List of Australia-New Guinea species extinct in the Holocene



This is a list of Australia-New Guinea species extinct in the Holocene that covers extinctions from the Holocene epoch, a geologic epoch that began about 11,650 years before present (about 9700 BCE) and continues to the present day.

The Australian continent is also called Australia-New Guinea or Sahul to avoid confusion with the country of Australia. The continent includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, the island of New Guinea, the Aru Islands, and other nearby islands. Australia-New Guinea is divided between three countries: Australia (mainland Australia and Tasmania), Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea), and Indonesia (Western New Guinea and the Aru Islands). Extinct animals from the rest of Indonesia are covered in List of Asian animals extinct in the Holocene. Species from the outlying islands of the country of Australia and the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea are included below. The Solomon Islands archipelago, split between Papua New Guinea (Autonomous Region of Bougainville) and the country of Solomon Islands, is covered in List of Oceanian species extinct in the Holocene.

The fauna of Australia-New Guinea is very unique. Marsupials and monotremes also existed on other continents, but only in Australia-New Guinea did they out-compete the placental mammals and come to dominate. Aside from marine mammals, only two orders of placental mammals are native to Australia-New Guinea: rodents and bats. Dingoes and New Guinea singing dogs are considered feral dogs (Canis familiaris) introduced by humans. The Christmas Island shrew is related to Asian shrews; no members of the order Eulipotyphla are native to Australia-New Guinea proper.

New Zealand species extinct in the Holocene are listed separately. The fauna of New Zealand is distinct from Australia-New Guinea. Birds, including numerous flightless birds, are the most important part of New Zealand's vertebrate fauna. Bats are New Zealand's only native land mammals.

Numerous species have disappeared from Australia-New Guinea as part of the ongoing Holocene extinction, driven by human activity. Most Australian megafauna disappeared in the Late Pleistocene, considerably earlier than in other continental landmasses. As a result, Australian Holocene extinctions generally are of modest size. Most extinctions occurred after the European settlement of Australia, which began with the First Fleet in 1788 CE. However, the thylacine, Tasmanian devil, and Tasmanian nativehen were extirpated from mainland Australia thousands of years before European settlement, although they survived in Tasmania. The Norfolk swamphen and several New Guinea mammals also disappeared before European colonisation.

Plants listed as extinct by the federal government
Plants and animals are listed as extinct and the federal level under the auspices of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Act lists all plants considered to have become extinct since the commencement of European settlement of Australia in 1788. There are 37 species currently listed as extinct under the Act.

Of note, the species Pimelea spinescens subsp. pubiflora was presumed extinct after 1901, but a population was discovered in 2005. The orchid Diuris bracteata was also considered extinct after its first collection in 1899, but it was thought to have been rediscovered in 1998. The later collections are now considered to be Diuris platichila. The spiny everlasting (Acanthocladium dockeri) was reclassified as critically endangered in 2006 after it was rediscovered in 1999. Bennett's Seaweed, declared extinct under the EPBC Act in 1999; was the first protist listed as extinct by the IUCN in 2004.

Plants listed as extinct by the states and territories
Each state and territory of Australia has legislation to record the extinction of plants and animals; organisms listed as extinct at the state level may differ from those listed under the EPBC Act.

Australian Capital Territory
Threatened species are listed under the Nature Conservation Act 2014 in the Australian Capital Territory.

New South Wales
There are 35 taxa "presumed extinct" as specified in Part 4 of Schedule 1 of the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Species presumed extinct in New South Wales, but not listed under the EPBC Act include:

Rhaphidospora bonneyana, Glinus orygioides, Ptilotus extenuatus, Acanthocladium dockeri (listed by EPBC as extinct in SA, but not NSW), Blumea lacera, Senecio behrianus, Stemmacantha australis, Lepidium foliosum, Stenopetalum velutinum, Atriplex acutiloba, Maireana lanosa, Osteocarpum pentapterum, Hypolepis elegans, Codonocarpus pyramidalis, Haloragis stricta, Myriophyllum implicatum, Caladenia rosella, Thelymitra epipactoides, Comesperma scoparium, Grevillea nematophylla, Persoonia laxa, Pomaderris oraria, Aphanes pentamera, Knoxia sumatrensis, Micromelum minutum, Philotheca angustifolia, Dodonaea stenophylla, Tetratheca pilosa subsp. pilosa.

Although listed as extinct under the EPBC Act, Diurus bracteata is listed as endangered in New South Wales.

Northern Territory
Threatened species is the Northern Territory are listed under IUCN criteria by the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts. As of 2006 there are no recorded plant extinctions in the Northern Territory.

South Australia
Threatened species are listed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 in South Australia. 26 plant taxa are presumed extinct in South Australia, 2 of these are listed under the EPBC Act

Queensland
Threatened species are listed under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and the Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 in Queensland, under this act some species are described as "presumed extinct". There are currently 27 species described as presumed extinct in Queensland, those not listed under the EPBC Act include:

Acianthus ledwardii, Amphineuron immersum, Antrophyum austroqueenslandicum, Corchorus thozetii, Dimocarpus leichhardtii, Lindsaea pulchella var. blanda, Oldenlandia tenelliflora var. papuana, Rhaphidospora cavernarum, Tapeinosperma flueckigeri, Teucrium ajugaceum, Trichomanes exiguum, Wendlandia psychotrioides, Zieria sp. (Russell River S.Johnson in 1892).

It was reported on 12 April 2008 that two of the plants, Rhaphidospora cavernarum and Teucrium ajugaceum have been rediscovered on Cape York between Cooktown and Lockhart River, and are now re-classified as "vulnerable".

Tasmania
There are 20 taxa classified as "presumed extinct" under schedule 3.2 of the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995. Only three of these species are listed as extinct under the EPBC Act. The additional species listed as extinct under Tasmanian legislation are:

Ballantinia antipoda, Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia, Botrychium australe, Caladenia cardiochila, Chenopodium erosum, Coopernookia barbata, Hibbertia obtusifolia, Lepilaena australis, Levenhookia dubia, Myriophyllum glomeratum, Podotheca angustifolia, Prostanthera cuneata, Punctelia subflava, Senecio macrocarpus, Thesium australe, Thynninorchis huntiana and Veronica notabilis.

Victoria
Threatened species in Victoria are identified under the auspices of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988); the act does not specify species presumed extinct. The Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment maintain a list of species presumed extinct in Victoria; they list 51 extinct taxa, those not listed under the EPBC Act include:

Acacia argyrophylla, Acacia havilandiorum, Acrotriche depressa, Actinotus bellidioides, Asplenium polyodon, Atriplex billardierei, Austrostipa tuckeri, Caladenia carnea var. subulata, Caladenia magnifica, Caladenia thysanochila, Calotis pubescens, Cardamine gunnii s.s., Centipeda pleiocephala, Cheiranthera alternifolia, Chionogentias gunniana, Convolvulus microsepalus, Cuscuta victoriana, Cyperus vaginatus, Digitaria diffusa, Dodonaea heteromorpha, Epilobium willisii, Euphrasia collina subsp. speciosa, Hibbertia incana s.s., Hypolepis elegans subsp. elegans, Leiocarpa tomentosa, Leionema microphyllum, Lemooria burkittii, Leptorhynchos scaber s.s., Phyllangium sulcatum, Picris barbarorum, Podolepis arachnoidea, Pomaderris obcordata, Prasophyllum colemaniae, Prasophyllum morganii, Prasophyllum sp. aff. odoratum, Prasophyllum suttonii s.s., Pterostylis sp. aff. biseta (Lara), Rutidosis helichrysoides, Senecio murrayanus, Senna form taxon artemisioides, Stemmacantha australis, Stenanthemum notiale subsp. notiale, Trema tomentosa var. viridis, Braithwaitea sulcata.

Western Australia
There are 14 taxa classified as "X: Declared Rare Flora - Presumed Extinct Taxa" under the Department of Environment and Conservation's Declared Rare and Priority Flora List, all of which have been gazetted as presumed extinct flora in Western Australia under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. This list coincides with the federal EPBC Act list, except that it includes Leptomeria dielsiana, Ptilotus caespitulosus and Taraxacum cygnorum; and excludes Frankenia conferta (Silky Frankenia) and Calothamnus accedens.