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 animals 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 very unique. Marsupials and monotremes also existed on other continents, but only in Australia-New Guinea did they out-compete the placental mammals and 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 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. The Norfolk swamphen and several New Guinea mammals also disappeared before European colonisation.

Mammals (class Mammalia)

Monotremes (order Monotremata)

Echidnas (family Tachyglossidae)

Locally extinct (disputed)

Carnivorous marsupials (order Dasyuromorphia)

Dog-like marsupials (family Thylacinidae)

Marsupial shrews (family Dasyuridae)

Locally extinct

Bandicoots and bilbies (order Peramelemorphia)

Bandicoots (family Peramelidae)

Bilbies (family Thylacomyidae)

Pig-footed bandicoots (family Chaeropodidae)

Order Diprotodontia

Brushtail possums and cuscuses (family Phalangeridae)

Possibly extinct

Trioks, striped possum, Leadbeater's possum, and wrist-winged gliders (family Petauridae)

Ring-tailed possums and allies (family Pseudocheiridae)

Macropods (family Macropodidae)

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

Rodents (order Rodentia)

Old World rats and mice (family Muridae)

Possibly extinct

True insectivores (order Eulipotyphla)

True shrews (family Soricidae)

Possibly extinct

Bats (order Chiroptera)

Megabats (family Pteropodidae)

Possibly extinct, megabats (family Pteropodidae)

Vesper bats (family Vespertilionidae)

Birds (class Aves)

Cassowaries and emus (order Casuariformes)

Cassowaries and emus (family Casuariidae)

Landfowl (order Galliformes)

Megapodes (family Megapodidae)

Locally extinct

Waterfowl (order Anseriformes)

Ducks, geese, and swans (family Anatidae)

Pigeons and doves (order Columbiformes)

Pigeons and doves (family Columbidae)

Rails and cranes (order Gruiformes)

Rails (family Rallidae)

Locally extinct, rails (family Rallidae)

Shorebirds (order Charadriiformes)

Sandpipers (family Scolopacidae)

Albatrosses and petrels (order Procellariiformes)

Petrels and shearwaters (family Procellariidae)

Boobies, cormorants, and allies (order Suliformes)

Cormorants and shags (family Phalacrocoracidae)

Hawks and relatives (order Accipitriformes)

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

Owls (order Strigiformes)

True owls (family Strigidae)

Barn-owls (family Tytonidae)

Parrots (order Psittaciformes)

Kea and kākā (family Nestoridae)

Cockatoos (family Cacatuidae)

Old World parrots (family Psittaculidae)

Perching birds (order Passeriformes)

Australasian wrens (family Maluridae)

Bristlebirds (family Dasyornithidae)

Australian warblers (family Acanthizidae)

Cuckooshrikes and allies (family Campephagidae)

Fantails and silktails (family Rhipiduridae)

Crows and relatives (family Corvidae)

Australasian robins (family Petroicidae)

White-eyes (family Zosteropidae)

Possibly extinct, white-eyes (family Zosteropidae)

Grassbirds and allies (family Locustellidae)

Possibly extinct

Thrushes (family Turdidae)

Starlings (family Sturnidae)

Reptiles (class Reptilia)

Squamates (order Squamata)

Common geckos (family Gekkonidae)

Extinct in the wild

Skinks (family Scincidae)

Extinct in the wild, skinks (family Scincidae)

Amphibians (class Amphibia)

Frogs (order Anura)

Australian ground frogs (family Myobatrachidae)

Treefrogs and allies (family Hylidae)

Data deficient, treefrogs and allies (family Hylidae)

Ray-finned fish (class Actinopterygii)

Anglerfish (order Lophiiformes)

Handfish (family Brachionichthyidae)

Data deficient

Galaxias (order Galaxiiformes)

Galaxias (family Galaxiidae)

Extinct in the wild

Insects (class Insecta)

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

Chicken body lice (family Menoponidae)

Possibly extinct

Beetles (order Coleoptera)

Predaceous diving beetles (family Dytiscidae)

Snails and slugs (class Gastropoda)

Order Stylommatophora

Family Bothriembryontidae

Family Achatinellidae

Clitellates (class Clitellata)

Order Opisthopora

Family Megascolecidae

Plants (kingdom Plantae)

Plants listed as extinct by the federal government

Plants and animals are listed as extinct and the federal level under the auspices of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Act lists all plants considered to have become extinct since the commencement of European settlement of Australia in 1788. There are 37 species currently listed as extinct under the Act.

Of note, the species Pimelea spinescens subsp. pubiflora was presumed extinct after 1901, but a population was discovered in 2005. The orchid Diuris bracteata was also considered extinct after its first collection in 1899, but it was thought to have been rediscovered in 1998. The later collections are now considered to be Diuris platichila. The spiny everlasting (Acanthocladium dockeri) was reclassified as critically endangered in 2006 after it was rediscovered in 1999. Bennett's Seaweed, declared extinct under the EPBC Act in 1999; was the first protist listed as extinct by the IUCN in 2004.

Plants listed as extinct by the states and territories

Each state and territory of Australia has legislation to record the extinction of plants and animals; organisms listed as extinct at the state level may differ from those listed under the EPBC Act.

Australian Capital Territory

Threatened species are listed under the Nature Conservation Act 2014 in the Australian Capital Territory.

New South Wales

There are 35 taxa "presumed extinct" as specified in Part 4 of Schedule 1 of the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Species presumed extinct in New South Wales, but not listed under the EPBC Act include:

Rhaphidospora bonneyana, Glinus orygioides, Ptilotus extenuatus, Acanthocladium dockeri (listed by EPBC as extinct in SA, but not NSW), Blumea lacera, Senecio behrianus, Stemmacantha australis, Lepidium foliosum, Stenopetalum velutinum, Atriplex acutiloba, Maireana lanosa, Osteocarpum pentapterum, Hypolepis elegans, Codonocarpus pyramidalis, Haloragis stricta, Myriophyllum implicatum, Caladenia rosella, Thelymitra epipactoides, Comesperma scoparium, Grevillea nematophylla, Persoonia laxa, Pomaderris oraria, Aphanes pentamera, Knoxia sumatrensis, Micromelum minutum, Philotheca angustifolia, Dodonaea stenophylla, Tetratheca pilosa subsp. pilosa.

Although listed as extinct under the EPBC Act, Diurus bracteata is listed as endangered in New South Wales.

Northern Territory

Threatened species is the Northern Territory are listed under IUCN criteria by the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts. As of 2006 there are no recorded plant extinctions in the Northern Territory.

South Australia

Threatened species are listed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 in South Australia. 26 plant taxa are presumed extinct in South Australia, 2 of these are listed under the EPBC Act

Queensland

Threatened species are listed under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and the Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 in Queensland, under this act some species are described as "presumed extinct". There are currently 27 species described as presumed extinct in Queensland, those not listed under the EPBC Act include:

Acianthus ledwardii, Amphineuron immersum, Antrophyum austroqueenslandicum, Corchorus thozetii, Dimocarpus leichhardtii, Lindsaea pulchella var. blanda, Oldenlandia tenelliflora var. papuana, Rhaphidospora cavernarum, Tapeinosperma flueckigeri, Teucrium ajugaceum, Trichomanes exiguum, Wendlandia psychotrioides, Zieria sp. (Russell River S.Johnson in 1892).

It was reported on 12 April 2008 that two of the plants, Rhaphidospora cavernarum and Teucrium ajugaceum have been rediscovered on Cape York between Cooktown and Lockhart River, and are now re-classified as "vulnerable".

Tasmania

There are 20 taxa classified as "presumed extinct" under schedule 3.2 of the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995. Only three of these species are listed as extinct under the EPBC Act. The additional species listed as extinct under Tasmanian legislation are:

Ballantinia antipoda, Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia, Botrychium australe, Caladenia cardiochila, Chenopodium erosum, Coopernookia barbata, Hibbertia obtusifolia, Lepilaena australis, Levenhookia dubia, Myriophyllum glomeratum, Podotheca angustifolia, Prostanthera cuneata, Punctelia subflava, Senecio macrocarpus, Thesium australe, Thynninorchis huntiana and Veronica notabilis.

Victoria

Threatened species in Victoria are identified under the auspices of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988); the act does not specify species presumed extinct. The Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment maintain a list of species presumed extinct in Victoria; they list 51 extinct taxa, those not listed under the EPBC Act include:

Acacia argyrophylla, Acacia havilandiorum, Acrotriche depressa, Actinotus bellidioides, Asplenium polyodon, Atriplex billardierei, Austrostipa tuckeri, Caladenia carnea var. subulata, Caladenia magnifica, Caladenia thysanochila, Calotis pubescens, Cardamine gunnii s.s., Centipeda pleiocephala, Cheiranthera alternifolia, Chionogentias gunniana, Convolvulus microsepalus, Cuscuta victoriana, Cyperus vaginatus, Digitaria diffusa, Dodonaea heteromorpha, Epilobium willisii, Euphrasia collina subsp. speciosa, Hibbertia incana s.s., Hypolepis elegans subsp. elegans, Leiocarpa tomentosa, Leionema microphyllum, Lemooria burkittii, Leptorhynchos scaber s.s., Phyllangium sulcatum, Picris barbarorum, Podolepis arachnoidea, Pomaderris obcordata, Prasophyllum colemaniae, Prasophyllum morganii, Prasophyllum sp. aff. odoratum, Prasophyllum suttonii s.s., Pterostylis sp. aff. biseta (Lara), Rutidosis helichrysoides, Senecio murrayanus, Senna form taxon 'artemisioides', Stemmacantha australis, Stenanthemum notiale subsp. notiale, Trema tomentosa var. viridis, Braithwaitea sulcata.

Western Australia

There are 14 taxa classified as "X: Declared Rare Flora - Presumed Extinct Taxa" under the Department of Environment and Conservation's Declared Rare and Priority Flora List, all of which have been gazetted as presumed extinct flora in Western Australia under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. This list coincides with the federal EPBC Act list, except that it includes Leptomeria dielsiana, Ptilotus caespitulosus and Taraxacum cygnorum; and excludes Frankenia conferta (Silky Frankenia) and Calothamnus accedens.

See also

• Fauna of Australia
• Threatened fauna of Australia
• Lazarus taxon
• List of New Zealand species extinct in the Holocene
• List of Hawaiian animals extinct in the Holocene
• List of Oceanian animals extinct in the Holocene
• List of recently extinct mammals
• List of extinct bird species since 1500
• Lists of extinct species

Notes

References

Articles connexes

1. Lists of extinct species
2. List of New Zealand species extinct in the Holocene
3. List of Asian animals extinct in the Holocene
4. List of Oceanian species extinct in the Holocene
5. List of European species extinct in the Holocene
6. List of Hawaiian animals extinct in the Holocene
7. List of South American animals extinct in the Holocene
8. List of African animals extinct in the Holocene
9. Holocene extinction
10. Timeline of extinctions in the Holocene
11. List of North American animals extinct in the Holocene
12. List of Madagascar and Indian Ocean Island animals extinct in the Holocene
13. List of extinct animals of the British Isles
14. List of Macaronesian animals extinct in the Holocene
15. List of Antillian and Bermudan animals extinct in the Holocene
16. New Guinea crocodile
17. Elephant bird
18. Thylacine
19. Late Pleistocene extinctions
20. Bramble Cay melomys