixodidae)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Ixodes nitens

|Christmas Island

|Parasite of Maclear's rat.

|Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

|A type of land snail.

Clitellates (class Clitellata)

Order Opisthopora

Family Megascolecidae

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!class="unsortable"|Comments

!class="unsortable"|Pictures

|Lake Pedder earthworm

|Hypolimnus pedderensis

|Lake Pedder, Tasmania

|Known only from one specimen collected in 1971. The area was inundated for hydroelectric power generation in 1972.

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Fungi (kingdom Fungi)

Lichenized fungi (order Lecanorales)

Main lichenized fungi (family Parmeliaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Punctelia subflava

|Central and southern Australia

|Extirpated from Tasmania.

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Red algae (division Rhodophyta)

Order Ceramiales

Family Delesseriaceae

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

!Comments

!Pictures

|Bennett's seaweed

|Vanvoorstia bennettiana

|Sydney Harbour, New South Wales

|Last collected in 1886.

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Plants (kingdom Plantae)

Lycopods (class Lycopodiopsida)

Clubmosses (family Lycopodiaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Toothed clubmoss

|Huperzia serrata

|South and east Asia

|Listed as extinct in Australia in 2000.

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|Pseudodiphasium volubile

|Southeast Asia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, northeastern Queensland, and New Zealand

|Collected at Mount Bellenden Ker and an unknown locality in Queensland. Listed as extinct in Australia in 2000.

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Ferns (class Polypodiophyta)

Bristle ferns (family Hymenophyllaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Filmy fern

|Hymenophyllum whitei

|Thornton Peak, northeastern Queensland

|Listed as extinct in 2000.

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Didymoglossum exiguum

|Southern India and Sri Lanka to the Malay Peninsula and northeastern Queensland

|Only recorded once in the Bellenden Ker Range.

|Hymenophyllum lobbii

|Northeast Borneo and northeastern Queensland

|Only recorded once in Mount Bellenden Ker, between 1909 and 1910.

Adder's-tongue ferns (family Ophioglossaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Austral moonwort

|Botrychium australe

|Central Papua New Guinea, eastern Australia, Lord Howe Island, New Zealand, and the Chatham Islands

|Extirpated from Tasmania.

Polypodies and hard ferns (family Polypodiaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Lemmaphyllum accedens

|Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Polynesia

|Recorded at Lake Eacham, Queensland in 1910. Survives in New Guinea.

Whisk ferns and hanging fork ferns (family Psilotaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Tmesipteris lanceolata

|Queensland

|Listed as extinct in 2000.

Maidenhair ferns and relatives (family Pteridaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Grass fern

|Monogramma dareicarpa

|Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, and northern Queensland

|Formerly recorded at Mount Bellenden Ker. Listed as extinct in Australia in 2000.

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Flowering plants (clade Angiospermae)

Amaranths (family Amaranthaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Glistening salt-bush

|Atriplex billardierei

|Coastal Victoria, Tasmania, New Zealand, and Chatham Islands

|Listed as extinct in Victoria in 2014.

|Papery goosefoot

|Chenopodium erosum

|Southeastern Australia and South Island of New Zealand

|Extirpated from Tasmania.

Fig-marigolds (family Aizoaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Trianthema cypseleoides

|Hawkesbury River, New South Wales

|Only known from the holotype collected in 1839.

Celeries, carrots and parsleys (family Apiaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Tiny flannel-flower

|Actinotus bellidioides

|Southern Australia and Tasmania

|Last recorded in Western Australia in 1891 and Victoria in 1944. Survives in Tasmania.

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Dogbanes (family Apocynaceae)

Possibly extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Leichhardtia araujacea

|Northern Queensland

|Last collected in 1893.

Sunflowers (family Asteraceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Myriocephalus nudus

|Western Australia

|Listed as extinct in 2019.

|Olearia oliganthema

|New South Wales

|Listed as extinct in 2000.

|Clubmoss everlasting

|Ozothamnus selaginoides

|Mount Wellington, Tasmania

|Last collected in 1849.

|Grey groundsel

|Senecio georgianus

|Western, eastern, and southern Australia, including Tasmania

|Last collected in Victoria in 1972. Despite its large range, it was never considered common.

Possibly extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Coast dandelion

|Taraxacum cygnorum

|Australia

|Last recorded after 1986.

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Sticky long-heads

|Podotheca angustifolia

|Western and southern Australia

|rowspan="2"|Extirpated in Tasmania.

|Large-fruit groundsel

|Senecio macrocarpus

|Southeastern Australia

Mustards (family Brassicaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Drummond's lepidium

|Lepidium drummondi

|Western Australia

|Listed as extinct in 2000.

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Southern shepherd's purse

|Ballantinia pumilio

|Central Victoria and Tasmania

|Currently found only in Mount Alexander, Victoria.

|100px

Guinea flowers (family Dilleniaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Hoary Guinea flower

|Hibbertia obtusifolia

|Eastern Australia

|Extirpated from Tasmania.

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Quandongs (family Elaeocarpaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Cronin's tetratheca

|Tetratheca fasciculata

|Wagin, Western Australia

|Last collected near Wagin Lake in 1895.

Heathers (family Ericaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Small-flowered leucopogon

|Leucopogon cryptanthus

|rowspan="2"|Western Australia

|rowspan="2"|Listed as extinct in 2000.

|Hidden coleanthera

|Styphelia lanata

Euphorbias (family Euphorbiaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Amperea xiphoclada var. pedicellata

|Double Bay, Sydney, New South Wales

|Only known from the type specimen collected in 1892.

Legumes (family Fabaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Acacia kingiana

|Wagin, Western Australia

|Only known from the type specimen collected in 1923.

|Maiden's bush-pea

|Pultenaea maidenii

|Victoria

|Listed as extinct in 2000.

|Phillip Island glory pea

|Streblorrhiza speciosa

|Phillip Island

|Considered extinct by the 1830s, likely due to grazing by introduced feral pigs, goats and rabbits.

|100px

Sea heaths (family Frankeniaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Decurrent-leaved frankenia

|Frankenia decurrens

|Western Australia

|Listed as extinct in 2015.

Fan-flowers (family Goodeniaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Coopernookia barbata

|Southwestern and southeastern Australia

|Extirpated from Tasmania.

Watermilfoils (family Haloragaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Myriophyllum glomeratum

|Victoria, southern New South Wales, and northern Tasmania

|Extirpated from Tasmania.

Mints (family Lamiaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Alpine mint-bush

|Prostanthera cuneata

|Southeastern Australia

|Extirpated from Tasmania.

Mallows (family Malvaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Mount Holland thomasia

|Thomasia gardneri

|near Mount Holland, Western Australia

|Only known from the holotype collected in 1929.

Banana trees (family Musaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Daintree's river banana

|Musa fitzalanii

|Daintree River, northeast Queensland

|Only known from the holotype collected in 1875.

Willowherbs (family Onagraceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Carpet willow-herb

|Epilobium willisii

|Tasmania and the Lankeys Plain on the Dargo High Plains of Victoria

|Extinct in Victoria, survives in Tasmania.

Orchids (family Orchidaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Acianthus ledwardii

|Burleigh Heads, Queensland

|Last collected in 1938.

|Short Spider-orchid

|Caladenia brachyscapa

|Warrnambool, Victoria and Clarke Island, Tasmania

|Last collected in Clarke Island in 1979.

|Magnificent spider-orchid

|Caladenia magnifica

|Central Victoria

|Last recorded in 1979.

|Caladenia thysanochila

|Mount Eliza, Victoria

|Only known from two individuals collected in 1988.

|Diuris bracteata

|near Gladesville, Sydney, New South Wales

|Only known from the type specimen collected before 1889. Claimed individuals collected after 1998 actually belong to Diuris platichila.

|Lilac leek-orchid

|Prasophyllum colemaniarum

|Bayswater, Victoria

|Only known from the type series collected in 1922.

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Common elbow orchid

|Arthrochilus huntianus

|Southeastern Australia

|Extirpated from Flinders Island.

|120px

|Thick-lipped spider-orchid

|Caladenia cardiochila

|Southeastern Australia

|Extirpated from Flinders Island, where it was recorded in 1947.

|120px

Broomrapes (family Orobanchaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Subshrub

|Euphrasia ruptura

|New South Wales

|Listed as extinct in 2025.

True grasses (family Poaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Amphibromus whitei

|near Roma, Queensland

|Listed as extinct in 2000.

|Deyeuxia lawrencei

|possibly near Launceston, Tasmania

|Only known from the holotype collected in 1831.

|Paspalum batianoffii

|Port Curtis, Queensland

|Listed as extinct since 2000.

Pondweeds (family Potamogetonaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Austral water-mat

|Althenia australis

|Western and southern Australia

|Extirpated from Tasmania.

Primroses (family Primulaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Embelia flueckigeri

|Russell River, Queensland

|Only known from the holotype collected in 1892.

Proteas (family Proteaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Persoonia laxa

|Beaches of Sydney, New South Wales

|Last collected in Newport in 1908. An intermediate individual collected in Dee Why in 1922 could be a hybrid of P. laxa and P. levis.

|Persoonia prostrata

|Queensland

|Listed as extinct in 2000.

|100px|center

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Coast banksia

|Banksia integrifolia integrifolia

|Eastern Australia from Bundaberg, Queensland to Geelong, Victoria

|Once also found on islands on the Bass Strait, where it is extinct now.

|100px

Coffee and relatives (family Rubiaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Esperance dog weed

|Opercularia acolytantha

|north of Esperance, Western Australia

|Only known from the holotype collected in 1901.

|Wendlandia psychotrioides

|Mount Bellenden Ker, Queensland

|Last recorded in 1887.

Mistletoes and sandalwoods (family Santalaceae)

Possibly extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Diels' currant bush

|Leptomeria dielsiana

|Scott River, Western Australia

|Last collected in 1957.

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Austral toadflax

|Thesium australe

|Southeastern Australia

|Extirpated from Tasmania.

Nightshades (family Solanaceae)

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

|Bridal flower

|Solanum bauerianum

|Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands

|Listed as extinct in 2018.

Triggerplants (family Stylidiaceae)

Locally extinct

{| class="wikitable"

!Common name

!Scientific name

!Range

! class="unsortable" |Comments

!Pictures

|Hairy stylewort

|Levenhookia dubia

|Western and southern Australia

|Extirpated from Tasmania.

|100px

Notes

References

Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. EPBC Act List of Threatened Fauna
World Conservation Union, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2006