This is a list of Galápagos Islands 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.

This list includes species that have gone extinct from the Galápagos Islands, an island archipelago belonging to Ecuador.

Many species have disappeared from the Galápagos Islands as part of the ongoing Holocene extinction, driven by human activity.

Mammals (class Mammalia)

Rodents (order Rodentia)

Hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice (family Cricetidae)

Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesGalápagos giant ratMegaoryzomys curioiSanta CruzMost recent remains dated to 1520-1950. Possibly extinct by introduced predators like feral dogs, cats, pigs, and black rats.Isabela giant ratMegaoryzomys sp.IsabelaMost recent remains dated to 1515-1950.Darwin's Galápagos mouseNesoryzomys darwiniSanta CruzLast recorded in 1930. Extinct due to competition, pathogens transmitted by, or predation by black rats, house mice, brown rats, and feral cats. Indefatigable Galápagos mouseNesoryzomys indefessusSanta Cruz and BaltraLast collected in 1934. Extinct due to competition, pathogens transmitted by, or predation by black rats, house mice, brown rats, and feral cats.Nesoryzomys spp.IsabelaTwo different unnamed species, associated with anthropogenically introduced mammalian species in archaeological sites.Nesoryzomys sp.RábidaMost recent remains dated to 4771-4316 BCE.

Birds (class Aves)

Perching birds (order Passeriformes)

Tanagers (family Thraupidae)

Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesDarwin's ground finchGeospiza magnirostris magnirostrisFloreana and San CristóbalOnly recorded alive by Charles Darwin in 1835. It was restricted to the lowlands which were the most affected by human settlement starting in 1832; introduced donkeys, cattle, and goats reduced the Opuntia cacti it fed and nested on, while dogs, cats, and rats predated on the birds.Hume, J.P. (2017) Extinct Birds. Bloomsbury Publishing, 560 pages.

Tyrant flycatchers (family Tyrannidae)

Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsSan Cristóbal flycatcherPyrocephalus dubiusSan CristóbalLast recorded in 1987. Likely extinct due to predation by introduced rats, the avian vampire fly, or avian pox.

Reptiles (class Reptilia)

Turtles and tortoises (order Testudines)

Tortoises (family Testudinidae)

Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesPinta Island tortoiseChelonoidis niger abingdoniiPintaThe last known individual (Lonesome George) was captured in 1972 and died in Santa Cruz's Tortoise Center in 2012, but hybrid descendants survive in northern Isabela Island. Declined due to hunting and habitat destruction by grazing feral goats.Floreana giant tortoiseChelonoidis niger nigerFloreanaDisappeared from the wild in the mid-19th century, though hybrids survive in captivity and in northern Isabela Island. Likely extinct due to hunting and the impact of introduced mammals including pigs, dogs, cats, goats, donkeys, cattle, black rats and house mice.Santa Fe Island tortoiseChelonoidis niger 'Santa Fe Island'Santa FeUndescribed lineage, known from subfossil bones.Durham, W. H. (2021). Exuberant Life: An Evolutionary Approach to Conservation in Galápagos. Oxford University Press.Rabida Island tortoise Chelonoidis nigra wallaceiRabidaHypothetical subspecies based on tracks seen in 1897 and a single individual collected in 1906 but not preserved. No logs from whaling or sealing vessels make mention of collecting at Rabida, which has a good anchorage and a corral nearby in which tortoises, perhaps from other islands, were temporarily held. The type specimen is of unknown provenance and was assigned to Rabida because it resembled the 1906 individual. The Reptile Database considers it synonymous with Chelonoidis niger guentheri.

Extinct in the wild

Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesFernandina Island tortoiseChelonoidis niger phantasticusFernandinaConsidered extinct after the only known individual, a male, was killed in 1906. An elderly female was discovered in 2019 and transferred to a breeding center.

Ray-finned fish (class Actinopterygii)

Ovalentaria incertae sedis

Family Pomacentridae

Possibly extinct Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesGalápagos damselAzurina eupalamaGalápagos IslandsLast recorded during the 1982-83 El Niño event, which warmed the waters it inhabited and killed off the plankton on which it fed.

Copepods (class Copepoda)

Order Calanoida

Family Diaptomidae Common nameRangeCommentsMastigodiaptomus galapagoensisEl Junco, San Cristóbal IslandLast recorded in 2004. Likely wiped out after the introduction of invasive tilapias to El Junco in 2005.

Starfishes (class Asteroidea)

Order Forcipulatida

Family Heliasteridae

Possibly extinct Common nameScientific nameRangeComments Pictures24-rayed sunstarHeliaster solarisGalápagos IslandsLast recorded during the 1982-83 El Niño event.Alvarado, J.J. & Solis-Marin, F.A. (2012). Echinoderm Research and Diversity in Latin America. Springer Science & Business Media.

Brown algae (class Phaeophyceae)

Order Desmarestiales

Acid weeds (family Desmarestiaceae)

Possibly extinct Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesTropical acidweedDesmarestia tropicaPost Office Bay, Floreana; and Caleta Tagus, IsabelaLast recorded in 1972. As a cold water species with a limited range, it could have been wiped out by the 1982-1983 El Niño event.

Order Fucales

Family Sargassaceae

Possibly extinct Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesGalapagos stringweedBifurcaria galapagensisGalápagos IslandsDulvy, N. K., Pinnegar, J. K., & Reynolds, J. D. (2009). Holocene extinctions in the sea. In Turvey, S. (2009) Holocene Extinctions, pgs. 129-150.Last recorded during the 1982-83 El Niño event.

Red algae (division Rhodophyta)

Order Nemaliales

Family Galaxauraceae

Possibly extinct Scientific nameRangeCommentsGalaxaura barbataGalápagos IslandsKnown from three individuals collected in Post Office Bay, Floreana in 1934; Santa Cruz in 1945, and Tortuga Bay in 1962.

Order Ceramiales

Family Delesseriaceae

Possibly extinct Scientific nameRangeCommentsPhycodrina elegansGalápagos IslandsLast collected in 1977.

Plants (kingdom Plantae)

Order Asterales

Sunflowers (family Asteraceae) Scientific nameRangeCommentsDelilia inelegansFloreanaOnly known from the type collected by Charles Darwin in 1835.https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/61483949/61483979

Order Caryophyllales

Amaranths (family Amaranthaceae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsGalapagos amaranthGomphrena rigidaSantiagoLast collected in 1906. Possibly exterminated by introduced goats.

Order Cucurbitales

Gourds (family Cucurbitaceae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPepino de GalápagosSicyos villosusFloreanaOnly recorded by Charles Darwin in 1835.

Notes

References