List of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha animals extinct in the Holocene

This is a list of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha animals 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.

Location of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The Saint Helena hoopoe (Upupa antaios) became extinct soon after the island was discovered in 1502.

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic. The territory consists of Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha (including Gough Island), all of volcanic origin.

Numerous animal species have disappeared from Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha as part of the ongoing Holocene extinction, driven by human activity.

Birds (class Aves)

Cuckoos (order Cuculiformes)

Cuckoos (family Cuculidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Saint Helena cuckoo	Nannococcyx psix	Saint Helena	Most recent remains dated to around 1640. It likely became extinct when the island was deforested. Since the Saint Helena cuckoo was unusually small for a cuckoo, it likely parasited a small forest passerine species that is also extinct now.

Pigeons and doves (order Columbiformes)

Pigeons and doves (family Columbidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Saint Helena dove	Dysmoropelia dekarchiskos	Saint Helena	Described from Middle Pleistocene remains, but speculated to have survived until settlement due a 1584 mention of doves in the island. It was the fourth largest pigeon ever (after the dodo, Rodrigues solitaire, and Viti Levu giant pigeon) and likely flightless, which would have made it easy prey of humans or introduced mammals.

Rails and cranes (order Gruiformes)

Rails (family Rallidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Saint Helena rail	Aphanocrex podarces	Saint Helena	Most recent remains dated to around 1640.
Tristan moorhen	Gallinula nesiotis	Tristan da Cunha	Last recorded in 1873. Became extinct due to hunting, predation by introduced rats, cats, and pigs, and habitat destruction by fire.
Ascension crake	Mundia elpenor	Ascension Island	Last recorded in 1656. It probably became extinct after the introduction of rats in the 18th century, or cats in 1815.
Saint Helena crake	Zapornia astrictocarpus	Saint Helena	Most recent remains dated to around 1640.

Shorebirds (order Charadriiformes)

Gulls, terns, and skimmers (family Laridae)

Locally extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Kelp gull	Larus dominicanus	Southern Hemisphere coasts	Present in Saint Helena before c. 1640. It is unknown if it bred on the island.

Albatrosses and petrels (order Procellariiformes)

Petrels and shearwaters (family Procellariidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Olson's petrel	Bulweria bifax	Saint Helena	Most recent remains at Sandy Bay dated to around 1640. It was replaced afterwards by Bulwer's petrel.
Saint Helena petrel	Pseudobulweria rupinarum	Saint Helena	Most recent remains at Prosperous Bay dated to around 1640. The species nested on the ground and was vulnerable to predation by cats and other introduced mammals.
Saint Helena shearwater	Puffinus pacificoides	Saint Helena	Known from fossils dated to around 14,000 years ago, but could have survived until the Holocene and become extinct when the climate ameliorated.

Pelicans, herons, and ibises (order Pelecaniformes)

Herons (family Ardeidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Ascension night heron	Nycticorax olsoni	Ascension Island	Likely the "aponar" (an old name for the great auk) mentioned by André Thévet in 1555. It was flightless or a poor flyer and nested on the ground, making it vulnerable to hunting and predation by introduced mammals.

Hornbills and hoopoes (order Bucerotiformes)

Hoopoes (family Upupidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Saint Helena hoopoe	Upupa antaios	Saint Helena	Most recent remains at Prosperous Bay dated to around 1640. It was flightless or a poor flyer, making it easy prey for introduced cats and rats.

Insects (class Insecta)

Dragonflies and damselflies (order Odonata)

Skimmers, perchers, and relatives (family Libellulidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Saint Helena darter	Sympetrum dilatatum	Saint Helena	Last collected in 1963. The causes of extinction are unknown, but habitat destruction has been suggested.

Earwigs (order Dermaptera)

Striped earwigs (order Labiduridae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Saint Helena earwig	Labidura herculeana	Saint Helena	Last collected in 1967. Isolated exoskeleton pieces of individuals that were ingested by birds and spiders were found as late as 2014, but the large size and robustness of the species make it impossible to guess how recent they are. The earwig's habitat has been degraded by construction since it was last seen alive, while invasive predators like rats, mice, spiders, and the centipede Scolopendra morsitans have increased.

Beetles (order Coleoptera)

Ground beetles (family Carabidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Aplothorax burchelli	Saint Helena	Last collected in 1966-1967.

Slugs and snails (class Gastropoda)

Order Stylommatophora

Family Achatinidae

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
	Chilonopsis blofeldi	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
	Chilonopsis exulatus	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
	Chilonopsis helena	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
	Chilonopsis melanoides	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
Great Saint Helena awl snail	Chilonopsis nonpareil	Saint Helena	Described from subfossil shells in 1875. It probably disappeared due to habitat modification caused by introduced goats, pigs, and rabbits, or predation by rats, mice, and the centipede Scolopendra morsitans.
	Chilonopsis subplicatus	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
	Chilonopsis subtruncatus	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
	Chilonopsis turtoni	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.

Family Charopidae

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Helenoconcha leptalea	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
Helenoconcha minutissima	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
Helenoconcha polyodon	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
Helenoconcha pseustes	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
Helenoconcha sexdentata	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
Helenodiscus bilamellata	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
Helenodiscus vernoni	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.
Pseudohelenoconcha spurca	Saint Helena

Family Pupillidae

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Pupilla obliquicosta	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.

Whorl snails (family Vertiginidae)

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Campolaemus perexilis	Saint Helena	Last seen in the 1870s.