List of British Isles species extinct in the Holocene

thumb|right|Map of the [[British Isles]]

This is a list of British Isles 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 British Isles includes the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.

During much of the Neogene and Pleistocene, the British Isles were connected to mainland Europe by a land bridge called Doggerland. Changing glacial and interglacial climates repeatedly altered which species could survive there. The climate began to warm again around 9700 BCE, entering the present climatic period known as the Holocene. Animals repopulated Britain and Ireland. Rising sea levels after the end of the Last Glacial Period helped isolate Britain from mainland Europe, and Great Britain was finally cut off from the continent around 6225–6170 BCE, when the Storegga Slide tsunami flooded Doggerland.

In the early Holocene, warming temperatures and rising sea levels reduced or eliminated habitats used by some cold-adapted species. Later losses were attributed to humans, including hunting, habitat destruction, and the introduction of non-native species. Because Britain and Ireland are islands, depleted populations were less able to recolonize once they disappeared.

This list includes both globally extinct species (noted with †) and locally extinct (extirpated) species. Some species have gone extinct several times and then recolonized. The date given is of the most recent extinction. Species that have been reintroduced by humans are noted.

Mammals

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! data-sort-type="text"|Common name

! data-sort-type="text"|Species

! data-sort-type="text"|Order

! data-sort-type="number"|Extinction/extirpation date

! class="unsortable"|Notes

|Reindeer

|Rangifer tarandus

|Artiodactyla

|c. 9,000 BCE

|Extirpated in Ireland c. 7500 BCE.

Reindeer were re-established in 1952; approximately 150–170 reindeer live around the Cairngorms region in Scotland.

|Wolverine

|Gulo gulo

|Carnivora

|c. 9,000 BCE

|Arctic lemming || Dicrostonyx torquatus || Rodentia ||data-sort-value="-8000"|c. 8,000 BCE ||

|Steppe lemming || Lagurus lagurus || Rodentia ||data-sort-value="-8000"|c. 8,000 BCE ||

|Narrow-headed vole

|Microtus gregalis

|Rodentia

|c. 8,000 BCE

|Steppe pika

|Ochotona pusilla

|Lagomorpha

|c. 8,000 BCE

|Arctic fox

|Vulpes lagopus

|Carnivora

|c. 8,000 BCE

|Re-established proxy in the form of free-roaming domestic horses

Set up by the Wildwood Trust, Konik horses have been established across many reserves as a proxy for the extinct tarpan.

|Eurasian elk

(moose)

|Alces alces

|Artiodactyla

|c. 3,600 BCE

|In 2008, Eurasian elk were released into a fenced reserve on the Alladale Estate in the Highlands of Scotland.

|Tundra vole

|Microtus oeconomus

|Rodentia

|c. 1,500 BCE

|†Aurochs

|Bos primigenius primigenius

|Artiodactyla

|c. 1,000 BCE

|Select breeds of free-roaming domestic cattle are used as an ecological proxy as part of some conservation grazing initiatives.

| data-sort-value="Walrus" |Walrus || Odobenus rosmarus || Carnivora || data-sort-value="-1000" |c. 1,000 BCE || Extirpated as a breeder; occasional vagrant

|data-sort-value="Eurasian brown bear"|Brown bear || Ursus arctos || Carnivora ||data-sort-value="500"|c. 500 CE || c. 1000 – 500 BCE in Ireland; see Bears in Ireland

There have been calls for the reintroduction of the Eurasian lynx, brown bear and grey wolf to the UK, because no large predators are living in viable populations in Great Britain. It is theorized that a large predators presence could create a trophic cascade, thus improving the ecosystem.

|data-sort-value="Eurasian lynx"|Eurasian lynx || Lynx lynx || Carnivora ||data-sort-value="400"|c. 700 CE or c. 1760||Subfossil evidence suggests an early medieval extinction, but a written record indicates persistence in Scotland into the late 18th century. extirpated from Ireland.

In 1998, MAFF, now known as DEFRA released a report concerning the presence of two populations of wild boar living freely in the UK. These boar are thought to have escaped from wildlife parks, zoos and from farms where they are farmed for their meat, and gone on to establish breeding populations.

|Eurasian beaver

|Castor fiber

|Rodentia: Castoridae

|1526

|Reintroduced to Britain; never known to have lived in Ireland

European beavers have been reintroduced to parts of Scotland, and there are plans to bring them back to other parts of Britain. A five-year trial reintroduction at Knapdale in Argyll started in 2009 and concluded in 2014. A few hundred beavers live wild in the Tay river basin, as a result of escapes from a wildlife park. A similar reintroduction trial is being undertaken on the river otter in Devon, England. Also, around the country, beavers have been introduced into fenced reserves for many reasons including flood prevention. In 2016, beavers were recognised as a British native species, and will be protected under law.

|Grey wolf

|Canis lupus

|Carnivora

|1786

|1166 in Wales, 1390 in England, 1680 in Scotland/Britain, 1786 in Ireland; see Wolves in Great Britain and Wolves in Ireland

|Greater mouse-eared bat

|Myotis myotis

|Chiroptera

|1990

|A solitary male was recorded at a single hibernation site in Sussex from 2002 to 2022. In 2023 two individuals were recorded in Sussex. Species is effectively extirpated, with no maternity sites found in the UK.

The European bison (Bison bonasus) is not conclusively recorded from the British Isles during the Holocene. Three female bison were introduced to the West Blean and Thornden Woods in Kent, England on 18 July 2022. A calf, also female, was unexpectedly born in September 2022 and in December 2022 a bull was introduced. These five bison are first "complete" wild herd in the UK in thousands of years. As of October 2024, the herd consists of three females, a bull and four calves.

Birds

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! data-sort-type="text" |Common name

! data-sort-type="text" |Species

! data-sort-type="text" |Order

! data-sort-type="number" |Extinction/extirpation date

! class="unsortable" |Notes

|Common crane

|Grus grus

|Gruiformes

|Late medieval period

|Re-established

|Corn crake

|Crex crex

|Gruiformes

|20th century

|Extirpated in most of England and Wales, clings on in the Scottish Highlands and western Ireland. Ongoing reintroduction projects into parts of England and Scotland.

|Dalmatian pelican

|Pelecanus crispus

|Pelecaniformes

|c. 3,000 BCE

|Gadfly petrel

|Pterodroma sp.

|Procellariiformes

|Unknown Pterodroma species, presumed Fea's petrel) – Iron Age

|Eurasian spoonbill

|Platalea leucorodia

|Pelecaniformes

|17th century (as a breeding bird)

|Re-established

|†Great auk

|Pinguinus impennis

|Charadriiformes

|1844

|Great bustard

|Otis tarda

|Otidiformes

|19th century

|Reintroduced. Ongoing projects on Salisbury Plain.

|Kentish plover

|Anarhynchus alexandrinus

|Charadriiformes

|20th century (last breeding record 1979)

|Little egret

|Egretta garzetta

|Pelecaniformes

|Late medieval period

|Re-established

|Pied avocet

|Recurvirostra avosetta

|Charadriiformes

|19th century

|Re-established

|Red-backed shrike

|Lanius collurio

|Passeriformes

|1989 (as a regular breeding bird)

|Western capercaillie

|Tetrao urogallus

|Galliformes

|1780s

|Reintroduced

|White stork

|Ciconia ciconia

|Ciconiiformes

|1416

|Reintroduced. Around 20 white storks pass through the UK each year. A colony at the Knepp Wildland in West Sussex, aided by zoologist Roisin Campbell-Palmer, hopes to reinforce these off-path migrants by introducing adults into a fenced reserve, where the juveniles born will be able to establish other colonies further afield.

|Eurasian wryneck

|Jynx torquilla

|Piciformes

|As a regular breeding bird

|White-tailed eagle

|Haliaeetus albicilla

|Accipitriformes

|1916

|Reintroduction projects underway. Successfully re-established on the western coast of Scotland.

|Lanner falcon

|Falco biarmicus

|Falconiformes

|1236–1300 (change of climate)

|Western marsh harrier

|Circus aeruginosus

|Accipitriformes

|Late 19th century

|Re-established

|Eurasian goshawk

|Astur gentilis

|Accipitriformes

|Late 19th century

|Re-established

|Red kite

|Milvus milvus

|Accipitriformes

|1870s (England), 1886 (Scotland)

|Reintroduced. Having clung on in parts of Wales, red kites have been successfully re-established in parts of England and Scotland.

|Osprey

|Pandion haliaetus

|Accipitriformes

|1916

|Re-established

|Eurasian eagle-owl

|Bubo bubo

|Strigiformes

|c. 8,000 BCE

|Re-established

Reptiles

Established in 2020, Celtic Rewilding, aims to reintroduce the lost species of reptile and amphibian that once inhabited Britain, back to rewilding projects. These include the moor frog, European tree frog, agile frog and European pond turtle. They have already had significant success breeding the moor frog in captivity. The organisation also wants to see European pond turtles re-established within wetland restoration projects. Some reptiles, such as the green lizard and Aesculapian snake, have formed colonies probably due to a result of release from captivity.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! data-sort-type="text" |Common name

! data-sort-type="text" |Species

! data-sort-type="text" |Order

! data-sort-type="number" |Extinction/extirpation date

! class="unsortable" |Notes

|Aesculapian snake

|Zamenis longissimus

|Squamata

|c. Atlantic period >3000 BCE

|Escaped populations in London and North Wales

|European pond turtle

|Emys orbicularis

|Testudines

|≤ 3000 BCE

|Currently being reintroduced by Celtic Rewilding

|Western green lizard

|Lacerta bilineata

|Squamata

|Unknown

|Escaped populations in Bournemouth;

|Present on Jersey

|Moor frog

|Rana arvalis

|Anura

|c. 1000, possibly 1500

|Reintroduced

The northern clade of the pool frog was reintroduced from Swedish stock in 2005, to a single site in Norfolk, England, following detailed research to prove that it had been native before its extinction around 1993.

|European tree frog

|Hyla arborea

|Anura

|There have been calls for the return of the European tree frog to the wild.

Fish

Burbot – A fisherman caught the last recorded burbot in September 1969 from the Old West River (Great Ouse), near Aldreth, Cambridgeshire.
†Orkney charr – last reported in 1908 and declared extinct in the IUCN Red List in 2024

Insects

Beetles

Agonum sahlbergi (ground beetle) – 1914
Platycerus caraboides (blue stag beetle) – 19th century
Graphoderus bilineatus (water beetle) – 1906
Harpalus honestus (ground beetle) – 1905
Copris lunaris (horned dung beetle) – 1974
Ochthebius aeneus (water beetle) – 1913
Platydema violaceum (tenebrionid) – 1957
Rhantus aberratus (water beetle) – 1904
Scybalicus oblongiusculus (ground beetle) – 1926
Teretrius fabricii (histerid) – 1907

Bees, wasps and ants

Andrena polita (mining bee) – 1934
Bombus pomorum (apple bumblebee) – 1864
Bombus cullumanus (Cullum's bumblebee) – 1941

Butterflies and moths

General reference: Waring et al., 2009.

Aporia crataegi, black-veined white – 1925
Borkhausenia minutella – 1950
Lithophane furcifera, conformist (moth)
Euclemensia woodiella (moth) – 1829
Flame brocade (moth) – 1919
Frosted yellow (moth) – 1914
Gypsy moth – 1907; reappeared 1995
Isle of Wight wave (moth) – 1931
Large copper – 1865
Large tortoiseshell – 1960s (recolonising from 2019)
Many-lined (moth) – 1875
Mazarine blue – 1906
Orache moth – 1915
Reed tussock (moth) – 1875
Scarce black arches (moth) – 1898 (transitory resident)
Speckled beauty (moth) – 1898
Union rustic (moth) – 1919
Viper's bugloss (moth) – 1969
The large blue butterfly has been successfully re-established from Swedish stock at several sites, but very few of these are open-access.

Dragonflies and damselflies

Norfolk damselfly – 1957
Orange-spotted emerald (dragonfly) – 1957

Caddisflies

Hydropsyche bulgaromanorum (caddis fly) – 1926
Hydropsyche exocellata (caddis fly) – 1901

Cicada

Cicadetta montana (New Forest cicada) – not seen in Britain since 2000.

Arachnids

Gibbaranea bituberculata — 1954
Hypsosinga heri — 1912
Mastigusa arietina — 1926

Crustaceans

Artemia salina (brine shrimp) – after 1758

Molluscs

Land snails

Fruticicola fruticum
Cernuella neglecta

Plants

The following are plant species which are or have been held to be at least nationally extinct in Britain and Ireland, since Britain was cut off from the European continent, including any which have been reintroduced or reestablished, not including regional extirpations. Many of these species persist in other countries.

right|thumb|[[Ajuga genevensis in Germany in 2007. This species is extinct across the whole of the British Isles.]]

Adonis annua, pheasant's eye (extinct in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, survives in England)
Agrostemma githago, corncockle (died out in Ireland, reintroduced) persists in all countries of the United Kingdom
Anthemis arvensis, corn chamomile (died out in Ireland, reintroduced) persists in all countries of the United Kingdom
Aulacomnium turgidum, swollen thread moss (extinct in England since 1878) persists in Scotland but this reintroduction subsequently failed. It was reintroduced again in the 2010s.
Bryum calophyllum, matted bryum (extinct in England since 1983) may persist in Scotland

thumb|[[Matthiola sinuata is extinct in Scotland and possibly Ireland and rare or absent in the rest of the British Isles]]

Cynodontium polycarpon, many-fruited dogtooth (extinct across the British Isles since the 1960s)
Cystopteris alpina, alpine bladder-fern (extinct across the British Isles since 1911)
Euphorbia peplis, purple spurge (extinct in England since 1951) persists in Northern Ireland
Kiaeria falcata, sickle-leaved fork-moss (died out in England in the 1950s) persists in Scotland and Wales
Najas flexilis, slender naiad (died out in England in 1982) persists in Scotland and Ireland

Mosses feature frequently in the list. The flowering plant families appearing most frequently in the list are the Asteraceae and the Orchidaceae. Commonly cited reasons for plant extinctions in the UK include habitat loss, drainage, changes to farming systems and overgrazing. The most threatened habitats in the UK include meadows, peat bogs and marshes. The United Kingdom and Ireland both have a relatively small proportion of forest cover compared to other countries. In 2017 the UK was 13% forested In 2019 Ireland was just 11% forested. Charities involved in plant conservation in the UK include The Wildlife Trusts, Plantlife, The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, Back From The Brink and Chester Zoo. Sightings of any of these species should be reported to the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, or the British Bryological Society in the case of mosses.

List of British Isles species extinct in the Holocene

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles

Fish

Insects

Beetles

Bees, wasps and ants

Butterflies and moths

Dragonflies and damselflies

Caddisflies

Cicada

Arachnids

Crustaceans

Molluscs

Land snails

Plants

See also

Notes

References

Further reading