20 animals that have been declared extinct over the past 10 years

This small, dark-brown rodent had a rounded body, small ears, and a long tail, and it lived only on Bramble Cay, in the Torres Strait. It had made its home among the sandy islands, where it was often subjected to storm surges and rising sea levels. It is generally considered the first animal to have gone extinct as a result of climate change. 

The Christmas Island shrew was tiny, with a pointed snout, short legs, and quick, agile movements. It was found only on Christmas Island, where its forest habitat was destroyed after black rats and the diseases they carried arrived on the island.

The swamp bandicoot was a small marsupial with a narrow snout and a compact body. It was native to Australia, but little is known about it, suggesting that it may have already been rare by the time Europeans began documenting the local wildlife. It was classified as extinct in 2021.

This mouse had a slender face and a delicate build well-suited to life in Australia’s arid interior. It was part of an ecosystem where survival depended on sparse vegetation and cautious movement. Habitat change and predation are the leading causes, and its extinction was officially confirmed in 2021 through its official listing as a protected species.

The Mariana fruit bat was a small, dark-furred bat with a fox-like face and broad wings, adapted to foraging in forests and long flights, native to Guam. Since no sightings had been confirmed for decades, its extinction was officially confirmed in 2023.

It was a large, pale shorebird with a long, slender, downward-curving bill, which it used to forage in mudflats and wetlands. It traveled long distances, which meant it depended on many healthy stopover sites rather than a single safe haven. Habitat loss and hunting along its migration routes are widely cited as the reasons for its extinction, which was officially confirmed in 2025. 

The Bachman’s Warbler was a small songbird. Males were known for their bright yellow belly and darker cap, which made them easier to recognize. It bred in the southeastern United States, where it depended on specific forest and wetland habitats. Habitat loss is considered the primary cause of its disappearance, and its extinction was officially confirmed in 2023.

The po’ouli was a Hawaiian nectar-feeder with subdued coloring and a distinctive dark facial pattern, found exclusively in the high-elevation forests of Maui. Because its range was very limited, even small losses of habitat or health could quickly reduce its population. Forest decline and mosquito-borne diseases affecting Hawaiian birds are often linked to their collapse, and the species’ extinction was confirmed in 2023.

This striking bird, with its dark plumage and subtle lighter markings, was closely associated with native Hawaiian forests. It was native to Kauaʻi, where storms, habitat loss, the introduction of predators, and avian diseases contributed to its long-term decline. People remember this bird in particular partly because its calls were recorded when its population was already dangerously low. Its extinction was officially confirmed in 2023.

The Guadeloupe parakeet was a Caribbean parrot known from historical descriptions, with magnificent multicolored feathers. Native to Guadeloupe, it suffered as human colonization led to hunting and long-term changes to its habitats. Although it likely went extinct long ago, its extinction was officially confirmed in 2021.

The Chinese paddlefish was enormous, with an elongated, paddle-shaped snout and a powerful body adapted for long migrations in large rivers. It was native to the Yangtze River system in China, where it was once among the largest freshwater fish on the planet. Overfishing and river barriers—particularly dams that blocked spawning routes—are the main reasons it has been unable to recover. Its extinction was confirmed in 2022.

The Scioto madtom was a small catfish that typically hid at the bottom of waterways. It was native to an area called Big Darby Creek, a small stretch of river in the state of Ohio. Due to its limited habitat, it quickly suffered from pollution, poor water quality, and urbanization. Its extinction was officially confirmed in 2023.

It was a small, viviparous fish with subtle coloring, resembling related species of the genus Gambusia. It was native to the spring-fed waters of the San Marcos River watershed in Texas, where its small habitat was subject to hybridization, competition from other species, and general changes. Its extinction was confirmed in 2023.

Barbodes disa was a small freshwater fish with a compact, streamlined body, adapted for swimming in lake waters. It lived only in Lake Lanao in the Philippines, a place once known for its many unique native fish species found nowhere else in the world. Other species, intensive fishing, and ecosystem disruption are often cited as factors contributing to the extinction of Lanao’s endemic species, which was confirmed in 2019. 

This fish was another species native to Lake Lanao, larger than Barbodes disa. Environmental changes, fishing pressure, and biological competition are often cited as contributing factors. Its extinction was also confirmed in 2019.

The Christmas Island forest skink was a smooth-scaled lizard with a robust body and powerful limbs, adapted for moving through leaf litter and low vegetation. It was native to Christmas Island, Australia, where invasive predators and rapid ecological changes led to repeated conservation crises. The last known individual died in captivity after the wild population went extinct, and the species was declared extinct in 2017. 

The Barbados runner snake was a slender, fast-moving snake with brown and beige markings. Although there have been no official sightings of this snake since 1961, its extinction was officially confirmed in 2016.

It was a large, likely robust island skink with smooth scales and a morphology adapted to the ground, known primarily from historical records and specimens. It was native to Réunion, France, where it suffered significant population losses due to the introduction of rats, cats, and the wolf snake. This species was officially declared extinct in 2019. 

The Réunion split-eared skink was a stocky skink also native to the island. Unfortunately, like the giant skink, it was unable to thrive in captivity after suffering at the hands of predators and human colonization. Its extinction was confirmed in 2021.

Newton’s gecko was a brilliant, tree-dwelling gecko known today primarily from specimens rather than living populations. It was native to the Mascarene Islands, where island forests and coastal habitats have been heavily altered and where there has been significant introduction of predators. Habitat loss and invasive predators are the most common explanations for its disappearance. Its extinction was confirmed in 2021.