This is a list of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 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)[a] and continues to the present day.[1]
Numerous animal species have disappeared from Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha as part of the ongoing Holocene extinction, driven by human activity.
Most recent remains dated to around 1640.[2] It likely became extinct when the island was deforested. Since the Saint Helena cuckoo was unusually small for a cuckoo, it likely parasited a small forest passerine species that is also extinct now.[3]
Described from Middle Pleistocene remains, but speculated to have survived until settlement due a 1584 mention of doves in the island. It was the fourth largest pigeon ever (after the dodo, Rodrigues solitaire, and Viti Levu giant pigeon) and likely flightless, which would have made it easy prey of humans or introduced mammals.[3]
Most recent remains at Prosperous Bay dated to around 1640. The species nested on the ground and was vulnerable to predation by cats and other introduced mammals.[2]
Likely the "aponar" (an old name for the great auk) mentioned by André Thévet in 1555. It was flightless or a poor flyer and nested on the ground, making it vulnerable to hunting and predation by introduced mammals.[3]
Last collected in 1967. Isolated exoskeleton pieces of individuals that were ingested by birds and spiders were found as late as 2014, but the large size and robustness of the species make it impossible to guess how recent they are. The earwig's habitat has been degraded by construction since it was last seen alive, while invasive predators like rats, mice, spiders, and the centipedeScolopendra morsitans have increased.[7]
Described from subfossil shells in 1875. It probably disappeared due to habitat modification caused by introduced goats, pigs, and rabbits, or predation by rats, mice, and the centipede Scolopendra morsitans.[13]
^The source gives "11,700 calendar yr b2k (before CE 2000)". But "BP" means "before CE 1950". Therefore, the Holocene began 11,650 BP. Doing the math, that is c. 9700 BCE.
^ abcdefghLewis, C. A. (2008). The Late Glacial and Holocene avifauna of the island of St Helena, South Atlantic Ocean. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 63(2), 128-144.
^Sota, T., Hori, M., Scholtz, C., Karagyan, G., Liang, H. B., Ikeda, H., & Takami, Y. (2020). The origin of the giant ground beetle Aplothorax burchelli on St Helena Island. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 131(1), 50-60.