List of Hawaiian animals extinct in the Holocene



This is a list of Hawaiian 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 Hawaiian Islands include the eight major islands (the Windward Islands) and the small islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They are all part of the U.S. state of Hawaii, except Midway Atoll, which is a separate U.S. territory.

The islands of East Polynesia (including New Zealand, Hawaii, and Easter Island) were among the last habitable places on earth colonized by humans. Estimates for the timing of Polynesian settlement in Hawaii have varied over the decades, but a 2010 study based on radiocarbon dates of more reliable samples suggests that Hawaii was first settled about 1219 to 1266 CE. In 1778, British explorer James Cook became the first recorded European to arrive in Hawaii. An influx of European and American explorers, traders, and whalers arrived shortly after. Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898 and became a state in 1959.

Numerous species have disappeared from Hawaii as part of the ongoing Holocene extinction, driven by human activity. Human contact, first by Polynesians and later by Europeans, had a significant impact on the environment. Both the Polynesians and Europeans cleared native forests and introduced non-indigenous species for agriculture (or by accident), driving many endemic species to extinction. Fossil finds in caves, lava tubes, and sand dunes have revealed that Hawaii once had a native eagle, two raven-size crows, several bird-eating owls, and giant ducks known as moa-nalo. Today, many of Hawaii's remaining endemic species of plants and animals are considered endangered. Hawaii has more endangered species and has lost a higher percentage of its endemic species than any other U.S. state. The endemic plant Brighamia now requires hand pollination because its natural pollinator is presumed to be extinct.

This list of extinct species only includes the indigenous biota of Hawaii, not domestic animals like the Hawaiian poi dog. Many extinction dates are unknown due to a lack of relevant information.