Extinct animals in Brazil

Author: John Stephens
Date Of Creation: 25 January 2021
Update Date: 23 December 2024
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About 20% of animal and plant species are threatened with extinction in Brazil, according to a survey released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in November 2020.

Different reasons explain these data: uncontrolled hunting, destruction of the animals' habitat, fires and pollution, just to name a few. However, unfortunately we already know that there are several extinct animals in Brazil, some until recently. And that's what we're going to talk about in this PeritoAnimal article.

Categorization of extinct animals

Before we list the extinct animals in Brazil, it is important to explain the different categorizations used to refer to them. According to the Chico Mendes Institute's Red Book of 2018, prepared by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), which is based on the Red List terminology of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), such animals can be classified as: extinct in the wild, regionally extinct or just extinct:


  • Animal extinct in the wild (EW): is one that no longer exists in its natural habitat, that is, it can still be found in cultivation, captivity or in an area that does not belong to its natural distribution.
  • Regionally extinct animal (RE): it is the same as saying that it is an extinct animal in Brazil, in which there is no doubt that the last individual capable of reproducing has died or disappeared from the nature of that region or country.
  • Extinct animal (EX): terminology used when there is no doubt that the last individual of the species has died.

Now that you know the differences in the categorization of extinct animals, we will start our list of extinct animals in Brazil based on the survey carried out by ICMBIO, a government environmental agency that is part of the Ministry of Environment, and also on the IUCN Red List.


1. Candango mouse

This species was discovered during the construction of Brasília. At the time, eight copies were found and caught the attention of those who worked at the construction site of what would be the new Brazilian capital. The rats had an orange-brown fur, black stripes and a tail quite different from the rats that everyone knows: in addition to being very thick and short, it was covered with fur. You adult males were 14 centimeters, with the tail measuring 9.6 centimeters.

The individuals were sent for analysis and, thus, it was discovered that it was a new species and genus. For to honor then-president Juscelino Kubitschek, responsible for building the capital, the mouse received the scientific name of Juscelinomys candango, but popularly it became known as rat-of-the-president or rat-candango - the workers who helped in the construction of Brasília were called candangos.


The species was only seen in the early 1960s and, many years later, it was considered a extinct animal in Brazil and also globally by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is believed that the occupation of the Central Plateau was responsible for its extinction.

2. Needle-tooth shark

The needle-tooth shark (Carcharhinus isodon) is distributed from the coast of the United States to Uruguay, but is considered one of the extinct animals in Brazil, as the last specimen was seen over 40 years ago and has probably also disappeared from the entire South Atlantic. It lives in large schools and is a livebearer.

In the United States, where it can still be found, the uncontrolled fishing it generates hundreds if not thousands of deaths every year. Globally it is a species classified as near threatened with extinction by the IUCN.

3. Pine Tree Frog

The fimbriae tree frog (Phrynomedusa fimbriata) or also Saint Andrew's tree frog, was found in Alto da Serra de Paranapiacava, in Santo André, São Paulo in 1896 and described only in 1923. But there were no later reports of the species and the reasons that led it to be one of the extinct animals in Brazil are unknown.

4. Nosemouse

The noronha rat (Noronhomys vespuccii) is considered extinct for a long time, since the 16th century, but was only categorized in the list of extinct animals in Brazil recently. Fossils were found from the Holocene period, indicating that it was a terrestrial rat, herbivorous and quite large, it weighed between 200 and 250g and lived on the island of Fernando de Noronha.

According to the Red Book of the Chico Mendes Institute, the noronha rat may have disappeared after the introduction of other species of rats on the island, which generated competition and predation, as well as possible hunting for food, as it was a large rat.

5. Northwestern Screamer

The northeast-screaming bird or also the northeast-climber (Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti) could be found in Pernambuco and Alagoas, but its last records occurred in 2005 and 2007 and that is why it is currently one of the extinct animals in Brazil according to the ICMBio Red Book.

He had about 20 centimeters and lived alone or in pairs and the main cause of its extinction it was the loss of its habitat, as this species was very sensitive to environmental changes and depended exclusively on bromeliads for food.

6. Eskimo Curlew

The Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis) is a bird that was once considered an extinct animal throughout the world but, in the latest list of Instituto Chico Mendes, was reclassified to regionally extinct animal, since, as it is a migratory bird, it is possible that it is present in another country.

He originally inhabited Canada and Alaska and migrated to countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay, in addition to Brazil. It has already been registered in Amazonas, São Paulo and Mato Grosso, but the last time it was seen in the country was over 150 years ago.

Overhunting and loss of their habitat are pointed out as causes for their extinction. It is currently considered a species that is under great threat from global extinction according to the IUCN. In the photo below, you can see the record of this bird made in 1962 in Texas, United States.

7. Cabure-de-Pernambuco owl

The caburé-de-pernambuco (Glaucidium Mooreorum), of the Strigidae family, of the owls, was found on the coast of Pernambuco and possibly also in Alagoas and Rio Grande do Norte. Two were collected in 1980 and there was a sound recording in 1990. It is speculated that the bird had night, day and twilight habits, fed on insects and small vertebrates and could live in pairs or solitary. It is believed that the destruction of its habitat has caused the extinction of this animal in Brazil.

8. Small Hyacinth Macaw

The little hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus) could be found in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. With no official records around here, there were only reports of its existence in our country. It is believed that its population has never been very significant and has become a rare species in the second half of the 19th century.

There are no records of living individuals since 1912, when the last specimen at London Zoo would have died. According to ICMBio, what made it another of the extinct animals in Brazil was probably the agricultural expansion and also the impacts caused by the Paraguay War, which destroyed the environment in which he lived. Epidemics and genetic exhaustion are also pointed out as possible reasons for their disappearance from nature.

9. Northeastern Leaf Cleaner

The Northeastern Leaf Cleaner (Philydor novaesi) was an endemic bird in Brazil that could be found in only three localities of Pernambuco and Alagoas. The bird was last seen in 2007 and used to inhabit high and medium parts of the forest, it fed on arthropods and its populations were significantly harmed due to the expansion of agriculture and cattle raising. Therefore, it is considered from the group of recently extinct animals in the country.

10. Big Red Breast

The big red breast (sturnella defilippii) is one of the extinct animals in Brazil that still occurs in other countries such as Argentina and Uruguay. The last time he was seen in Rio Grande do Sul was for over 100 years, according to ICMBio.

this bird feeds on insects and seeds and lives in cold areas. According to the IUCN, it is threatened with extinction in a situation of vulnerability.

11. Megadytes ducalis

O Ducal Megadytes It is a species of water beetle from the Dytiscidae family and is known for a single individual found in the 19th century in Brazil, the location is not known for sure. It has 4.75 cm and would then be the largest species in the family.

12. Minhocuçu

The earthworm (rhinodrilus fafner) is known only to an individual found in 1912 in the city of Sabará, near Belo Horizonte. However, the specimen was sent to the Senckenberg museum in Frankfurt, Germany, where it is still kept with several fragments in a poor state of preservation.

This earthworm is considered one of the biggest earthworms ever found in the world, probably reaching 2.1 meters in length and up to 24 mm in thickness and is one of the extinct animals in Brazil.

13. Giant Vampire Bat

The giant vampire bat (Desmodus draculae) lived in hot areas from Central and South America. In Brazil, a skull of this species was found in a cave of the Alto Ribeira Touristic State Park (PETAR), in São Paulo, in 1991.[1]

It is not known what led to its extinction, but it is speculated that its characteristics were similar to those of the only living species of the genus, the vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), which is blood-flaming, therefore feeding on the blood of living mammals, and has a wingspan that can reach 40 centimeters. From the records already found, this extinct animal was 30% larger than its next of kin.

14. Lizard shark

Considered an extinct animal in Brazil, lizard shark (Schroederichthys bivius) can still be found off the coast of other South American countries. It is a small coastal shark that was found on the south coast of Rio Grande do Sul. It usually prefers to live in waters up to 130 meters deep and is an animal that presents sexual dimorphism in different aspects, with males reaching up to 80cm in length while females, in turn, reach up to 70cm.

The last time this oviparous animal was seen in Brazil it was in 1988. The main cause of its extinction is trawling, as there was never any commercial interest in this animal.

Endangered animals in Brazil

Talking about the extinction of animals is important even for them to be raised public policy to protect the species. And this, as it should be, is a recurrent subject here at PeritoAnimal.

Brazil, with its rich biodiversity, is pointed out as the home of something between 10 and 15% of animals across the planet and unfortunately hundreds of them are threatened with extinction mainly due to man's actions. Below we highlight some of the endangered animals in Brazil:

  • Pink dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)
  • Guara wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)
  • Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)
  • Black Cuxiú (satan chiropots)
  • Yellow Woodpecker (Celeus flavus subflavus)
  • Leather turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
  • Golden Lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia)
  • Jaguar (panthera onca)
  • Vinegar Dog (Speothos venaticus)
  • Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)
  • True beak (Sporophila maximilian)
  • Tapir (Tapirus terrestris)
  • Giant Armadillo (Maximus Priodonts)
  • Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus)

Everyone can do their part in preserving the environment, whether by saving on energy and water costs at home, not throwing garbage in rivers, seas and forests or even being part of associations and non-governmental organizations for the protection of animals and/or the environment.

And now that you already know some of the extinct animals in Brazil, don't miss our other articles in which we also talk about extinct animals in the world:

  • 15 animals threatened with extinction in Brazil
  • Endangered animals in the Pantanal
  • Endangered animals in the Amazon - Images and trivia
  • The 10 endangered animals in the world
  • Endangered birds: species, characteristics and images

If you want to read more articles similar to Extinct animals in Brazil, we recommend that you enter our Endangered Animals section.

References
  • UNICAMP. Peruvian Chupacabra Bat? No, the giant vampire is ours! Available at: https://www.blogs.unicamp.br/caapora/2012/03/20/morcego-chupacabra-peruano-nao-o-vampiro-gigante-e-nosso/>. Accessed on June 18, 2021.