List of Macaronesian species extinct in the Holocene

This is a list of Macaronesian 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.

Macaronesia is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coast of Africa. Macaronesia consists of the Azores (part of Portugal), Maderia (part of Portugal), the Canary Islands (part of Spain), and Cape Verde (an independent country).

Numerous species have disappeared from the Macaronesian islands as part of the ongoing Holocene extinction, driven by human activity. Mammals (class Mammalia)

Rodents (order Rodentia)

Old World rats and mice (family Muridae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesTenerife giant ratCanariomys bravoiTenerife, Canary IslandsRemains from La Fuente cave were originally dated to the 12th or 13th century, implying a long coexistence of the species with humans.Morales, J. et al. (2009) The impact of human activities on the natural environment of the Canary Islands (Spain) during the pre-Hispanic stage (3rd–2nd Century BC to 15th Century AD): an overview. Environmental Archaeology, 14(1), 27-36. However this datation was indirect as it was measured on charcoal and wood found near C. bravoi remains, rather than on the remains themselves. Studies performed on the latter establish the most recent survival of C. bravoi at 400-231 BCE and a quick extinction after human colonization. Though hunting cannot be excluded, the introduction of goats, sheep, pigs, and house mice likely had a greater role in its extinction by causing habitat alteration or predating on the rats themselves.Gran Canaria giant ratCanariomys tamaraniGran Canaria, Canary IslandsMost recent remains at La Aldea de San Nicolás de Tolentino dated to 130 BCE.López-Jurado, L. F., & López Martínez, N. (1991). Presencia de la rata gigante extinguida de Gran Canaria (Canariomys tamarani) en una cueva de habitación aborigen. The extinction process of this species is poorly understood though hunting by humans and feral dogs have been proposed as causes.Lava mouseMalpaisomys insularisLanzarote and Fuerteventura, Canary IslandsMost recent remains at Cueva del Llano dated to 1270-1395.Rando, Juan Carlos, et al. "Chronology and causes of the extinction of the Lava Mouse, Malpaisomys insularis (Rodentia: Muridae) from the Canary Islands." Quaternary Research 70.2 (2008): 141-148. The species survived the first human colonization of the islands and the introduction of the house mouse, but became extinct shortly after the introduction of the black rat (before 650 CE in Lanzarote and after the 13th century in Fuerteventura).Rando, J. C., Alcover, J. A., Galván, B., & Navarro, J. F. (2014). Reappraisal of the extinction of Canariomys bravoi, the giant rat from Tenerife (Canary Islands). Quaternary Science Reviews, 94, 22-27.

Carnivorans (order Carnivora)

Earless seals (family Phocidae)

Locally extinct Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesMediterranean monk sealMonachus monachusMacaronesia to the Cantabrian and Mediterranean SeasBreeding colonies likely existed in all Macaronesian archipelagos before the 17th century. Commercial exploitation by Europeans began in the Late Middle Ages, and currently only one colony in the Desertas Islands of Madeira survives, using deep caves to rear their young instead of beaches as it was common historically. This colony and the one in Ras Nouadhibou are the sources of vagrants sometimes seen near the Azores and Canary Islands. The last breeding colony in the Canary Islands disappeared in the first half of the 20th century.González, L. M. (2015). Prehistoric and historic distributions of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in the eastern Atlantic. Marine Mammal Science, 31(3), 1168-1192.

Birds (class Aves)

Landfowl (order Galliformes)

Pheasants and allies (family Phasianidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesCanary Islands quailCoturnix gomeraeCanary IslandsDisappeared shortly after human settlement, probably due to predation by cats or rats.Hume, J.P. (2017) Extinct Birds. Bloomsbury Publishing, 560 pages.Porto Santo quailCoturnix alabrevisPorto Santo Island, MadeiraKnown from Late Quaternary remains. The Azorean and Madeiran species of this genus are presumed to have become extinct as a result of human activity, but the timeframe is unclear. They could have been wiped out by house mice introduced by Viking visitors way before Portuguese settlement began in the 14th and 15th centuries.Cape Verde quailCoturnix centensisSão Vicente, Cape VerdeKnown from remains dated to 1015-1155.Rando, J. C., Alcover, J. A., Pieper, H., Olson, S. L., Hernández, C. N., & López-Jurado, L. F. (2020). Unforeseen diversity of quails (Galliformes: Phasianidae: Coturnix) in oceanic islands provided by the fossil record of Macaronesia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 188(4), 1296-1317.Madeiran quailCoturnix lignorumMadeiraKnown from remains dated to 1021-806 BCE.

Pigeons and doves (order Columbiformes)

Pigeons and doves (family Columbidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesMadeiran wood pigeonColumba palumbus maderensisMadeiraLast recorded in 1904. The causes of extinction are unknown.

Rails and cranes (order Gruiformes)

Rails (family Rallidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesPorto Santo railRallus adolfocaesarisPorto Santo Island, MadeiraFlightless descendants of the water rail, known from subfossil remains, that probably disappeared after the arrival of humans and the introduction of invasive species to the islands.São Miguel railRallus carvaoensisSão Miguel Island, AzoresMadeira railRallus loweiMadeiraPico railRallus montivagorumPico Island, AzoresUnlike other extinct Macaronesian rails, this species could still fly. Carbon 14 dating shows that it survived until Portuguese colonization in the first half of the 15th century.São Jorge railRallus nanusSão Jorge Island, AzoresFlightless, probably disappeared after the arrival of humans and the introduction of invasive species to the islands.Graciosa railRallus sp.Graciosa, AzoresLikely disappeared after the arrival of humans and the introduction of invasive species to the islands.Terceira railRallus sp.Terceira, AzoresSanta Maria railRallus sp.Santa Maria Island, Azores

Shorebirds (order Charadriiformes)

Oystercatchers (family Haematopodidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesCanary Islands oystercatcherHaematopus meadewaldoibred in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, Canary Islands;visitor to Tenerife and the Senegalese coastLast collected in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in 1913 and reported extinct there by 1940, but also reported twice in Tenerife between 1968 and 1981. Its decline was probably a result of overharvesting of intertidal invertebrates (most notably Patella candei, extirpated from all islands bar FuerteventuraDe Nascimento, L., Nogué, S., Naranjo-Cigala, A., Criado, C., McGlone, M., Fernández-Palacios, E., & Fernández-Palacios, J. M. (2020). Human impact and ecological changes during prehistoric settlement on the Canary Islands. Quaternary Science Reviews, 239, 106332.) and disturbance by people, although predation by rats and cats has also been implicated.

Sandpipers (family Scolopacidae)

Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesSlender-billed curlewNumenius tenuirostrisNorth Africa and Western EurasiaHistorically documented as accidental in the Azores and Canary Islands,Zarapito Fino. Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y Reto Demográfico, 2007. but not recorded worldwide since 2001.

Auks (family Alcidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesGreat aukPinguinus impennisNorthern Atlantic and western MediterraneanA sternum found in Madeira is the southernmost record of this species in the eastern Atlantic. The species became extinct globally in 1852.

Albatrosses and petrels (order Procellariiformes)

Petrels and shearwaters (family Procellariidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesDune shearwaterPuffinus holeaeCanary Islands to Portuguese coastMourer-Chauviré C, Antunes MT (2000) L'Avifaune pléistocène et holocène de Gruta da Figueira Brava (Arrábida, Portugal). Mem Acad Ciénc Lisboa 38:129-159Most recent remain at Lobos islet dated to 1159-790 BCE. It bred in easily accessible beach dunes and likely became extinct due to hunting or predation by introduced house mice soon after human arrival.Rando, J. C., & Alcover, J. A. (2010). On the extinction of the Dune Shearwater (Puffinus holeae) from the Canary Islands. Journal of Ornithology, 151(2), 365-369.Lava shearwaterPuffinus olsoniFuerteventura, Canary IslandsMost recent remains dated to 1270-1475 CE. The species likely declined due to hunting and predation by introduced house mice before being finished by cats and black rats.Rando, J.C., & Alcover, J.A. (2008) Evidence for a second western Palaearctic seabird extinction during the last Millennium: the Lava Shearwater Puffinus olsoni. Ibis, 150(1), 188-192.Azorean little gadfly petrelPterodroma zinorumAzores archipelagoMost recent remains dated to 1104-1672 CE, overlapping with early Portuguese colonisation of the archipelago. It probably became extinct as a result of human activity and introduced mammals.Canary Islands petrelPterodroma sp.El Hierro, Canary IslandsPossibly an extirpated population of an extant species.Rando, J. C. (2002). New data of fossil birds from El Hierro (Canary Islands): probable causes of extinction and some biogeographical considerations. Ardeola, 49(1), 39-49.

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

Locally extinct Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesEurasian goshawkAccipiter gentilisPalearctic realmFormerly present in the Canary Islands. It probably disappeared after the decline or extinction of its prey due to human hunting and introduced mammals.Common buzzardButeo buteoMacaronesia, western Eurasia, and parts of Africa and IndiaDisappeared from Madeira in historical times as a result of deforestation, but returned after forests recovered.Pieper, H. (1985). The fossil land birds of Madeira and Porto Santo. Bocagiana. Museu de História Natural do Funchal, Nº 88Red kiteMilvus milvusEurope and the Mediterranean regionExtirpated from Cape Verde and possibly the Canary Islands.

Owls (order Strigiformes)

True owls (family Strigidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesSão Miguel scops owlOtus frutuosoiSão Miguel Island, AzoresKnown from remains dated to 49 BCE - 125 CE. Though smaller that O. mauli, it was also a weak flyer and likely nested on the ground, making it vulnerable to introduced predators.Rando, J.C. et al. (2013) A new species of extinct scops owl (Aves: Strigiformes: Strigidae: Otus) from São Miguel island (Azores archipelago, north Atlantic ocean). Zootaxa, 3647(2), 343-357.Madeiran scops owlOtus mauliMadeiraKnown from undated, but likely recent Holocene bones. It had considerably longer legs than the Eurasian scops owl, hinting that it was more terrestrial and hunted on the ground of the local laurel forests. As such, it would have been vulnerable to the fires set by the first Portuguese colonizers to clear the islands for agriculture, and to the predation of black rats introduced by them.

Perching birds (order Passeriformes)

Buntings (family Emberizidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesLong-legged buntingEmberiza alcoveriTenerife, Canary IslandsKnown from subfossil remains. The date of extinction is unknown, but its flightlessness, limb proportions, and bill musculature indicate that it was a ground bird that fed on hard seeds in the herb-rich understorey of laurel forests. As such, it was vulnerable to human-induced habitat destruction and introduced mammalian predators.