The Sharpened Leptachatina Snail from the island of Kaua’i, Hawaiian Islands, was described in 1848, it is the type of its genus and appears to be known only from a single broken shell.
“The species seems to be entirely distinct from any other species, and does not seem to have been rediscovered since the original material was collected.” [1]
***
The single known shell reaches a height of about 1,25 cm. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol 21: Achatinellidae (Amastrinae). 1911
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol 21: Achatinellidae (Amastrinae). 1911’
The Lanai Thrush was described in 1891. This thrush, which the Hawaiians called Oloma’o or Olomau, was restricted to the islands that formerly formed Maui-nui: Lana’i, Maui, and Moloka’i, Hawaiian Islands, with each of these islands harboring its own endemic subspecies respectively.
All of them are now extinct.
“The specimens from Lanai, the island from which Wilson’s type came, are as a rule much white below, and the majority of them have the brown of the back somewhat less bright. As the measurements of their wings show, there is also a decided tendency to longer wings in the Molokai birds, but the longest of those from Lanai surpass several of those from Molokai. There is nothing extraordinary in it if we assume that the Phaeornis, inhabiting also low-lying regions, crosses from Lanai to Molokai, and therefore is the same species on both islands … The Olomao, as it is called, both on Lanai and Molokai, is not rare on both these islands, and Palmer saw it in the lowland as well as at the highest elevations. In the stomachs he found seeds and berries of different plants. When seen on a tree they were generally shaking their wings or “trembling,” as Palmer calls it. They have that clear call-note peculiar to this group, and also another deep hoarse cry. Their song is “of a jerky nature,” and consists of several clear notes.” [1]
***
The Lanai Thrush disappeared soon after the establishment and subsequent development of Lana’i City in the center of the island in 1923, it was last seen only 10 years later in 1933.
***
The Oloma’o certainly also inhabited the island of Kaho’olawe, probably with another endemic subspecies, before the island was completely devastated. ***
syn. Phaeornis lanaiensis Wilson, Phaeornis obscurus ssp. lanaiensis Wilson
*********************
bird on bottom; together with Large Kauai Thrush (Myadestes myadestinus (Stejneger))
Depiction from: ‘Scott B. Wilson; A. H. Wilson; Frederick William Frohawk; Hans Gadow: Aves Hawaiienses: the birds of the Sandwich Islands. London: R.H. Porter 1890-1899’
(not in copyright) *********************
References:
[1] W. Rothschild: The Avifauna of Laysan and the neighbouring islands with a complete history to date of the birds of the Hawaiian possession. 1893-1900
The Linear-leaved Cyanea is known only from the type collection collected in the Wahi’awa Mountains on the island of Kaua’i, Hawaiian Islands, as well as three additional collections which lack any data.
The species is thus considered extinct.
However, the species was thought to have been rediscovered in 1991 in northern Kaua’i, but these plants turned out to represent a new species and were named as Kuhihewa Cyanea (Cyanea kuhihewa Lammers). [1]
The Linear-leaved Cyanea is still considered extinct.
*********************
References:
[1] Thomas G. Lammers: A new linear-leaved Cyanea (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) from Kaua’i, and the “rediscovery” of Cyanea linearifolia. Brittonia 48(2): 237-240. 1996
The Waitakere Scurvy Grass was described in 2013 in the curse of a genus revision, it is known only from four herbarium sheets one of which had been collected in 1870 and the other three in 1917.
The species was restricted to the coastlines of the Waitakere Ranges on the North Island of New Zealand. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] P. J. de Lange; P. B. Heenan; G. J. Houliston; J. R. Rolfe; A. D. Mitchell: New Lepidium (Brassicaceae) from New Zealand. PhytoKeys 24: 1-147. 2013
*********************
Photo from: ‘P. J. de Lange; P. B. Heenan; G. J. Houliston; J. R. Rolfe; A. D. Mitchell: New Lepidium (Brassicaceae) from New Zealand. PhytoKeys 24: 1-147. 2013’
This species was described in 1920, it was restricted to the island of O’ahu, Hawaiian Islands.
The shells reached sizes of about 0,22 cm.
***
The Egg-shaped Lyropupa Snail was apparently already extinct when it was described.:
“The specimens are all dead, apparently being Holocene fossils. They vary in color from vinaceous-cinnamon to cartridge-buff, or of the former tint with a cartridge-buff median zone. …” [1]
***
An additional form, Lyropupa ovatula ssp. kona Pilsbry & Cooke, was described in 1920 as a subspecies based on (sub)fossil specimens from Hawai’i and Moloka’i, which, however, most likely represent two distinct species.
*********************
References:
[1] George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second Series: Vol.25, Pupillidae (Gastrocoptinae, Vertigininae) 1918-1920 [2] Patrick V. Kirch; Carl C. Christensen: Nonemarine molluscs and paleoecology at Barber’s Point, O’ahu. Prepared for Archaeological Research Center Hawaii, Inc.. Department of Anthropology; Bernice P. Bishop Museum 1-40. 1980
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second Series: Vol.25, Pupillidae (Gastrocoptinae, Vertigininae) 1918-1920’
Turton’s Saint Helena Awl Snail (Chilonopsis turtoni)
This variable species was described in the year 1892.
Turton’s Saint Helena Awl Snail was obviously still extant in the middle of the 19th century, since some individuals were found at the higher elevations of Saint Helena, crawling among the remnants of the native vegetation.
The shells reached a height of about 1,7 cm. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] Edgar A. Smith: On the Land-Shells of St. Helena. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 258-270. 1892
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata, Vol. 17, African Achatinidae 1904-1905’
The Bean-shaped Tree-Snail was described in 1791, being the first species of its genus to be described.
The species inhabited the sister islands of Ra’iatea and Taha’a, Society Islands, with both islands harbouring an endemic subspecies respectively. It was extremely abundand in former times and was found everywhere on the islands from the sea level to the highest peaks.
The great variability of the shell coloration led to the description of various ‘varieties’. [1]
***
The Bean-shaped Tree-Snail was heavily declining in the 1990s after the Rosy Wolf-Snail (Euglandina sp.) had been introduced to and established on the island.
In an effort to save this species from extinction as much as 89 individuals were collected in 1991 and brought into captivity to be bred. One year later, in 1992, one last surviving individual was found and collected in the Vaiapu Valley, another 65 individuals were found and collected on the Temehani Plateau also to be brought into captivity – this was the last time the species was ever seen in the wild.
These last known individuals did well in captivity and even readily produced offspring and the future prospects for the this partulid species appeared to be good, however, the individuals born in captivity did not produce that much offspring, and the following generations finally produced none at all and the number of individuals dwindled.
The last surviving individuals were kept in several Zoos in Great Britain, including the Zoos of Bristol and London, but the number still dropped and dropped to only two remaining individuals in 2015. These last two survivors of their species were finally brought to the Zoo of Edinburgh, who had the greatest experiences with breeeding endangered partulid snails, however, this was unsuccessful.
The very last individual finally died today, February 21th, 2016, making it the 34th partulid species to have become extinct within the last 20 years. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] Justin Gerlach: Icons of Evolution: Pacific Island Tree-Snails of the Family Partulidae. Phelsuma Press 2016
This tree is apparently endemic to a place called Serra do Frio in Bahia, Brazil; it is known only from some very old herbarium specimens, of which the most recent one dates to 1864.
This tree species is known only from a single locality in Langping in northwestern Guangxi, China, where it grows in forests on limestone hills at an elevation of about 1400 m above sea level.
The species has not found during recent searches and might indeed be extinct.
The Long Jaw Tristramella was endemic to the so-called Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Tiberias, a small freshwater lake in northern Israel.
The species reproduced by spawning in the marshy northern part of the lake; this part of the lake, however, dried out repeatedly during the 1990s, resulting in the disappearance of this fish species.
The Long Jaw Tristramella is now extinct.
*********************
Depiction from: Louis Charles Émile Lortet: Poissons et Reptiles du lac de Tibériade et de quelques autres parties de la Syrie. Lyon 1883
The Delicate Amastra Snail was described in 1933, it was apparently restricted to a high valley just west of the peak of Mt. Nounou on the island of Kaua’i in the Hawaiian Islands.
This species was described in 1884; it is, or rather was, endemic to the island of Mo’orea in the Society archipelago.
The shells reach sizes of 0,3 to about 0,36 cm in diameter; they are light yellowish horn-colored with prominent, reddish flammulations which are broader above and are becoming narrower on the body whorl, fading out on the base of the shell. [2]
*********************
References:
[1] Alan Solem: Endodontoid land snails from Pacific Islands (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Sigmurethra). Part I, Family Endodontidae. Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, Illinois 1976
*********************
Depiction from: ‘G. W. Tryon; H. A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second Series: Pulmonata Vol. 3, Helicidae Vol. 1. 1887’
This is an up to date undescribed and thus unnamed species that is known exclusively from subfossil remains that had been found on Isla Isabele, Galápagos Islands. [1]
***
The Isabela sp. is apparently sometimes considered conspecific with the Galapagos Giant Rice Rat (Megaoryzomys curioi (Niethammer)) from the Isla Santa Cruz, another extinct rice rat species known only from subfossil remains.
*********************
References:
[1] Gustavo Jiménez-Uzcátegui; Bryan Milstead; Cruz Márquez; Javier Zabala; Paola Buitrón; Alizon Llerena; Sandie Salazar; Birgit Fessl: Galapagos vertebrates: endangered status and conservation actions. Galapagos Report 2006-2007
The so called Greater Amakihi, which is also known as Green Solitaire, was endemic to the island of Hawai’i, and was already restricted to a tiny area in the coastal rain forest of the Hamakua District in northeastern Hawai’i, when it was first discovered in 1892.
The bird reached a size of about 17 cm, both sexes were mainly bright olive-green, with narrow black lores, the black beak was long, nearly straight, and sharp-pointed, the bases of the mandibles were light blue.
Its food consisted mostly of insects, which the bird found while probing into bark crevices and leaf axils. [1]
***
Even though the Greater Amakihi superficially resembles the Amakihi (Hemignathus virens (Gmelin)), both species are/were not closely related, the Greater Amakihi does not belong in the genus Hemignathus but is more closely related to the extinct genus Aidemedia. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] H. Douglas Pratt: The Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Drepanidinae. Oxford Univ. Pr. 2005
*********************
Depiction from: ‘W. Rothschild: The Avifauna of Laysan and the neighbouring islands with a complete history to date of the birds of the Hawaiian possession. 1893-1900’
This species was discovered in 1828 when it was apparently still quite common and five specimens were collected … they are all that remains of this species today.
The Bonin Thrush was only ever found on a single island, Chichijima in the Ogasawara archipelago; however, it may well have been more widespread but no records exist. It inhabited coastal forests and was usually found on the forest floor, it may also have bred on the ground.
The species was about 23 cm large; it was warm brown colored and showed darker streaks on its upper side.
The Qilu Whitefish was endemic to Lake Qilu in Yunnan, China.
The species disappeared after the introduction of non-native fish species into the lake around 1964; it was last seen in the early 1980s and is now considered most likely extinct.
Florence’s Australdonta Snail was described in 2013; it is known by the astonishing number of 1732 subfossil specimens all of which were collected on the island of Rurutu, Austral Islands.
The shells are depressed, white to light fawn-colored, usually without markings but some specimens bear narrow, oblique or curved flammulations fading out towards the shell’s base.
[1] André F. Sartori; Olivier Gargominy; Benoît Fontaine: Anthropogenic extinction of Pacific and snails: A case study of Rurutu, French Polynesia, with description of eight new species of endodontids (Pulmonata). Zootaxa 3640(3): 343-372. 2013
The species was endemic to the island of São Miguel in the Azores, Portugal, where it was last recorded in 1930 in a single patch of exotic forest in the valley of Furnas in the southern corner of the island.
The Azores Darkling Beetle is now most likely extinct.
*********************
References:
[1] Sofia Terzopulou; François Rigal; Robert J. Whittaker; Paulo A. V. Borges; Kostas A. Triantis: Drivers of Extinction: the case of Azorean beetles. Biological Letters 11(6): 1-32. 2015 [2] Paulo Alexandre Vieira Borges; Lucas Lamelas-López; Isabel R. Amorim; Anja Danielczak; Rui Nunes; Artur R.M. Serrano; Mário Boieiro; Carla Rego; Axel Hochkirch; Virgílio Vieira: Conservation status of the forest beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) from the Azores, Portugal. Biodiversity Data Journal 5: e14557. 2017
This form was described in 1884, originally as a distinct species.
The Unperforated Tree-Snail was endemic to the island of Ra’iatea, Society Islands, where it inhabited the Mt. Tefatua, as well as many of the smaller valleys on the western side of the island at elevations from sea-level to about 700 m.
This form differs from the nominate form by several characters, for example by its narrower umbilicus, which sometimes is fully closed. [1]
***
The Unperforated Tree-Snail, like all its congeners from the lowland areas of Ra’iatea, is now extinct.
*********************
References:
[1] Justin Gerlach: Icons of Evolution: Pacific Island Tree-Snails of the family Partulidae. Phelsuma Press 2016
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second Series: Pulmonata Vol. 20, Caecilioides, Clessula and Partulidae. Index to Vols. 16-20. 1909-1910’
Admiralty Islands Bronze Ground Dove (Pampusana johannae ssp. admiralitatis)
The Admiralty Islands Bronze Ground Dove is a subspecies of the Eastern Ground Dove (Pampusana johannae (P. L. Sclater)) restricted to the Admiralty Islands north of eastern Papua New Guinea; it is sometimes assigned as a subspecies to the Western Bronze Ground Dove (Pampusana beccarii (Salvadori)) (see depiction).
This form is thought to be extinct.
*********************
Solomon Bronze Ground-Dove (Pampusana johannae ssp. solomonensis (Ogilvie-Grant)); below, together with Western Bronze Ground Dove (Pampusana beccarii (Salvadori)); above
Depiction from: Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum. London 21. 1893
The Minamijima Hirasea Snail was described in 1973 based on five specimens that were collected from probable Pleistocene deposits on the island of Minamijima, Ogasawara Islands, Japan.
The shells reached sizes of about 0,56 to 0,64 cm in height; they were ashy white and their surface was ribbed by distantly placed rough growth lines. [1]
***
I do not know for sure when this species actually disappeared, but I assume it to be a Pleistocene/Holocene border extinction.
*********************
References:
[1] Tadashige Habe: Fossil land snails from Minami-jima, Bonin Islands. Science Reports of the Tohoku University, Special Volume 6 (Hatai Memorial Volume): 51-53. 1973
The Fred Cave Weevil is an up to now undescribed species that is known from a subfossil abdomen that was recovered from the deposits of a 14 m deep vertical limestone shaft on a farm in the Fred Cave Catchment in the Waitomo District in western North Island, New Zealand. [1]
The species is thought to be extinct; however, some few congeneric species still survive at rat-free offshore islets.
*********************
References:
[1] G. Kuschel: The subfamily Molytinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): general notes and descriptions of new taxa from New Zealand and Chile. New Zealand Entomologist 9: 11-29. 1987 [2] Corinne H. Watts; Maureen J. Marra; Chris J. green; Lynette A. Hunt; Danny Thornburrow: Comparing fossil and extant beetles in central North Island forests, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 49(1): 1-20. 2019
This species, described in 1911; was restricted to an area near the Halemanu Stream and the Waipo’o Falls in the western part of Kaua’i, Hawaiian Islands; it was found under ferns and among rotten leaves and was considered to be rather uncommon.
The shells reached heights of 0,6 cm and were corneous in color with a slight yellow tinge.
The species is now extinct like most of its congeners.
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol 21: Achatinellidae (Amastrinae). 1911’
(public domain)
*********************
References:
[1] George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol 21: Achatinellidae (Amastrinae). 1911
The Kaunakakai Amastra Snail was apparently restricted to in the vicinity of a freshwater spring near a pipeline trail in Kaunakaki, a place at the southern coast of the Hawaiian island of Moloka’i, a place that it shared with at least one other species of the same genus, the Fragile Amastra Snail (Amastra fragilis Pilsbry & Cooke).
The shells reached sizes of about 1,3 to 1,4 cm in heigth.
*********************
References:
[1] George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol. 23: Appendix to Amastridae. Tornatellinidae. Index, vols. XXI-XXIII. 1915-1916
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol. 23: Appendix to Amastridae. Tornatellinidae. Index, vols. XXI-XXIII. 1915-1916’
The Atossa Fritillary, also known as the Unsilvered Fritillary, was described in 1890, originally as a full species, it was restricted to an area approximately at the borders between the three counties of Kern, Los Angeles and Ventura in southern California, USA.
The adult butterflies were found in open canyons wherever water was present, they were attracted by many wildflowers, but seemed to have had a special preference for the flowers of the California Buckeye (Aesculus californica (Spach) Nutt.). The larval food plant was a violet species, yet the exact species was apparently never properly recorded but is suspected to might have been the Oakwoods Violet (Viola purpurea ssp. quercetorum (M. S. Baker & J. C. Clausen) R. J. Little).
The Atossa Fritillary was last recorded in 1959 when two specimens were collected, respectively in 1960 when a last individual was spotted on the peak of Mt. Pinos in the Los Padres National Forest on the boundary between Kern – and Ventura counties.
There have been many field searches since the last sightings, yet all of them were unsuccessful, the Atossa Fritillary is extinct. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] Larry J. Orsak: Project Atossa – Preliminary report. Atala 2(2): 5-8. 1974
*********************
males on the right and in the middle, female on the right
Depiction from: ‘Willian H. Edwards: The Butterflies of North America. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin 1884-88’
This somewhat enigmatic species was described in 1975 on the basis of a single subfossil bone, a right humerus that is lacking the distal end.
This single bone, however, is enough to know that this must have been an extremely small species, basically smaller than any other cuckoo species; it is still possible that it had reduced wings like so many island endemics, and that it therefor was not really that tiny after all.
The Saint Helena Cuckoo disappeared shortly after the first people set their feet onto the island in 1502, mostly due to the habitat destruction by deforestation. [1]
***
Up to now, there is not a single record of any passerine bird from Saint Helena, thus the endemic cuckoo species may not have been a brood parasite; however, it is quite possible that any former passerine inhabitants might have gone extinct without leaving any traces of their former existence.
*********************
References:
[1] S. L. Olson: Paleornithology of St. Helena Island, south Atlantic Ocean. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 23. 1975
Dark Saint Helena Awl Snail (Chilonopsis melanioides)
This species was described in the year 1878 based on specimens that were collected at Diana’s Peak, Saint Helena’s highest point, at an elevation of about 600 m.
The shells reached a height of 0,9 to 1,1 cm.
***
The species was still extant, when it was discovered, but nevertheless it was already in the state of final extinction, see hereto Thomas Vernon Wollaston in the year 1878 (Testacea Atlantica).:
“… though a single living example which was secured by Mr. P. Whitehead in an immediately adjoining locality sufficed abundantly to indicate the modus vivendi of the species, – it having been taken at the roots of one of the damp masses of intermingled moss and grass which pad the base of the perpendicular rocks formed by the excavation of what is known as the ‘Cabbage-Tree Road’. There can be little doubt, consequently, that the S. melanioides will be ascertained to occur in humid places generally along the northern slopes of the ridge below Diana’s Peak.” [1]
*********************
References:
[1] T. Vernon Wollaston: Testacea Atlantica: or the Land and Freshwater Shells of the Azores, Madeiras, Salvages, Canaries, Cape Verdes, and Saint Helena. London: L. Reeve & Co. 1878 [2] Edgar A. Smith: On the Land-Shells of St. Helena. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 258-270. 1892
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second Series: Pulmonata Vol. 17, African Achatinidae 1904-1905’
The Lamellar Disc Snail was described in 1822, originally as coming from “Islands of the South Sea“, it was, however, endemic to Mt. Konahuanui, the highest peak of the Ko’olau Mountains on the island of O’ahu, Hawaiian Islands.
***
The Lamellar Disc Snail is now, like most of its congeners, extinct. [2]
*********************
References:
[1] Henry A. Pilsbry; C. Montangue Cooke Jr.; Marie C. Neal: Land Snails from Hawaii, Christmas Island, and Samoa. Bishop Museum Bulletin 47: 1-49. 1928 [2] Norine W. Yeung; Kenneth A. Hayes: Biodiversity and extinction of Hawaiian land snails: how many are left now and what must we do to conserve them – a reply to. Integrative and Comparative Biology 58(6): 1157-1169. 2018
*********************
Depiction from: ‘H. A. Pilsbry; E. G. Vanatta: Hawaiian species of Endodonta and Opeas. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 57: 783-786. 1905’
The Saffragam Sonerila, described in 1859, was restricted to the Ratnapura District in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka.
The plant reached a height of up to 45 cm, the leaves were ovate to oblong ovate, and slightly hirsute on both sides, the flowers were white to light pink.
The Saffragam Sonerila is considered most likely extinct. [1][2]
*********************
References:
[1] Roger Lundin: Taxonomy of Snerila (Melastomataceae) in Ceylon. Nordic Journal of Botany 3: 633-656. 1983 [2] MOE 2012. The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. VIII + 476 pp
The Two-colored Carelia Snail was described in 1839; the species was restricted to an area in the Hanakāpī’ai Valley in the northern north-west of Kaua’i, Hawaiian Islands.
The shells of this species reach heights of nearly 4 cm; they are quite variably colored and patterned; some of the color forms were originally described as distinct varieties or subspecies.
The species disappeared sometimes after the 1930s.
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol 21: Achatinellidae (Amastrinae). 1911’
(public domain)
*********************
References:
[1] George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol 21: Achatinellidae (Amastrinae). 1911 [2] C. Montague Cooke Jr.: The land snail genus Carelia. Bishop Museum Bulletin 85: 1-97. 1931
Gay’s Knapweed was described in 1849 based on material that had been collected somewhere in the hills of the Coquimbo Province, Chile.
The species is furtermore known to have also occurred in the Atacama region of the Huasco Province. [1]
***
I was not able so far to find any furter information about this enigmatic species.
*********************
References:
[1] Diego Penneckamp; Rodrigo Chaura; Gloria Rojas; Tod Stuessy: Taxonomic notes on Plectocephalus (Centaurea s.l., Centaureinae, Asteraceae) from Chile, including new combinations and synonyms. Phytotaxa 437(4): 227-236. 2020
The Kauai Amastra Snail was described in 1860, as its name implies it was endemic to the island of Kaua’i, Hawaiian Islands.
The shells reached sizes of about 2,3 cm
***
The American conchologist William Harper Pease, who collected the species, gives a brief description of the life animal.:
“The animal is very small in comparison with the size and thickness of the shell, a little larger than the diameter of the latter, and excessively narrow. It drags the heavy shell balanced on its back. When it crawl the head is stretched out as far as possible, the tow ends of the body solidly fixed, until the middle part contracts and draws the shell forward.“
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol 21: Achatinellidae (Amastrinae). 1911′
The Saddle-backed Mauritius Giant Tortoise, as its name implies, was endemic to the island of Mauritius (including several of the smaller offshore islets), Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean.
The species had a saddle-shaped carapace, a somewhat upright stand and was adapted for brousing higher vegetation.
When the Mascarene Islands were settled by Europenas in the 16th century, thousands of the endemic tortoise species were slaughtered for their meat and imported feral animals like cats, pigs and rats fed on the tortoises eggs and hatchlings.
The Saddle-backed Mauritius Giant Tortoise was extinct on Mauritius by the beginning of the 18th century, but a small population survived on the offshore Round Island for some additional decades. This last population, however, was doomed, its small island refuge was overrun by introduced goats and rabbits which finally destroyed the whole vegetation, leaving the tortoises starving to dead at around 1845.
The Rotuma Amber Snail is endemic is to the island of Rotuma, Fiji, including at least one of the offshore islets.
The species was described in 1897 based on six specimens that were collected on the island of Rotuma, another specimen was collected in 1938 on the offshore islet of Uea, this is also the last record for this species, that now is considered most likely extinct.
There is, however, the chance that the species indeed survives on Uea or one of the other offshore islets.
*********************
References:
[1] Gilianne Brodie; Gary M. Bakker; Froseann Stevens; Monifa Fiu: Preliminary re-survey of the land snail fauna of Rotuma: conservation and biosecurity implications. Pacific Conservation Biology 20(1): 94-107. 2014
The Reunion Slit-eyed Skink was endemic to La Réunion in the Indian Ocean.
The species was last collected in 1839, its extinction is attributed to the Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus F. Boie), a small, mildly venomous snake from South Asia specialized in hunting small reptiles, that was accidently introduced to the Mascarene Islands in the middle of the 19th century. [1]
The Reunion Slit-eyed Skink’s next living relative is Bojer’s Skink (Gongylomorphus bojerii (Desjardins)) (see photo below), which is restricted to the island of Mauritius.
*********************
References:
[1] Anthony Cheke; Julian P. Hume: Lost Land of the Dodo: The ecological history of Mauritius, Réunion, and Redrigues. Yale University Press 2008
The Small Kleokyphus Snail was described in 1976 on the basis of four specimens that were collected in 1955 on the island of Makatea in the Tuamotu Archipelago.
The shells are less than 0.5 cm in diameter; they are depressed, thin, opaque and white, decorated with regularly spaced, amber-colored flammulations that fade out towards the shell’s base.
[1] Alan Solem: Endodontoid land snails from Pacific Islands (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Sigmurethra). Part I, Family Endodontidae. Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, Illinois 1976 [2] André F Sartori; Olivier Gargominy; Benoît Fontaine: radiation and decline of endodontid land snails in Makatea, French Polynesia. Zootaxa 3772: 1-68. 2014
The Panama Zetekina Snail was endemic to the Río Matasnillo, which runs through Panama City, the capital of Panama.
The species is now considered extinct, probably as a result of water pollution. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] Fred G. Thompson: An annotated checklist and bibliography of the land and freshwater snails of México and Central America. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 50(1): 1-299. 2011
The Peruvian Rail was described in 1886 as a subspecies of the Bogota Rail (Rallus semiplumbeus P. L. Sclater) based on a single specimen that was collected somewhere in the Peruvian highlands.
The supposed subspecies reached a size of about 25 cm and is said to have differed from the nominate form sufficiently enough to warrant full species status.
Subplicate Saint Helena Awl Snail (Chilonopsis subplicatus)
The Subplicate Saint Helena Awl Snail was described in 1844 on the basis of subfossil shells that were found in deposits on the island of Saint Helena.:
“Quite distinct from any other known species and of elongate form like the section Peronaeus. The Cochlicopa terebellum of Sowerby, a slightly more slender form, is evidently merely a slight variety in which the plications at the suture, probably through the worn condition of the specimens, appear to be less developed.“ [1]
***
The species might very well have survived into quite recent times and probably disappeared only after the arrival of the first human settlers in the 16th century.
*********************
References:
[1] Edgar A. Smith: On the land-shells of St. Helena. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 258-270. 1892
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata, Vol. 17, African Achatinidae 1904-1905’
As its name implies, the Fossil Leptachatina Snail from the island of Kaua’I, Hawaiian Islands was already extinct when it was described in 1911.:
“The shell is umbilicate, conically ovate, white (in a fossil state) ….” [1]
***
The shell was very small, reaching a height of only about 0,7 cm. The Fossil Leptachatina Snail very likely was among the first snail species to disappear after the arrival of men.
*********************
References:
[1] George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol 21: Achatinellidae (Amastrinae). 1911
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata. Vol 21: Achatinellidae (Amastrinae). 1911’
The family Nestoridae is endemic to the New Zealand faunal region and contains the Kaka (Nestor meridionalis Gmelin), the Kea (Nestor notabilis Gould) as well as the Kakapo (Strigops habroptila Gray); it formerly contained at least two additional species, including this one from the Chatham Islands.
***
The species is known from abundant subfossil remains, which, by the way, were known since about the end of the 19th century, but had been originally assigned to the Kea. In the 1950s the remains were studied again and subsequently assigned to the New Zealand Kaka. Only in 1999 the Chatham Islands form was recognized as a distinct species, differing from both the New Zealand Kaka and the Kea. The species was finally described in 2014.
***
The Chatham Islands Kaka was most closely related to the New Zeland Kaka, but was in fact a rather terrestrial species, very much like the Kea, it was on the way of becoming flightless and very likely was very tame and thus fel victim to the hunting of the first human settlers on the Chatham Islands.
*********************
References:
[1] J. R. Wood; K. J. Mitchell; R. P. Scofield; A. J. D. Tennyson; A. E. Fidler, J. M. Wilmshurst; B. Llamas; A. Cooper: An extinct nestorid parrot (Aves, Psittaciformes, Nestoridae) from the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 172: 185–199. 2014 *********************
This form is known from charcoal remains that were recovered from deposits on Easter Island. [1]
The genus Myrsine contains an unknown [to me] number of species, with at least 70 species, subspecies and varieties occurring in the Polynesian region. The closest place to Rapa Nui still harboring endemic species are the Pitcairn Islands, which are the home of two endemic species, Hosaka’s Myrsine (Myrsine hosakae H. St. John) on Henderson Island as well as a still undescribed [?] species on Pitcairn Island.
*********************
References:
[1] Terry L. Hunt: Rethinking Easter Island’s ecological catastrophe. Journal of Archaeological Science 34: 485-502. 2007
The Oyacachi Peperomia is only known from one collection that was purchased about 100 years ago near Oyacachi, a small indigenous community in the Napo Province, Ecuador.
The species was never recorded again and is possibly extinct.
The Velvety Stranglevine is known only from the type material collected in 1858 at the Río Pangor near Juan de Velasco, a local community in the Chimborazo Province in central Ecuador.
The exact locality appears to be unknown, however, no additional material has ever been collected and the species very likely is extinct.
*********************
References:
[1] Sigrid Liede-Schumann; Ulrich meve: The Orthosiinae revisited (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae, Asclepiadeae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 99(1): 44-81. 2013
The Ochlockonee Arcmussel was scientifically described in the year 1901.
The species lived exclusively in the Ochlockonee River in Florida, where it occurred obviously at only two places (Specimens, that were found in the Flint River in the Upson County in Georgia, were later identified as Southern Elktoes (Alasmidonta triangulata (Lea)).).
The habitat of the mussel was destroyed when in the year 1927 a dam was build to impound the Ochlockonee River for power production, and when the sections of the river, in which the species lived, were inundated thereby.
The last members of this species were found in the year 1931.
***
The former habitat of this species does not exist any more, it has been replaced by today’s Lake Talquin.
Elliot’s Hummingbird was described in the year 1877 as a distinct species on the basis of a single specimen from the Bogotá ‘bird market’, its taxonomic status, however, is debatable.
The Koko Head Lyropupa Snail was endemic to the island of O’ahu, Hawaiian Islands, and was said to be very abundant and widespread as a fossil in the 19th century, but was rarely found alive.
The shells reached sizes of about 0,24 cm in heigth and were uniformly brown.
***
The author of the species writes a bit about its geographical distribution.:
“Very abundant in pleistocene and holocene deposits on the coastal plain of Oahu, Diamond Head eastward; Kailua; living examples from Koko Head.” [1]
***
There are at least two additional forms that were assigned as subspecies to this species: Lyropupa perlonga ssp. filocostata Cooke & Pilsbry, from Kaua’i and Ni’ihau, which most likely is a distinct species, and Lyropupa perlonga ssp. interrupta Pilsbry & Cooke. [1]
***
The Koko Head Lyropupa Snail is now considered extinct.
*********************
References:
[1] George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second Series: Vol.25, Pupillidae (Gastrocoptinae, Vertigininae) 1918-1920 [2] Patrick V. Kirch; Carl C. Christensen: Nonemarine molluscs and paleoecology at Barber’s Point, O’ahu. Prepared for Archaeological Research Center Hawaii, Inc.. Department of Anthropology; Bernice P. Bishop Museum 1-40. 1980
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second Series: Vol.25, Pupillidae (Gastrocoptinae, Vertigininae) 1918-1920’
Ascension Island Wood Fern (Dryopteris ascensionis)
The Ascension Island Wood Fern is very closely related to the two species Dryopteris cognata (C. Presl.) Kuntze und Dryopteris napoleonis (Bory) Kuntze, both of which are endemic to the island of Saint Helena.
The species grew only at the Green Mountain, the only place on Ascension Island, where a dense vegetation cover exists, and was found for the last time in the year 1889, and is since considered extinct.
The reason for this are introduced, invasive plant species, which overrun the native vegetation.
This species was described in the year 1877, it was endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
Thomas Vernon Wollaston, the author of the species writes.:
„The C. apionides is extremely scarce, and confined to the high central ridge, – where normally it is, without doubt, attached to the damp and decayed wood of the old cabbage-trees. In such situations I have met with it along the “Cabbage Tree Road,” immediately below Diana’s Peak and Actaeon; but at Cason’s, like so many of the Cossinids in that particular locality, it has adapted itself almost equally to the pines, – beneath the dead trunks of which I captured it, not uncommonly, particularly about February, in company with the Pseudomesoxeni and varies species of Microxylobius, after the early summer rains.“ [1]
Thus, the species was already very rare, when it was first discovered.
The last records date from the years 1965/66, when the species was found during field surveys, unfortunately it was not found during all later surveys in the years 2005/06 and is now almost certainly extinct. [2]
*********************
References:
[1] T. Vernon Wollaston: Coleoptera Sanctae-Helenae. London: John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row 1877 [2] Howard Mendel; Philip Ashmole; Myrtle Ashmole: Invertebrates of the Central Peaks and Peak Dale, St. Helena. Report for the St Helena National Trust, Jamestown 2008
This species was described in the year 1976 on the basis of two specimens, which had been found in the year 1934 on the small coral islet Tauna in the Gambier Archipelago, sitting on dead leaves.
The shells reach an average size of 0,22 cm in diameter.
***
The Tauna Disc Snail was for a long time known only from the typus material, but then, in the year 1997, shells of this species were also found on the islands of Akamaru and Kouaku.
*********************
References:
[1] Alan Solem: Endodontoid land snails from Pacific Islands (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Sigmurethra). Part I, Family Endodontidae. Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, Illinois 1976 [2] Ahmed Abdou; Philippe Bouchet: Nouveaux gastéropodes Endodontidae et Punctidae (Mollusca, Pulmonata) récemment éteints da l’archipel des Gambier (Polynésie). Zoosystema 22(4): 689-707. 2000
The Oahu Swamp Leaf-roller was described in 1899, the species inhabited swampy lowland areas on the northwestern coast of O’ahu, Hawaiian Islands.
The moth reached a wingspan of about 2 cm.
The The Oahu Swamp Leaf-roller already disapperaed at the beginning of the 20th century after the draining of its habitat for housebuilding. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] Elwood C. Zimmerman: Insects of Hawaii 8; Lepidoptera: Pyralidae. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 1958
*********************
Depiction from: ‘Otto H. Swezey: The sugar cane leaf-roller (Omiodes accepta): with an account of allied species and natural enemies. Report of work of the Experiment Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association. Entomological series. Bulletin 5: 1-60. 1907′
The Large Mariana Islands Ground Dove is known so far only from subfossil remains that were recovered from sites on the island of Rota, Mariana Islands.
The species was formerly sympatric with the congeneric White-throated Ground Dove (Pampusana xanthonura (Temminck)), which is still alive, but was apparently larger. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] David W. Steadman: Extinct and extirpated birds from Rota, Mariana Islands. Micronesia 25(1): 71-84. 1992
Elie Poroi’s Pseudolibera Snail was described in 2014, it was endemic to the island of Makatea, Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia; it is known from at least 93 specimens, most of which were collected from the deposits inside the Moumu cave.
The shells reach a size of less than 0,7 cm, they are subdepressed, dome-shaped, white and bear regularely spaced amber-colored flammulations which are often more conspicuous on the shell base than apically. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] A. F. Sartori; O. Gargominy; B. Fontaine: Radiation and decline of endodontid land snails in Makatea, French Polynesia. Zootaxa 3772(1): 1–68. 2014
The Rosy Oahu Tree Snail was described in 1828, the species inhabited the Helemano- and Poamoho Ridges and adjacent places at the western slopes of the Ko’olau Mountains in eastern O’ahu, Hawaiian Islands.
The shells reached heights of about 1,9 to 2,2 cm, they are white or pale rosy to strong pink or sometimes brown, unicolored or multicolored striped; many, but yet not all individuals of this species have a strong pink colored shell aperture (mouth).
We also have some information about the appearance of the actual animal.:
“Animal, when young, of a bright straw yellow, with ocular appendages tinged with brown. In the adult, the color is a uniform light gray, with mantle and tentacles dark brown.” [1]
This is also considered some kind of variety or maybe subspecies of the Bulimus-like Oahu Tree Snail (Achatinella bulimoides Swainson).
***
The last record for this species was the sighting of a single individual at the Helemano Ridge in 1949, since then the species is considered extinct. [2]
***
Parts of the former range of the Rosy Oahu Tree Snail are still inhabited today by another tree snail species, Sowerby’s Oahu Tree Snail (Achatinella sowerbyana Pfeiffer) that somehow still manages to survive in the wild.
*********************
References:
[1] E. W. Thwing: Reprint of the original descriptions of the genus Achatinella. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 3(1): 1-196. 1907 [2] Recovery Plan for the O’ahu Tree Snails of the genus Achatinella. U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Region One, Portland, Oregon. April 1993
*********************
Depiction from: ‘W. Tryon; H. A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata, Vol. 22, Achatinellidae 1912-1914’
The Hua Hin Stone Loach was described in 1935 based on a single specimen that was found at near the city of Hua Hin in the Prachuap Khiri Khan province in southwestern Thailand.
The single known specimen is a 5,8 cm long male; in life it was of a light yellowish brown with small, dark spots on top of the head and eight dark bars along the body sides.
The species was never found since its description and is quite likely extinct.
*********************
References:
[1] Randal A. Singer; Lawrence M. Page: Redescription of Schistura myrmekia (Fowler 1935) (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Zootaxa 3586: 347-352. 2012
The Bahamian Giant Owl, described in 1936 based on subfossil remains, was formerly thought to have been endemic to the Bahaman islands but is now known to have also occurred on the island of Cuba.
It was the largest species within its genus, and its remains are by far the rarest to be found, especially on Cuba.
The Bahamian Giant Barn Owl is known to have preferably preyed upon the Bahamian Hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami (J. A. Allen)), a large, nocturnal rodent species that still inhabits some of the Bahamian islands today. [2]
***
At least two additional species can be added to this list. Tyto pollens was a flightless, 1-m-tall congener of barn owls that likely occurred in old-growth Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea) barrens of Andros Island, Bahamas, in association with early human settlers (see figs. 6-9). It probably gave rise to local lore of chickcharnies, a mischievous leprechaunlike, nocturnal imp said to have three toes and the ability to turn its head all the way around. If disturbed, chickcharnies would impart terrible misfortune. It is possible that territorial defense behaviors of a meter-tall Tyto could give rise to such legends. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] Bruce G. Marcot: Owls of old forests of the world. General Technicl Reports. Portland, Oregon: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station 1-64. 1995 [2] William Suárez; Storrs L. Olson: Systematics and distribution of the giant fossil barn owls of the West Indies (Aves: Strigiformes: Tytonidae). Zootaxa 4020 (3): 533-553. 2015
This species was described in 1974, it was restricted to higher elevations on the island of Maui, but subfossil remains show that it formerly was common all over the island.
The Poouli reached a size of about 14 cm, it had a black face, a grey crown, the upperparts were brown, the under site was light brown to dusky white.
The species fed on snails, spiders and insects.
The Hawaiian name po’o-uli, which was given to the bird by its authors, literally means dark-headed. [1]
***
This species is now extinct, what in fact could easily have been avoided if the efforts to save this species would have been started earlier.
There were only three birds leftover in 1997, a male and two females; one of them, the male, was captured and taken to the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda in an attempt to breed the bird in captivity, but it died shortly after (November 26th, 2004) on bird malaria.
The enormous ignorance and incompetence of the persons in authority involved in this case is simply an unbelievable shame!
The official red list of the IUCN still lists the Poouli as Critically Endangered, but the Poouli has gone forever.
*********************
References:
[1] H. D. Pratt: The Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Drepanidinae. Oxford Univ. Pr. 2005
*********************
Photo: Paul E. Baker (?); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Giant Diving Beetle, described in 1882, was originally known only from a single specimen, which was collected in 1880 (?) at an unknown location in Brazil.
The species was considered extinct.
***
However, another ten specimens were discovered in 2019 in different historical museum collections, including drawers with unsorted diving beetle accessions of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France. These specimens were labeled as having been collected in what today is the municipality of Condeúba in the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil.
The species is still officially considered extinct, but searches with the intention to rediscover the species are currently underway. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] Lars Hendrich; Michael Manuel; Michael Balke: The return of the Duke – locality data for Megadytes ducalis Sharp, 1882, the world’s largest diving beetle, with notes on related species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). Zootaxa 4586: 517-535. 2019
The La Digue Landsnail was described in 2003; it was restricted to the island of La Digue in the Seychelles.
The species is only known from subfossil material which had been found at about 15 cm below the surface; it is believed that this snail died out shortly after the Seychelles were colonized by human settlers in the late 18th century; the most likely reason for its disappearance is thought to have been human disturbance, especially forest clearance.
The shells reach heights of about 2.7 cm; their coloration was originally mahagony brown with a dark spiral band on the middle of the body whorl and a pink tint on the columella; however, most specimens that were found are bleached, thus it is unknown if the spiral band and the pinkish columella were normal characters. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] J. Gerlach: New terrestrial Gastropoda (Mollusca) from Seychelles. Phelsuma 11: 39-51. 2003 [2] Justin Gerlach: Red Listing reveals the true state of biodiversity: a comprehensive assessment of Seychelles biodiversity. Phesluma 20: 9-22. 2012
Desmazures’ Tropidophora Snail was described in 1873; it was apparently restricted to the forested slopes of Mt. Limon, the highest peak of Rodrigues.
This species was also for some time considered to be a variety of the Beautiful Tropidophora Snail (Tropidophora pulchra (Gray)), which, however, is endemic to the Seychelles. [1]
The species is now considered extinct.
*********************
References:
[1] Louis Germain: Faune malacologique terrestre et fluviatile des Iles Mascareignes. Paris 1921
The Oahu Akialoa is known for a certainty on the basis of only two specimens, which were collected sometimes during the 1830s, when the species was already very close to extinction.
The bird reached a size of about 19 cm.
The species was known locally as ‘akialoa or kipi, the term ‘akia is a standardised term for green birds wird curved bills, loa, meaning large, regards to the large size of the bird, thus, the name of the bird can be translated as “Large Curve-billed Green Bird”. The meaning of the term kipi, however, is not known to me.
Other names were iiwi or iwi. [2]
***
The last confirmed sighting was in 1892, when Robert C. L. Perkins, the famous naturalist, who often was the last eyewitness for several of the drepanidid species, saw a pair in the Nu’uanu Valley, he shot one of the two birds, however, could not detect the unlucky fellow.:
“However, on one occasion, I saw a pair of this species, the one chasing the other over a narrow ridge high up in the mountains. The leading bird passed over this ridge and down into the deep gulch on the other side, squeaking as it flew, the other alighted in an Ohia tree on the top of the ridge about 10 yards in front of me. The latter when I shot dropped over the steep edge and after much searching I was unable to find it. I distinctly nopticed the sombre plumage of the upper parts, which in no way approached the yellowe colour of the other species with which I was then familiar.” [2]
There are some subsequent records, yet not confirmed, dating to 1937, 1939 and 1940 respectively, indicating that the species may have survived for a while longer.
*********************
References:
[1] R. C. L. Perkins: Notes on Collecting in Kona. The Ibis 6(5): 101-111. 1893 [2] R. C. L. Perkins: Vertebrata. in: Fauna Hawaiiensis 1(4): 365-466. 1899-1913 [3] D. Luther: Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt. Westarp Wissenschaften 1986 [4] H. D. Pratt; P. L. Bruner; D. G. Berrett: A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press 1987 [5] E. Fuller: Extinct Birds. Penguin Books (England) 1987 [6] H. D. Pratt: The Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Drepanidinae. Oxford Univ. Pr. 2005
*********************
Depiction from: ‘W. Rothschild: The Avifauna of Laysan and the neighbouring islands with a complete history to date of the birds of the Hawaiian possession. 1893-1900’
Terlingua Brickellbush (Brickellia brachyphyllai var. terlinguensis)
The Terlingua Brickellbush is a variety of the Plumed Brickellbush (Brickellia brachyphylla (A. Gray) A. Gray) (see photo below); it is, or maybe was, restricted to the Chisos Mountains in Brewster County in western Texas, USA.
The Panther Shrub Frog was described in 2007, like many of its congeners, this species is known from only a single specimen which in this case was collected sometimes prior to 1858 at an unknown locality on the island of Sri Lanka.
The Kona Grosbeak was discovered at the end of the 19th century, at that time it was restricted to a tiny, only about 10 km² large area in the north of the Kona district on the island of Hawai’i.
This rather plump and inconspicuous looking bird fed almost exclusively on the dried seeds of the Naio tree (Myoporum sandwicense (A. Gray)), and could often be located by the cracking sound of its feeding.
R. C. L. Perkins was one of the few people, that saw the bird in life, he wrote about it in the year 1893.:
“The Palila (Chloridops kona), though an interesting bird on account of its peculiar structure, is a singularly uninteresting one in its habits. It is a dull, sluggish, solitary bird, and very silent – its whole existence may be summed up in the words “to eat.” Its food consists of the seeds of the fruit of the aaka (bastard sandal-tree [Myoporum sandwicense (A. Gray)],and probably in other seasons of those of the sandal-wood tree), and as these are very minute, its whole time seems to be taken up in cracking the extremely hard shells of this fruit, for which its extraordinarily powerful beak and heavy head have been developed. I think there must have been hundreds of the small white kernels in those that I examined. The incessant cracking of the fruits when one of these birds is feeding, the noise of which can be heard for a considerable distance, renders the bird much easier to see than it otherwise would be. … I never heard it sing (once mistook the young Rhodacanthis’ song for that of Chloridops), but my boy informed me that he had heard it once, and its song was not like that of Rhodacanthis. Only once did I see it display any real activity, when a male and female were in active pursuit of one another amongst the sandal-trees. Its beak is nearly always very dirty, with a brown substance adherent to it, which must be derived from the sandal-tree.”
Note, that the name Palila is actually the Hawaiian vernacular name for another drepanidine bird species – Loxioides bailleui (Oustalet). The last living Kona Grosbeaks were seen in the year 1894.
*********************
References:
[1] R. C. L. Perkins: Notes on Collecting in Kona. The Ibis 6(5): 101-111. 1893 [2] D. Luther: Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt. Westarp Wissenschaften 1986 [3] H. D. Pratt; P. L. Bruner; D. G. Berrett: A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press 1987 [4] E. Fuller: Extinct Birds. Penguin Books (England) 1987 [5] H. D. Pratt: The Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Drepanidinae. Oxford Univ. Pr. 2005
*********************
Depiction from: ‘W. Rothschild: The Avifauna of Laysan and the neighbouring islands with a complete history to date of the birds of the Hawaiian possession. 1893-1900’
Sodiro’s Psychotria is known only from the type material that was collected in 1874 in what today is the city Nanegal in the Pichincha Province, Ecador.
This species, described in 1935, is known only from the type, collected at the beach near the village of Amaru on the island of Rimatara in the Austral Archipelago.
The material is sufficient enough to prove that this is indeed a distinct species that differs from the other two Myoporum species that are known to occur on the Austral Archipelago (Myoporum rapense F. Br. and Myoporum stokesii F. Br.).
The species is considered extinct. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] R. J. Chinnock: Eremophila and Allied Genera: A Monograph of the Plant Family Myoporaceae. Rosenberg Pub. 2007
This species is the smallest member of its genus on the Hawai’i Islands and is known only on the basis of the type material, a single pair.
The species reached a wingspan of about 2,6 cm.
The host plant of its larvae is unknown.
The Kilauea Cutworm was scientifically described in the year 1899 and was, according to eyewitnesses, still commonly found on the hills of the Kilauea volcano in the year 1913, where the moths were seen flying in the morning sunshine over low vegetation. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] E. C. Zimmerman: Insects of Hawaii 7, Macrolepidoptera. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 1958
*********************
Photo from: ‘Matthew J. Medeiros; Jessica Kirkpatrick; Christine H. Elliott; Andersonn Prestes; Jesse Eiben; Daniel Rubinoff: Two new day-flying species of Agrotis Ochsenheimer (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from the alpine summit of Maunakea Volcano. Zootaxa 4545(2): 277-285. 2019’
This species is known only from the type material, which was found in the damp sand of a lagoon near the village of Mordazo in the Cuban Province of Villa Clara.
The plant reached a height of 2 to 3 cm.
The species was scientifically described in the year 1925, but, however, was never found again.
*********************
References:
[1] R. Berazaín: The extinct Flora of Cuba. Bissea 3(2). 2009
The Bearded Galaxaura Alga, described in 1945, was endemic to the waters around the Galápagos archipelago, where, however, it apparently was restricted to three localities only.
The species disappeared together with many other marine algae species after the devastating El Niño from 1982/83.
*********************
References:
[1] Graham J. Edgar; Stuart A. Banks; Margarita Brandt; Rodrigo H. Bustamantes; Angel Chiriboga; Lauren E. Garske; Peter W. Glynn; Jack S. Grove; Scott Henderson; Cleve P. Hickman; Kathy A. Miller; Fernando Rivera; Gerald M. Wellington: El Niño, grazers and fisheries interact to greatly elevate extinction risk for Galapagos marine species. Global Change Biology 16: 2876-2890. 2010
The Knob Rocksnail, also known as Knob Mudalia, was endemic to a restricted part of the Tennessee River near the city of Muscle Shoals in Alabama, USA.
White’s Wallaby Grass is only known from the type material, that was collected in the year 1933 at the edge of a large fresh water swamp in an area named Maranoa in the south of Queensland.
It is an about 20 to 35 cm tall grass.
The species was never fund again, and is considered most likely extinct.
The Large Gambiodonta Snail was described in 1976 (together with all other members of its genus), it is known from 259 specimens collected in 1934, 32 from the islet of Agakauitai and 227 from Aukena Islet, Gambier Islands.
The Large Gambiodonta Snail was the largest member of its genus known so far, the shell of the holotype reached 0,85 cm in heigth and 1,18 cm in diameter. [1]
***
The whole genus apparently disappeared shortly after the arrival of the first Polynesians on the Gambier Islands.
*********************
References:
[1] Alan Solem: Endodontoid land snails from Pacific Islands (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Sigmurethra). Part I, Family Endodontidae. Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, Illinois 1976
This species was described in 1872; it is endemic to the island of Rarotonga, Cook Islands; it was originally described by its author as: “A very pretty andsomewhat rare species, having a wide range on the island, and generally found on the ground on the sides of ravines” [1]
The shells reach average sizes of about 0,45 cm; they are: “Perspectively umbilicated, thin, pellucid, a little shining, light corneous, not variegated, laminately costate, the ribs thin, rather close, oblique, slightly sinuous, continued on the base, interstices lightly, closely striate, suture deep; whorls 4, plano-convex, rapidly enlarging, base convex.” [2]
The species is now extinct.
*********************
References:
[1] Andrew J. Garrett: Descriptions of new species of land and fresh-water shells. American Journal of Conchology 7: 219-230. 1872
[2] G. W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a. o.: Manual of Conchology. Second Series: Pulmonata Vol. 3, Helicidae Vol. 1. 1887
[3] Alan Solem: Endodontoid land snails from Pacific Islands (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Sigmurethra). Part II, Families Punctidae and Charopidae, Zoogeography. Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, Illinois 1983
*********************
Depiction from: ‘G. W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a. o.: Manual of Conchology. Second Series: Pulmonata Vol. 3, Helicidae Vol. 1. 1887’
The Cookena Snail was described in 1938 based on specimens that had been collected in 1934 at a lowland hill side at Mt. Tavaetu on the island of Tubuai, Austral Islands. The species was originally found, apparently quite abundantly, on all kind of native vegetation as well as under logs and stones.
The Cookeana Snail was similar to the congeneric Vindex Snail (Cookeana vindex H. B. Baker), with which together it was described, but differed from that species by several characters including its shell-lap having a row of black dots. [1]
***
This species was not found during all recent surveys and is believed to be extinct. [2]
*********************
References:
[1] H. Burrington Baker: Zonitid snails from Pacific Islands: Southern genera of Microcystinae. Bishop Museum Bulletins 158: 1-101. 1938 [2] Olivier Gargominy; Benoît Fontaine: A Global Overview of the Terrestrial and Freshwater Molluscs. In: Jean-Yves Meyer; Elin. M. Claridge: Biodiversity of the Austral Islands, French Polynesia. Muséum national d´Histoire naturelle, Paris. 55-91. 2014
This subspecies was described in 1884, originally as a distinct species.
The Beautiful Tree-Snail was endemic to the southwestern part of Ra’iatea, Society Islands, where it inhabited several valleys, including the Faaroa, the Faatemu, the Tivae, the Vaeanae, and the Vaiaau valleys. It was an arboreal form and was usually found on shrubs. [2]
***
The following citation about this species in life is from Andrew Garrett.:
“The metropolis of this very distinct species is in Fatimu, or on the southwest part of Raiatea. It occurs in vast numbers on bushes on the lowlands near the seashore, becoming more scarce inland, where it is found associated with P. Hebe, var. bella. It ranges north as far as Vaiau valley, becoming less and less abundant as the distance increases from its specific centre.” [1]
***
The shells of this rather large form reached a height of about 2,5 cm.
*********************
References:
[1] Andrew Garrett: The terrestrial Mollusca inhabiting the Society Islands. Philadelphia: Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 1884 [2] Justin Gerlach: Icons of Evolution: Pacific Island Tree-Snails of the Family Partulidae. Phelsuma Press 2016
*********************
Depiction from: ‘George W. Tryon; Henry A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second Series: Pulmonata Vol. 20, Caecilioides, Clessula and Partulidae. Index to Vols. 16-20. 1909-1910’
Clara’s Hirasiella Snail was described in 1902; it is, or maybe was, endemic to the island of Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands, Japan.
The shells reach sizes of about 0,3 cm in height; “Shell sub-perforate, glossy and smooth, yellowish, elevated with convex outlines, bullet-shaped, the periphery rounded, base very convex.” [1]
The species is now possibly extinct. [2]
*********************
References:
[1] H. A. Pilsbry: Notices of new land shells of the Japanese Empire. Nautilus 15: 141-142. 1902
[2] Robert H. Cowie; Claire Régnier; Benoît Fontaine; Philippe Bouchet. Measuring the Sixth Extinction: what do mollusks tell us? The Nautilus 131(1): 3-41. 2017
*********************
Depiction from: ‘Henry August Pilsbry: Papers on Mollusca of Japan. Philadelphia 1901-12’
Wilder’s Copperleaf was restricted to Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands, and was scientifically described in the year 1931.
The species was a mostly unbranched, about 2 m tall shrub, with long-stemmed, about 30 x 20 cm large leaves. It was monoecious, with plants producing either only female or male flowers, which appeared at the tops of the branches, the female flowers in short upright inflorescences, the male flowers in long, drooping ones.
***
The Night-blooming Cestrum (Cestrum nocturnum L.), a plant introduced to Rarotonga, is known for displacing other plant species by forming dense impenetrable thickets, and is thought to be one of the invasive species that are responsible for the extinction of Wilder’s Copperleaf.
The Koolau Giant Looper Moth was described in 1901, it is known only from the type specimen, which was found in the northwest part of the Ko’olau Mountains on the island of O’ahu, Hawaiian Islands.
The species reached a wingspan of 4,9 cm. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] E. C. Zimmerman: Insects of Hawaii 7, Macrolepidoptera. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 1958
This species was described in 1989; it is known only by subfossil remains that were recovered from cave deposits on the island of Grande Terre, New Caledonia. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] J. C. Balouet; Storrs L. Olson: Fossil birds from Late Quaternary deposits in New Caledonia. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 469: 23-27. 1989
The Scarlet Stub-foot Toad was described in 1983, it was restricted to the vicinity of a single stream in an isolated cloud forest named Paramito de San Francisco near the town of Guaraque, in Mérida State, Cordillera de Mérida, Venezuela.
Both sexes were very distinctly bright orange colored.
The Scarlet Stud-foot Toad is now most certainly extinct, it disappeared due to habitat loss, yet another reason for its disappearance were severe dry seasons which coincided with epidemic events caused by the deadly fungal chytridiomycosis disease.
The Tongan Tooth-billed Pigeon was described in 2006 based on subfossil remains that were found on several islands within the Tongan island chain, including the islands of ‘Eua, Ha’afeva, Ha’ano, Lifuka, Tongatapu, and ‘Uiha.
The species was larger than the closely related and now also almost extinct Tooth-billed Pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris (Jardine)) (see depiction) that is just holding on at least on island of Western Samoa.
*********************
Depiction from: John Gould. The birds of Australia. London: printed by R. and J. E. Taylor; pub. by the author 1840-48
(public domain)
*********************
References:
[1] D. W. Steadman: An extinct species of tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus) from the Kingdom of Tonga, and the concept of endemism in insular landbirds. Journal of Zoology 268(3): 233-241. 2006
The Tonga Triller is only known from subfossil bones that were recovered during excavations on the islands of ‘Eua and Tongatapu in the Kingdom of Tonga.
This species was distinct from the Polynesian Triller (Lalage maculosa ssp. tabuensis Mayr & Ripley) (see photo below) that still inhabits these islands today, however, I don’t have any further information about it so far.
This species was described in 1854, it is apparently only known from the island of Maui, Hawaiian Islands, where it was found growing in sympatry with the very widespread Sleepy Morning (Waltheria indica L.) (see depiction below).
The Maui Sleepy Morning was later synonymized with that species but was subsequently resurrected in 2011; it may, however, indeed be nothing but an aberrant form of the common Sleepy Morning. [1]
If it, however, indeed was a distinct species, it is now definetly extinct.
*********************
References:
[1] Janice Saunders: Resurrection of the Maui endemic Waltheria pyrolifolia (Sterculiaceae, Hermannieae). Darwinia 49(1): 76-85. 2011
*********************
Sleepy Morning (Waltheria indica)
Depiction from: ‘Francis Sinclair: Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian Islands. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington 1885’
The Rapa Nui Sandalwood is actually a hypothetical species, it is apparently known only from oral tradition.
The plant was known to the Polynesian inhabitants as “naunau” or “nau opata“.
The fruits are said to have been eaten, the emty nutshells were used by children as toys, the scent of the stem was described as very strong and perfuming.
The species is considered extinct on the island since 1895. [1]
*********************
References:
[1] Anthony Dubois; Pierre Lenne; Elsa Nahoe; Marcos Rauch: Plantas de Rapa Nui. Guía Ilustrada de la Flora de Interés Ecológico y Patrimonial. Umanga mo te Natura, CONAF, ONF International, Santiago 2013
This species was described in 1928, respectively in 1929; it is known exclusively from a painting, which again is depicting (in my opinion) a pair of the species as well as a juvenile bird (see depiction below).
The species did once inhabit the small island of Maupiti in the western leeward islands of the Society archipelago; this island has been completely deforested and is now covered with introduced vegetation.
The original endemic land bird fauna is not known, except for this one, rather enigmatic monarch species, but it may well have included several other species.
*********************
Depiction from: ‘Louis Isidore Duperrey; René-Primevère Lesson: Voyage autour du monde: exécuté par ordre du roi, sur la corvette de Sa Majesté, la Coquille, pendant les années 1822, 1823, 1824, et 1825. Vol. 5. Arthus Bertrand 1826
Flint’s Common Stonefly, described in 1976, is known only from the type locality, a stream in Fairfax County in northern Virginia, USA, where the species apparently was collected once in 1962.
Any efforts to relocated the species were unsuccessful so far and it might indeed be extinct.
The shells reach sizes of about 2,2 to 2,7 cm in height; they are usually very variably colored.:
„… the ground colour is usually greenish or some shade of yellow, sometimes a single blackish coloured band accompanies the suture, sometimes this band is doubled and of different shades, and on many specimens there are two bands, one at the suture and one in the middle of the whorls. In some varieties the base of the body whorl is dark brown, the rest of the shell being of a dark form, and not unfrequently the whole shell is without any markings whatever; in which case the colour is yellow, the aperture, when inverted is ear-shaped, the truncation of the columella is rounded and thickened in a remarkable manner at its edge; along the inner margin of the outer lip there is a strong callous ridge, as in most of the species of this genus, which gradually attenuates towards the edge of the lip, which is this and sharp inside, white and pinkish round the columella.“ [1]
***
The species was last found in 1961 somewhere on the slopes of the Pu’u ‘ohi’a (Mt. Tantalus); it is now extinct. [2]
*********************
References:
[1] E. W. Thwing: Reprint of the original descriptions of the genus Achatinella. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 3(1): 1-196. 1907 [2] Recovery Plan for the O’ahu Tree Snails of the genus Achatinella. U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Region One, Portland, Oregon. April 1993
*********************
Depiction from: ‘W. Tryon; H. A. Pilsbry; a.o.: Manual of Conchology. Second series: Pulmonata, Vol. 22, Achatinellidae 1912-1914′
