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 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, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. Extinct species 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 and the country of Solomon Islands, is covered in List of Oceanian species extinct in the Holocene.
The fauna of Australia-New Guinea is unique. Marsupials and monotremes also existed on other continents, but only in Australia-New Guinea did they 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 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 Holocene 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.
In Australia, plants and animals are listed as extinct at the federal level under the auspices of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Mammals (class [Mammal]ia)

Platypus and echidnas (order Monotremata">Monotreme">Monotremata)

Echidnas (family Tachyglossidae">Echidna">Tachyglossidae)

Locally extinct (disputed)

Carnivorous marsupials (order [Dasyuromorphia])

Marsupial shrews (family [Dasyuridae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Southern mulgara	Dasycercus archeri	Nullarbor Plain, Great Victoria Desert, and Swan Coastal Plain	Only known from subfossil remains.
	Dasycercus cristicauda	Southern Australia?	Formerly considered a subspecies of the crest-tailed mulgara.
Little mulgara	Dasycercus marlowi	Northern Territory	Only known from subfossil remains.
Northern mulgara	Dasycercus woolleyae	Tanami, Simpson, Gibson, and Great Sandy Deserts.	Only known from subfossil remains.

Locally extinct

Kangaroos, possums, wombats, and allies (order [Diprotodontia])

Brushtail possums and cuscuses (family [Phalangeridae])

Possibly extinct

Rodents (order [Rodent]ia)

Old World rats and mice (family [Muridae])

Possibly extinct

Locally extinct

True insectivores (order [Eulipotyphla])

True shrews (family Soricidae">Shrew">Soricidae)

Possibly extinct

Bats (order Chiroptera">Bat">Chiroptera)

Megabats (family Pteropodidae">Megabat">Pteropodidae)

Possibly extinct, megabats (family Pteropodidae">Megabat">Pteropodidae)

Carnivorans (order [Carnivora])

Earless seals (family [Phocidae])

Locally extinct

Birds (class Aves">Bird">Aves)

Landfowl (order [Galliformes])

Megapodes (family [Megapodidae])

Locally extinct

Rails and cranes (order [Gruiformes])

Rails (family Rallidae">Rail (bird)">Rallidae)

Possibly extinct, rails (family Rallidae">Rail (bird)">Rallidae)

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Bismarck red-necked crake	Rallina tricolor convicta	Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea	Last recorded in 1944.

Locally extinct, rails (family Rallidae">Rail (bird)">Rallidae)

Perching birds (order Passeriformes">Passerine">Passeriformes)

Australasian wrens (family [Maluridae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Dirk Hartog thick-billed grasswren	Amytornis textilis carteri	Dirk Hartog Island, Western Australia	Last recorded in 1918. Disappeared due to predation by introduced black rats.
Namoi Valley thick-billed grasswren	Amytornis textilis inexpectatus	Central New South Wales	Last recorded in 1912. Reasons of extinction unknown.
Southwestern thick-billed grasswren	Amytornis textilis macrourus	Southwestern Australia	Last recorded in 1910. Extinct due to drought and overgrazing by introduced mammals.

Fantails and silktails (family [Rhipiduridae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Lord Howe fantail	Rhipidura fuliginosa cervina	Lord Howe Island, New South Wales	Last recorded in 1924. Probably disappeared due to predation by introduced black rats.

Australasian robins (family Petroicidae">Australasian robin">Petroicidae)

Possibly extinct

White-eyes (family Zosteropidae">White-eye">Zosteropidae)

Possibly extinct, white-eyes (family Zosteropidae)

Grassbirds and allies (family [Locustellidae])

Possibly extinct

Reptiles (class Reptilia">Reptile">Reptilia)

Squamates (order [Squamata])

Common geckos (family [Gekkonidae])

[Extinct in the wild]

Skinks (family Scincidae">Skink">Scincidae)

[Extinct in the wild], skinks (family Scincidae)

Amphibians (class Amphibia">Amphibian">Amphibia)

Frogs (order Anura">Frog">Anura)

Treefrogs and allies (family [Hylidae])

Data deficient, treefrogs and allies (family [Hylidae])

Ray-finned fish (class [Actinopterygii])

Anglerfish (order [Lophiiformes])

Handfish (family Brachionichthyidae">Handfish">Brachionichthyidae)

Data deficient

Galaxias (order Galaxiiformes">Galaxiidae">Galaxiiformes)

Galaxias (family [Galaxiidae])

Extinct in the wild

Insects (class Insecta">Insect">Insecta)

Fleas (order [Siphonaptera])

Family [Pulicidae]

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Xenopsylla nesiotes	Christmas Island	Parasite of Maclear's rat.

Book lice, bark lice, and sucking lice (order [Psocodea])

Chicken body lice (family [Menoponidae])

Possibly extinct

Bird chewing lice (family [Philopteridae])

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Coloceras hemiphagae	Norfolk Island	Parasites of the Norfolk Island pigeon, co-extinct with their host.
Coloceras restinctus	Norfolk Island	Parasites of the Norfolk Island pigeon, co-extinct with their host.

Arachnids (class [Arachnida])

Ticks (order [Ixodida])

Hard ticks (family [Ixodidae])

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Ixodes nitens	Christmas Island	Parasite of Maclear's rat.

Fungi (kingdom [Fungi])

Lichenized fungi (order [Lecanorales])

Main lichenized fungi (family [Parmeliaceae])

Locally extinct

Red algae (division [Rhodophyta])

Order [Ceramiales]

Family [Delesseriaceae]

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Bennett's seaweed	Vanvoorstia bennettiana	Sydney Harbour, New South Wales	Last collected in 1886.

Plants (kingdom [Plant]ae)

Lycopods (class [Lycopodiopsida])

Clubmosses (family [Lycopodiaceae])

Locally extinct

Ferns (class [Polypodiophyta])

Bristle ferns (family [Hymenophyllaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Filmy fern	Hymenophyllum whitei	Thornton Peak, northeastern Queensland	Listed as extinct in 2000.

Locally extinct

Adder's-tongue ferns (family [Ophioglossaceae])

Locally extinct

Polypodies and hard ferns (family [Polypodiaceae])

Locally extinct

Whisk ferns and hanging fork ferns (family [Psilotaceae])

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Tmesipteris lanceolata	Queensland	Listed as extinct in 2000.

Maidenhair ferns and relatives (family [Pteridaceae])

Locally extinct

Flowering plants (clade [Angiospermae])

Amaranths (family [Amaranthaceae])

Locally extinct

Fig-marigolds (family [Aizoaceae])

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Trianthema cypseleoides	Hawkesbury River, New South Wales	Only known from the holotype collected in 1839.

Celeries, carrots and parsleys (family [Apiaceae])

Locally extinct

Dogbanes (family [Apocynaceae])

Possibly extinct

Sunflowers (family [Asteraceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
	Myriocephalus nudus	Western Australia	Listed as extinct in 2019.
	Olearia oliganthema	New South Wales	Listed as extinct in 2000.
Clubmoss everlasting	Ozothamnus selaginoides	Mount Wellington, Tasmania	Last collected in 1849.
Grey groundsel	Senecio georgianus	Western, eastern, and southern Australia, including Tasmania	Last collected in Victoria in 1972. Despite its large range, it was never considered common.

Possibly extinct

Locally extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Sticky long-heads	Podotheca angustifolia	Western and southern Australia	Extirpated in Tasmania.
Large-fruit groundsel	Senecio macrocarpus	Southeastern Australia	Extirpated in Tasmania.

Mustards (family [Brassicaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Drummond's lepidium	Lepidium drummondi	Western Australia	Listed as extinct in 2000.

Locally extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Southern shepherd's purse	Ballantinia pumilio	Central Victoria and Tasmania	Currently found only in Mount Alexander, Victoria.

Guinea flowers (family [Dilleniaceae])

Locally extinct

Quandongs (family [Elaeocarpaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Cronin's tetratheca	Tetratheca fasciculata	Wagin, Western Australia	Last collected near Wagin Lake in 1895.

Heathers (family [Ericaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Small-flowered leucopogon	Leucopogon cryptanthus	Western Australia	Listed as extinct in 2000.
Hidden coleanthera	Styphelia lanata	Western Australia	Listed as extinct in 2000.

Euphorbias (family [Euphorbiaceae])

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Amperea xiphoclada var. pedicellata	Double Bay, Sydney, New South Wales	Only known from the type specimen collected in 1892.

Legumes (family [Fabaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
	Acacia kingiana	Wagin, Western Australia	Only known from the type specimen collected in 1923.
Maiden's bush-pea	Pultenaea maidenii	Victoria	Listed as extinct in 2000.
Phillip Island glory pea	Streblorrhiza speciosa	Phillip Island	Considered extinct by the 1830s, likely due to grazing by introduced feral pigs, goats and rabbits.

Sea heaths (family [Frankeniaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Decurrent-leaved frankenia	Frankenia decurrens	Western Australia	Listed as extinct in 2015.

Fan-flowers (family [Goodeniaceae])

Locally extinct

Watermilfoils (family [Haloragaceae])

Locally extinct

Mints (family [Lamiaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Alpine mint-bush	Prostanthera cuneata	Southeastern Australia	Extirpated from Tasmania.

Mallows (family [Malvaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Mount Holland thomasia	Thomasia gardneri	near Mount Holland, Western Australia	Only known from the holotype collected in 1929.

Banana trees (family [Musaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Daintree's river banana	Musa fitzalanii	Daintree River, northeast Queensland	Only known from the holotype collected in 1875.

Willowherbs (family [Onagraceae])

Locally extinct

Orchids (family [Orchidaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
	Acianthus ledwardii	Burleigh Heads, Queensland	Last collected in 1938.
Short Spider-orchid	Caladenia brachyscapa	Warrnambool, Victoria and Clarke Island, Tasmania	Last collected in Clarke Island in 1979.
Magnificent spider-orchid	Caladenia magnifica	Central Victoria	Last recorded in 1979.
	Caladenia thysanochila	Mount Eliza, Victoria	Only known from two individuals collected in 1988.
	Diuris bracteata	near Gladesville, Sydney, New South Wales	Only known from the type specimen collected before 1889. Claimed individuals collected after 1998 actually belong to Diuris platichila.
Lilac leek-orchid	Prasophyllum colemaniarum	Bayswater, Victoria	Only known from the type series collected in 1922.

Locally extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Common elbow orchid	Arthrochilus huntianus	Southeastern Australia	Extirpated from Flinders Island.
Thick-lipped spider-orchid	Caladenia cardiochila	Southeastern Australia	Extirpated from Flinders Island, where it was recorded in 1947.

Broomrapes (family [Orobanchaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Subshrub	Euphrasia ruptura	New South Wales	Listed as extinct in 2025.

True grasses (family [Poaceae])

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Amphibromus whitei	near Roma, Queensland	Listed as extinct in 2000.
Deyeuxia lawrencei	possibly near Launceston, Tasmania	Only known from the holotype collected in 1831.
Paspalum batianoffii	Port Curtis, Queensland	Listed as extinct since 2000.

Pondweeds (family [Potamogetonaceae])

Locally extinct

Primroses (family [Primulaceae])

Scientific name	Range	Comments
Embelia flueckigeri	Russell River, Queensland	Only known from the holotype collected in 1892.

Proteas (family [Proteaceae])

Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Persoonia laxa	Beaches of Sydney, New South Wales	Last collected in Newport in 1908. An intermediate individual collected in Dee Why in 1922 could be a hybrid of P. laxa and P. levis.	-
Persoonia prostrata	Queensland	Listed as extinct in 2000.

Locally extinct

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments	Pictures
Coast banksia	Banksia integrifolia integrifolia	Eastern Australia from Bundaberg, Queensland to Geelong, Victoria	Once also found on islands on the Bass Strait, where it is extinct now.

Coffee and relatives (family [Rubiaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Esperance dog weed	Opercularia acolytantha	north of Esperance, Western Australia	Only known from the holotype collected in 1901.
	Wendlandia psychotrioides	Mount Bellenden Ker, Queensland	Last recorded in 1887.

Mistletoes and sandalwoods (family [Santalaceae])

Possibly extinct

Locally extinct

Nightshades (family [Solanaceae])

Common name	Scientific name	Range	Comments
Bridal flower	Solanum bauerianum	Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands	Listed as extinct in 2018.