Content
- 1. Katydid
- 2. Honshu Wolf
- 3. Stephen's Lark
- 4. Pyrenees Ibex
- 5. Wild Wren
- 6. Western Black Rhinoceros
- 7. Tarpon
- 8. Atlas Lion
- 9. Java Tiger
- 10. Baiji
- Other animals that have gone extinct
- Endangered species
Have you ever heard of the sixth extinction? Throughout the life of planet Earth there were five mass extinctions that decimated 90% of the species that inhabited the Earth. They took place in specific periods, in a non-ordinary and simultaneous way.
The first major extinction occurred 443 million years ago and wiped out 86% of species. It is believed to have been caused by the explosion of a supernova (a massive star).The second was 367 million years ago due to a set of events, but the main one was the emergence of land plants. This caused the extinction of 82% of life.
The third great extinction was 251 million years ago, caused by unprecedented volcanic activity, wiping out 96% of the planet's species. The fourth extinction was 210 million years ago, caused by climate change that radically raised the Earth's temperature and wiped out 76 percent of life. The fifth and most recent mass extinction was the one that exterminated the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago.
So what is the sixth extinction? Well, these days, the rate at which species are disappearing is staggering, about 100 times faster than normal, and it all seems to be caused by a single species, the homo sapiens sapiens or human beings.
In this article by PeritoAnimal unfortunately we present some of the animals that were extinct by man over the past 100 years.
1. Katydid
The katydid (Neduba extinct) was an insect belonging to the order Orthoptera that was declared extinct in 1996. Its extinction began when humans began to industrialize California, where this species was endemic. katydid is one of the animals that went extinct by man, but that he was not even aware of its existence until its extinction.
2. Honshu Wolf
The wolf-of-honshu or Japanese wolf (Canis lupus hodophilax), was a subspecies of wolf (kennels lupus) endemic to Japan. This animal is believed to have gone extinct due to a large outbreak of rabies and also the intense deforestation performed by man, who ended up annihilating the species, whose last living specimen died in 1906.
3. Stephen's Lark
Stephen's Lark (Xenicus lyalli) is another animal extinct by man, specifically by a man who worked at the lighthouse on Stephens Island (New Zealand). This gentleman had a cat (the only feline in the place) that he allowed to roam freely around the island, not taking into account that his cat was undoubtedly going to hunt. This lark was one of the flightless birds, and so it was a very easy prey to the feline whose guardian took no action to prevent his cat from killing every few species on the island.
4. Pyrenees Ibex
The last specimen of the Pyrenees ibex (Pyrenean capra Pyrenean) died on January 6, 2000. One of the reasons for its extinction was the mass hunting and, probably, competition for food resources with other ungulates and domestic animals.
On the other hand, he was the first among the animals that went extinct to be successfully cloned after its extinction. However, "Celia", the clone of the species, died a few minutes after birth due to a pulmonary condition.
Despite the efforts invested in its conservation, such as the creation of the Ordesa National Park, in 1918, nothing was done to prevent the Pyrenees ibex from being one of the animals that were extinct by man.
5. Wild Wren
With the scientific name of Xenicus longipes, this species of passiform bird was declared extinct by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in 1972. The reason for its extinction is the introduction of invasive mammals such as rats and mustelids, by man in his place of origin, New Zealand.
6. Western Black Rhinoceros
This rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes) was declared extinct in 2011. It is another one of our list of animals that have been extinct by human activity, specifically poaching. Some conservation strategies carried out in the early 20th century caused a population increase in the 1930s but, as we noted, unfortunately it did not last very long.
7. Tarpon
The tarpon (equus ferus ferus) was kind of wild Horse that inhabited Eurasia. The species was killed by hunting and was declared extinct in 1909. In recent years some attempts have been made to "create" a tarpon-like animal from its evolutionary descendants (bulls and domestic horses).
8. Atlas Lion
The Atlas Lion (panthera leo leo) became extinct in nature in the 1940s, but there are still some hybrids alive in zoos. The decline of this species began when the Sahara area began to become desert, but it is believed that it was the ancient Egyptians, through the logging, which drove this species to extinction, despite being considered a sacred animal.
9. Java Tiger
Declared extinct in 1979, the java tiger (Panthera tigris probe) lived peacefully on the island of Java until the arrival of humans, who through deforestation and, therefore, habitat destruction, led this species to extinction and that is why today they are one of the animals that were extinct by man.
10. Baiji
The baiji, also known as the white dolphin, the Chinese lake dolphin or the yang-tséou dolphin (vexillifer lipos), was reported missing in 2017 and, therefore, is believed to be extinct. Once again, the human being's hand is the cause of the annihilation of another species, through the overfishing, dam construction and pollution.
Other animals that have gone extinct
Also according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), here are other animals that have gone extinct, not proven by human action:
- Spotted Galapagos Tortoise (Chelonoidis abingdonii)
- Navassa Island Iguana (Cyclura onchiopsis)
- Jamaican Rice Rat (Oryzomys antillarum)
- Golden Toad (Golden Toad)
- Atelopus chiriquiensis (kind of frog)
- Characodon garmani (species of fish from Mexico)
- plagiarism hypena (species of moth)
- Notaries mordax (rodent species)
- Coryphomys buehleri (rodent species)
- Bettongia pusilla (Australian marsupial species)
- Hypotaenidia pacific (species of bird)
Endangered species
There are still hundreds of endangered animals across the planet. We at PeritoAnimal have already prepared a series of articles on the subject, as you can see here:
- Endangered animals in the Pantanal
- Endangered animals in the Amazon
- 15 animals threatened with extinction in Brazil
- Endangered birds: species, characteristics and images
- Endangered Reptiles
- Endangered marine animals
If you want to read more articles similar to Animals that have been extinct by man, we recommend that you enter our Endangered Animals section.