List of Antillian and Bermudan animals extinct in the Holocene explained
This is a list of Antillian and Bermudan 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) and continues to the present day.[1] This list includes the Antilles archipelago and the Bermuda Islands, collectively known as the West Indies.
The indigenous fauna of the West Indies collapsed in the Late Quaternary, with the rate of extinction for terrestrial mammals approaching 79-84%, one of the highest in the world. However, and in stark contrast to the American continent, radiocarbon dating indicates that mammals survived the end of the Pleistocene with no apparent, or minimal losses despite localized sea level rise and climate change, though the same caused some bird extirpations and extinctions on the Bahamas.
The indigenous peoples of the Caribbean arrived in the middle Holocene and introduced guinea pigs, agoutis, and Native American dogs. While they accelerated the process, it was still not to the extent predicted by the "blitzkrieg" model of Pleistocene extinctions. For example, Caribbean sloths coexisted with humans for up to 400 years, even the largest species, which might indicate that they weren't commonly hunted. Some rodents, like the Puerto Rican hutia and Desmarest's hutia, and even flightless birds like the Antillean cave rail adapted well to human predation and were introduced to new islands by humans. European colonization, beginning with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, brought in Old World rats, mice, domestic animals, and large-scale deforestation that erradicated many of the native animals and those introduced by indigenous peoples alike. The most recent extinctions happened after the late 19th century, following the introduction of the small Indian mongoose for rat control.
Many extinction dates are unknown due to a lack of relevant information.
Mammals (class Mammalia)
Anteaters and sloths (order Pilosa)
Antillian sloths (family Megalocnidae)
Neotropical spiny rats (family Echimyidae)
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Oriente cave rat | Boromys offella | Cuba | Extinct after European contact. | |
Torre's cave rat | Boromys torrei | Possibly extinct after European contact. | |
| Brotomys contractus | Hispaniola | |
Hispaniolan edible rat | Brotomys voratus | Most recent remains dated to 1550-1670 CE. | |
| Capromys latus | Cuba | Extinct in the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. | |
| Capromys pilorides lewisi | Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, Cayman Islands | Most recently dated in Grand Cayman to 1439-1643 and in Cayman Brac to 1440-1624. A 1585 reference by Francis Drake to "coneys" and cat-sized "little beasts" on the islands could refer to this animal. | |
| Geocapromys caymanensis | Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands | Most recently dated at Cayman Brac to 666-857 CE.[6] | |
Cuban coney | Geocapromys columbianus | Cuba | Extinct after European contact. | |
Little Swan Island hutia | Geocapromys thoracatus | Little Swan Island, Honduras | Last recorded in the early 1950s. It disappeared due to predation by cats introduced around the same time, though a hurricane in 1955 may have speeded up the process.[7] | |
| Geocapromys pleistocenicus | Cuba | Extinct after European contact. | |
Antillean cave rat | Heteropsomys antillensis | Puerto Rico | Possibly extinct after European contact. | |
Insular cave rat | Heteropsomys insulans | Most recent remains dated to 772–870 CE. | |
Imposter hutia | Hexolobodon phenax | Hispaniola | Extinct after European contact. | |
| Hexolobodon sp. | Southern Hispaniola | Possibly extinct after European contact. | |
Montane hutia | Isolobodon montanus | Hispaniola | Extinct after European contact. | |
Puerto Rican hutia | Isolobodon portoricensis | Hispaniola and Gonâve | Remains most recently dated to 1270-1390 CE, but likely disappeared after European contact. It was domesticated to some extent by Native Americans and introduced to Puerto Rico, Mona Island, Vieques, and the Virgin Islands. Likely one of the animals mentioned by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés in 1535. | |
| Macrocapromys acevedo | Cuba | Most recent remains dated to around 450 BCE. |
| Mesocapromys barbouri | Extinct in the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. | |
| Mesocapromys beatrizae | |
| Mesocapromys gracilis | |
| Mesocapromys kraglievichi | Most recent remains dated after around 450 BCE. | |
| Mesocapromys minimus | Extinct in the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. | |
| Plagiodontia araeum | Hispaniola | Extinct in the Holocene. | |
Samana hutia | Plagiodontia ipnaeum | Extinct after European contact. | |
Lemke's hutia | Rhizoplagiodontia lemkei | Massif de la Hotte, Haiti | |
Possibly extinct
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Dwarf hutia | Mesocapromys nanus | Ciénaga de Zapata, Cuba | Last collected in 1951; a nest and pellets were found in 1978. The species is threatened by introduced predators (black rat, feral dog, feral cat, mongoose), fires (sometimes set for mosquito control), and deforestation for charcoal production.[8] | |
San Felipe hutia | Mesocapromys sanfelipensis | Key Juan García, Cuba | Last collected in 1978. It likely declined due to hunting after a military base was built on the island, fires set up by fishermen (both accidentally and for mosquito control), and predation by introduced black rats, cats, and dogs.[9] | | |
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments |
---|
Plate-toothed giant hutia | Elasmodontomys obliquus | Puerto Rico | Most recent remains dated to 511–407 BCE.[10] |
Twisted-toothed mouse | Quemisia gravis | Hispaniola | Extinct after European contact. Although not dated, remains were found along with introduced Rattus and there are probable references to it in early colonial literature. |
| Tainotherium valei | Puerto Rico | Known from an undated femur from either the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. Its morphology suggests arboreality, making unlikely that it became extinct when forests expanded in the Holocene. It might have become extinct due to human-induced habitat loss instead.[11] |
Diminute Jamaican hutia | Xaymaca fulvopulvis | Jamaica | Most recent remains dated to 9390–8220 BCE. | |
Hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice (family Cricetidae)
Primates (order Primates)
Titis, sakis, and uakaris (family Pitheciidae)
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments |
---|
Hispaniola monkey | Antillothrix bernensis | Hispaniola | Most recent remains dated to 2035–1735 BCE. Possible monkey depictions in petroglyphs, indigenous pottery and other artifacts of Cuba and Hispaniola may indicate later survival.[17] |
La Hotte monkey | Insulacebus toussaintiana | Massif de la Hotte, Haiti | Described from undated remains, but presumed to be late Holocene because of its state of conservation similar to the other species.[18] |
Jamaican monkey | Xenothrix mcgregori | Jamaica | Most recent remains dated to 439–473 CE.[19] | |
True insectivores (order Eulipotyphla)
West Indies shrews (family Nesophontidae)
-- sortable-->" | Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Puerto Rican nesophontes | Nesophontes edithae | Puerto Rico | Most recently dated to 1015–1147 CE but believed extinct after European contact. No nesophontes species was hunted as they were too small. | |
Cayman nesophontes | Nesophontes hemicingulus | Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands | Most recently dated at Cayman Brac to 666–857 CE but believed extinct after European contact. | |
Atalaye nesophontes | Nesophontes hypomicrus | Hispaniola | Most recently dated to 1175–1295 CE[20] but believed extinct after European contact. | |
Greater Cuban nesophontes | Nesophontes major | Cuba | Most recent remains dated to around 10 BCE at Cueva de los Nesofontes, but believed extinct after European contact. | |
Western Cuban nesophontes | Nesophontes micrus | Most recently dated to 1310–1410 CE but believed extinct after European contact. | |
St. Michel nesophontes | Nesophontes paramicrus | Hispaniola | Most recently dated to 1265–1400 CE but believed extinct after European contact. | |
Haitian nesophontes | Nesophontes zamicrus | Most recently dated to 1295–1430 CE but believed extinct after European contact. | | |
-- sortable-->" | Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments |
---|
Giant solenodon | Solenodon arredondoi | Cuba | Extinct in the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. |
Marcano's solenodon | Solenodon marcanoi | Hispaniola | Extinct after European contact. | |
Mustached, ghost-faced, and naked-backed bats (family Mormoopidae)
Locally extinct
Leaf-nosed bats (family Phyllostomidae)
Locally extinct
Carnivorans (order Carnivora)
Earless seals (family Phocidae)
Birds (class Aves)
Typical nightjars (family Caprimulgidae)
Possibly extinct
Swifts, treeswifts, and hummingbirds (order Apodiformes)
Hummingbirds (family Trochillidae)
-- sortable-->" | Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Brace's emerald | Riccordia bracei | New Providence, Bahamas | Only known from the holotype collected in 1877, though subfossil bones of hummingbirds found in the island probably belong to the same species. The causes of extinction are unknown but presumably human-induced.[27] | |
Gould's emerald | Riccordia elegans | unknown; possibly Jamaica or the northern Bahamas | Only known from the holotype collected in 1860. The reasons of extinction are unknown.[28] | | |
Pigeons and doves (order Columbiformes)
Pigeons and doves (family Columbidae)
Rails and cranes (order Gruiformes)
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Jamaican wood rail | Amaurolimnas concolor concolor | Jamaica | Last collected in 1881. Mongoose predation has been suggested as the cause of extinction, but the species coexisted with mongooses, cats, and rats for a prolonged time. | |
Antillean cave rail | Nesotrochis debooyi | Puerto Rico | Described from subfossil remains in Pre-Columbian kitchen middens, though a 1943 report of a "flightless hen" in Virgin Gorda could have been this species.[29] It was introduced to Mona and the Virgin Islands by indigenous peoples. | |
Cuban cave rail | Nesotrochis picapicensis | Cuba | Most recent remains dated to near European arrival. | |
Haitian cave rail | Nesotrochis steganinos | Hispaniola | Most recent remains dated to 5474-5339 BCE.[30] | | |
Cranes (family Gruidae)
Thick-knees (family Burhinidae)
Locally extinct
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments |
---|
Bahama snipe | Gallinago kakuki | Greater Antilles, Bahamas, and Caymans | Known from Late Quaternary remains. |
Hispaniola woodcock | Scolopax brachycarpa | Hispaniola | Most recent remains at Trouing Jean Paul, Haiti dated to 1270–1380 CE.[34] | |
Possibly extinct
Albatrosses and petrels (order Procellariiformes)
Petrels and shearwaters (family Procellariidae)
Possibly extinct
Pelicans, herons, and ibises (order Pelecaniformes)
Locally extinct
New World vultures and condors (family Cathartidae)
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments |
---|
Emslie's vulture | Cathartes emsliei | Cuba | Most recent remains at Las Breas de San Felipe dated to 10350-2730 BCE. The island was colonized by the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) and the black vulture (Coragyps atratus) after its extinction.[38] |
| cf. Cathartes sp. | A different Late Quaternary species, likely belonging to another genus. |
Cuban condor | Gymnogyps varonai | Known from Late Quaternary remains. | |
Hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures (family Accipitridae)
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Woodward's eagle | Amplibuteo woodwardi | California to Florida and the Caribbean | Known from Late Quaternary remains. | |
Bermuda hawk | Bermuteo avivorus | Bermuda | Last recorded in 1603. Possibly extinct due to hunting and predation by introduced mammals including feral pigs.[39] | |
Cuban titan-hawk | Buteogallus borrasi | Cuba | Most recent remains dated to 5050-4050 BCE. | |
Suarez's giant eagle | Gigantohierax suarezi | Known from Late Quaternary remains. | |
Locally extinct
True owls (family Strigidae)
-- sortable-->" | Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Bermuda saw-whet owl | Aegolius gradyi | Bermuda | Last recorded in 1609–1610. Likely extinct due to habitat destruction and introduced predatory mammals.[40] | |
Antiguan burrowing owl | Athene cunicularia amaura | Antigua and Barbuda | Extinct in the late 19th century.[41] | |
Guadeloupe burrowing owl | Athene cunicularia guadeloupensis | Guadeloupe | |
Cuban horned owl | Bubo osvaldoi | Cuba | Known from Late Quaternary remains. | |
Cuban cursorial owl | Ornimegalonyx oteroi | Most recent remains dated to 5050-4050 BCE. The species O. acevedoi, O. minor, and O. gigas are likely the same and represent only size differences due to sexual dimorphism, chrono-temporal or individual variation. | |
Cuban spectacled owl | Pulsatrix arredondoi | Most recent remains dated to 530–590 CE. | | |
Possibly extinct
Barn-owls (family Tytonidae)
-- sortable-->" | Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Puerto Rican barn owl | Tyto cavatica | Puerto Rico | Described from subfossil remains. 1912 reports of cave-nesting owls may refer to this species. | |
Noel's barn owl | Tyto noeli | Cuba, Jamaica, and Barbuda | Most recent remains at Drum Cave, Jamaica dated to 1900–1600 BCE. Extinct due to deforestation, invasive animals, and loss of prey. | |
Hispaniolan giant barn owl | Tyto ostologa | Haiti and southern Dominican Republic | A 1788 description of a call and feathers at Pic la Selle may refer to this species. There was also an unconfirmed sighting in the 1970s. | |
Bahaman giant barn owl | Tyto pollens | Cuba and Bahamas | Described from subfossil remains but may have survived until the 16th century. | |
| Tyto sp. | Pinar del Río, Cuba | A small, undescribed species known from Late Quaternary remains. | | |
Falcons and caracaras (family Falconidae)
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Bahaman caracara | Caracara creightoni | Cuba and Bahamas | Most recent remains dated in Bahamas to 470-410 BCE, and in Cuba to 290-430 CE. | |
Cuban kestrel | Falco kurochkini | Cuba | Known from Late Quaternary remains. | |
| Milvago carbo | Known from Late Quaternary remains at the San Felipe tar pits. | |
| Milvago sp. | Similar to the Yellow-headed caracara. Known from fragmentary Late Quaternary remains at the San Felipe tar pits. | | |
Locally extinct
Woodpeckers and allies (order Piciformes)
Woodpeckers (family Picidae)
Possibly extinct
Holotropical parrots (family Psittacidae)
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Aruba amazon | Amazona barbadensis canifrons | Aruba | Presumed extinct between 1944 and 1947 due to poisoning by fruit farmers and capture for the exotic pet trade, though it might have survived after this date. There are also doubts about the validity of this subspecies due to variability within the yellow-shouldered amazon species. | |
Martinique amazon | Amazona martinicana | Martinique | Last recorded in 1779. They were intensely hunted for their meat. | |
Guadeloupe amazon | Amazona violacea | Guadeloupe | |
Culebra Island amazon | Amazona vittata gracilipes | Culebra Island of Puerto Rico | Last collected in 1899. Likely extinct due to persecution as a crop pest and increased mortality by hurricanes as a consequence of deforestation. Another extinct population on Vieques may be a different, undescribed subspecies. | |
| Amazona sp. | Antigua | Most recent remains dated to around 1500 BCE at Burma Quarry. | |
St. Croix macaw | Ara autocthones | Puerto Rico and Saint Croix | Known from pre-Columbian subfossil remains.[44] | |
Lesser Antillean macaw | Ara guadeloupensis | Guadeloupe | Last recorded in Guadeloupe in 1742. Known mostly from written accounts, illustrations, and possible subfossil remains. A 1779 plate possibly represents a captive animal in Europe. | |
Martinique macaw | Ara martinicus | Martinique | Hypothetical species only known from a short 1630s description by Jesuit Jacques Bouton, though another short 1658 description of "Ara erythrura" is likely the same animal. Some authors consider these introduced blue-and-yellow macaws from South America, while others identify a slightly different macaw painted by Roelant Savery in 1626 as a representation of this species and thus evidence that it actually existed. However, there is no information about the origin of the bird depicted by Savery. | |
Cuban macaw | Ara tricolor | Cuba and Juventud | Last animals were shot (with reservations) in central Cuba in 1889. Probably extinct due to hunting (though it was recorded as foul-tasting), capture as pets, and habitat destruction. The Jamaican red macaw ("Ara gossei"), named from a single 18th century description and illustration, was likely an introduced Cuban macaw. | |
Guadeloupe parakeet | Psittacara labati | Guadeloupe | Last recorded in 1742. The causes of extinction are unknown. | |
Puerto Rican parakeet | Psittacara maugei | Puerto Rico, Vieques, and Mona Island | Last collected on Mona in 1892. | |
|
Possibly extinct
Possibly extinct
Possibly extinct
New World blackbirds (family Icteridae)
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments |
---|
| Dolichonyx kruegeri | Cuba | Known from now lost Late Quaternary remains. Possibly the same as the bobolink (D. oryzivorus), which flies over Cuba during migration but doesn't reside on it. |
Grand Cayman oriole | Icterus leucopteryx bairdi | Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands | Last recorded in 1967. | |
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments |
---|
Guadeloupe house wren | Troglodytes aedon guadeloupensis | Guadeloupe | Last recorded in 1973. Extinct due to deforestation. |
Martinique house wren | Troglodytes aedon martinicensis | Martinique | Last collected in 1886. The causes of extinction are unknown. | |
New World warblers (family Parulidae)
Possibly extinct
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
New Providence yellowthroat | Geothlypis rostrata rostrata | New Providence, Bahamas | Last recorded in the 1990s. | |
Semper's warbler | Leucopeza semperi | Saint Lucia mountains | Last recorded in 1961. Likely extinct due to predation by the small Indian mongoose. | |
Bachman's warbler | Vermivora bachmanii | Southeastern United States and Cuba | Last confirmed record in Cuba in 1984, though unconfirmed footage was taken in Guardalavaca in 2002. Declined due to habitat loss caused by deforestation and marshland draining, followed by intensive hunting by bird collectionists as it became rare. | | |
Reptiles (class Reptilia)
Crocodilians (order Crocodilia)
Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae)
Locally extinct
Squamates (order Squamata)
Whiptails (family Teiidae)
Possibly extinct
Curly-tailed lizards (family Leiocephalidae)
Possibly extinct
Anoles (family Dactyloidae)
Possibly extinct
Colubrid snakes (family Colubridae)
Possibly extinct
Possibly extinct
Turtles and tortoises (order Testudines)
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments |
---|
Abaco tortoise | Chelonoidis alburyorum | Abaco Islands, Bahamas | Most recent remains dated to around 1170 AD.[59] |
Cuban giant tortoise | Chelonoidis cubensis | Cuba | Most recent remains dated to 5050-4050 BCE.[60] |
| Chelonoidis gersoni | Hispaniola | Known from remains from the late Pleistocene or early Holocene.[61] |
| Chelonoidis marcanoi |
Mona tortoise | Chelonoidis monensis | Mona Island of Puerto Rico | Most recent remains dated to around 1050 BCE.[62] |
Caicos giant tortoise | Chelonoidis sp. | Middle Caicos | Most recent remains dated to around 1400 CE. |
Turks tortoise | Chelonoidis sp. | Grand Turk Island | Most recent remains dated to around 1200 CE. | |
Amphibians (class Amphibia)
Frogs (order Anura)
Possibly extinct
Common name | Scientific name | Range | Comments | Pictures |
---|
Golden coquí | Eleutherodactylus jasperi | Sierra de Cayey, Puerto Rico | Last recorded in 1981. Probably declined due to chytridiomycosis and less likely to predation by introduced black rats.[63] | |
Web-footed coquí | Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti | Puerto Rican mountains | Last recorded in 1976. The causes of extinction are unknown, though most specimens collected and preserved in the 1960s were later found to have suffered from chytridiomycosis. Predation by small Indian mongooses and black rats is also possible.[64] | | |
Insects (class Insecta)
Butterflies (order Lepidoptera)
Swallowtail butterflies (family Papilionidae)
Arachnids (class Arachnida)
Scorpions (order Scorpiones)
Slugs and snails (class Gastropoda)
See also
Notes and References
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