This is a list of Asian 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.
This list includes the Asian continent and its surrounding islands, including Cyprus. The three Transcaucasian republics of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan are included in the List of European species extinct in the Holocene, even though their territory may fall partially or fully in Asia depending on the definition of Europe considered. Species from Western New Guinea (Indonesia), the Aru Islands (Indonesia), and Christmas Island (Australia) are listed in the List of Australia-New Guinea species extinct in the Holocene.
Many extinction dates are unknown due to a lack of relevant information.
Mammals (class Mammalia) Bandicoots and bilbies (order Peramelemorphia)
Bandicoots (family Peramelidae) Scientific nameRangeCommentsPeramelidae gen. et. sp. nov.Halmahera, IndonesiaMost recent remains dated to 4240-1529 BCE.
Kangaroos, possums, wombats, and allies (order Diprotodontia)
Kangaroos and wallabies (family Macropodidae) Scientific nameRangeCommentsDorcopsis sp.Halmahera, IndonesiaMost recent remains dated to 80 CE.Flannery, T., Bellwood, P., White, P., Moore, A., Boeadi, & Nitihaminoto, G. (1995). Fossil marsupials (Macropodidae, Peroryctidae) and other mammals of Holocene age from Halmahera, north Moluccas, Indonesia. Alcheringa, 19(1), 17-25.
Elephant-like mammals (order Proboscidea)
Elephants and mammoths (family Elephantidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesSyrian elephantElephas maximus asurusMesopotamiaArchaeological evidence and historical records imply local extinction caused by hunting and deforestation in the 8th century BCE, with war elephants from the 3rd century BCE onward being imported from South Asia. However, the lack of evidence of Asian elephants in the Near East between 200,000 and 3,500 years ago has led some authors to propose that Bronze Age elephants were actually introduced by people to provide themselves with exotic game and ivory. If true, this would invalidate the subspecies E. m. asurus.Çakırlar, C., & Ikram, S. (2016). When elephants battle, the grass suffers.' Power, ivory and the Syrian elephant". Levant, 48 (2), 167-183.Javan elephantElephas maximus sondaicusJava, Indonesia; introduced to Sulu, PhilippinesMost recent remains in Mauk, Indonesia dated to 1350.Morwood, M. J., Sutikna, T., Saptomo, E. W., Westaway, K. E., Due, R. A., Moore, M. W., ... & Soejono, R. P. (2008). Climate, people and faunal succession on Java, Indonesia: evidence from Song Gupuh. Journal of Archaeological Science, 35(7), 1776-1789. It was introduced to Sulu in the 14th century, where it survived until its extermination in 1850. However, the extant Bornean elephant has been suggested to have originated from Sulu stock and not be native to the island. If true, this would make the subspecies E. m. sondaicus synonymous with E. m. borneensis and not globally extinct.Alfred, R., Ahmad, A. H., Payne, J., Williams, C., Ambu, L. N., How, P. M., & Goossens, B. (2012). Home range and ranging behaviour of Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) females. PLoS One, 7(2), e31400.Woolly mammothMammuthus primigeniusNorthern Eurasia and North AmericaMost recent remains in Wrangel Island, Russia dated to 1795-1675 BCE.Stuart, A.J. et al. (2002). "The latest woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius Blumenbach) in Europe and Asia: a review of the current evidence". Quaternary Science Reviews, 21 (14-15), 1559-1569.Cyprus dwarf elephantPalaeoloxodon cypriotesCyprusMost recent remains dated to 10699-7299 BCE.Asian straight-tusked elephantPalaeoloxodon namadicusSouth and East AsiaThe date 7330-6250 BCE was obtained from carbonaceous clay near Palaeoloxodon remains in the Baneta Formation of the Narmada Valley, India, suggesting survival into the Holocene, though no direct datation was taken from the bones.Turvey, S.T. et al. (2021). "Late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions in India: How much do we know?" Quaternary Science Reviews, 252, p. 106740. It was also suggested that representations of elephants in art from northern China depict Palaeoloxodon rather than Asian elephants as commonly assumed,Li, J.; Hou, Y.; Li, Y.; Zhang, J. (2012). "The latest straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon)? "Wild elephants" lived 3000 years ago in North China". Quaternary International. 281: 84–88. but other authors disagree with this assessment.
Stegodonts (family Stegodontidae) Scientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesStegodon orientalisChina, Southeast Asia, Japan, and TaiwanMost recent remains at Gulin Cave, Sichuan dated to 10432-8225 BCE.
Sea cows (order Sirenia)
Dugongs (family Dugongidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesSteller's sea cowHydrodamalis gigasBering SeaThe last population was discovered in the Commander Islands in 1741 and heavily hunted for meat and leather until it disappeared by 1768. The hunting of sea otters leading to a proliferation of Strongylocentrotus sea urchins that ate the kelp that the sea cows depended on has been suggested as an additional cause.
Lagomorphs (order Lagomorpha)
Rabbits and hares (family Leporidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsDon hareLepus timidus tanaiticusBoeskorov, G. G., Chernova, O. F., & Shchelchkova, M. V. (2023, May). First Find of a Frozen Mummy of the Fossil Don Hare Lepus tanaiticus (Leporidae, Lagomorpha) from the Pleistocene of Yakutia. In Doklady Earth Sciences (Vol. 510, No. 1, pp. 298-302). Moscow: Pleiades Publishing.RussiaGradually replaced by the extant mountain hare south to north until becoming extinct during the Subboreal, 3050-550 BCE.Prost, S., Knapp, M., Flemmig, J., Hufthammer, A. K., Kosintsev, P., Stiller, M., & Hofreiter, M. (2010). A phantom extinction? New insights into extinction dynamics of the Don‐hare Lepus tanaiticus. Journal of evolutionary biology, 23(9), 2022-2029.
Rodents (order Rodentia)
Old World rats and mice (family Muridae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesAlor Island giant ratAlormys apliniAlor Island, IndonesiaMost recent remains at Tabubung 4 dated to 62 BCE - 87 CE. The extinction coincides with a period of aridification, deforestation, and extinction of other giant rat species in the island.Louys, J., O'Connor, S., Higgins, P., Hawkins, S., & Maloney, T. (2018). New genus and species of giant rat from Alor Island, Indonesia. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, 11(4), 503-510.Sierra Madre giant cloud ratCarpomys dakalLuzon, PhilippinesMost recent remains dated to 2050-50 BCE. Probably disappeared due to increased aridity and deforestation.Buhler's coryphomysCoryphomys buehleriTimor island, Indonesia & East TimorMost recent remains dated to around 50 BCE. Timor giant ratCoryphomys musseriTimor island, Indonesia & East TimorMost recent remains dated to around 50 BCE.Sierra Madre bushy-tailed cloud ratCrateromys ballikLuzon, PhilippinesMost recent remains dated to 2050-50 BCE. Probably disappeared due to increased aridity and deforestation.Miyako long-tailed ratDiplothrix miyakoensisMiyako Island, Ryukyu, JapanMost recent remains dated to around 9050-8050 BCE. Hooijer's giant ratHooijeromys nusantenggaraLesser Sunda Islands, IndonesiaMost recent remains dated to around 1050 BCE. Milimonggamys juliaeSumba Island, IndonesiaMost recent remains dated to 54-222 CE.Niviventer sp.Ishigaki Island, JapanMost recent remains dated to 2050-50 BCE.Verhoeven's giant tree ratPapagomys theodorverhoeveniFlores, IndonesiaMost recent remains to around 1050 BCE.Raksasamys tikusbesarSumba Island, IndonesiaMost recent remains dated to 1935-1700 BCE.Flores cave ratSpelaeomys florensisFlores, IndonesiaMost recent remains dated to 3500-775 BCE.Muridae indet.Morotai, IndonesiaTwo unnamed species most recently dated to 4514-4244 BCE.
Possibly extinct Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesIlin Island cloudrunnerCrateromys paulusMindoro or Ilin Island, PhilippinesOnly known from one specimen collected in 1953, generally believed to be from Ilin Island but this is not certain, and could be Mindoro or another nearby location. Later searches in Ilin and Mindoro repeatedly failed to find evidence of this species. If native to Ilin, it could have been threatened by deforestation as the island has no primary forest left in the present.
Primates (order Primates)
Great apes (family Hominidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesMainland orangutanPongo sp.Southern China and IndochinaHolocene remains are known from China, Vietnam, Laos,Tshen, L. T. (2016). Biogeographic distribution and metric dental variation of fossil and living orangutans (Pongo spp.). Primates, 57, 39-50.Ibrahim, Y. K., Tshen, L. T., Westaway, K. E., of Cranbrook, E., Humphrey, L., Muhammad, R. F., ... & Peng, L. C. (2013). First discovery of Pleistocene orangutan (Pongo sp.) fossils in Peninsular Malaysia: Biogeographic and paleoenvironmental implications. Journal of Human Evolution, 65(6), 770-797. and possibly Cambodia,Harrison, T., Jin, C., Zhang, Y., Wang, Y., & Zhu, M. (2014). Fossil Pongo from the Early Pleistocene Gigantopithecus fauna of Chongzuo, Guangxi, southern China. Quaternary International, 354, 59-67. while the existence of an indigenous, onomatopoeic name in Vietnam (Duoi U'Oi) and indigenous folklore in Peninsular Malaysia suggest survival into historical times. It possibly disappeared as a result of hunting and habitat destruction for agriculture, though evidence is scarce.
Gibbons (family Hylobatidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesImperial gibbonNomascus imperialisChongqingWang, S., Chen, Z., Luo, A., You, X., Kitchener, A. C., Tu, X., ... & Wu, D. D. (2025). Genome sequences of extant and extinct gibbons reveal their phylogeny, demographic history, and conservation status. Cell. and possibly Shaanxi, ChinaMost recent remains found in Chang'an, in the tomb of Lady Xia, grandmother of Qin Shi Huang, who died around 240 BCE. Possibly declined due to deforestation and capture of individuals to become pets. Historical records mention gibbons being caught near Chang'an until the 10th century, and living in Shaanxi province until the 18th century.Smith, K. (2018) Extinct gibbon in ancient Chinese tomb hints at other lost primate species.
Bats (order Chiroptera)
Megabats (family Pteropodidae)
Locally extinct Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPanay golden-crowned flying foxPopulation of the giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus)Panay, PhilippinesExtinct population named as a distinct species (A. lucifer) in the 19th century,Wilson, D. E., & Graham, G. L. (Eds.). (1992). Pacific island flying foxes: proceedings of an international conservation conference (Vol. 90). US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. but later included in A. jubatus.
Vesper bats (family Vespertilionidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsGloomy tube-nosed batMurina tenebrosaTsushima and possibly Yakushima, JapanLast collected in 1962. Suggested as a possible synonym for the Ussuri tube-nosed bat (M. ussuriensis).Sturdee's pipistrellePipistrellus sturdeeiHaha-jima, Bonin Islands, Japan Only known from the type specimen collected in 1889.
Carnivorans (order Carnivora)
Cats (family Felidae)
Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesEurasian cave lionPanthera spelaeaNorthern Eurasia and BeringiaMost recent remains at Kokorevo 2, Upper Yenisei, Russia dated to 11350-9600 BCE.Malikov, D. G., Burova, V. V., Klementiev, A. M., & Malikova, E. L. (2024). The distribution of the cave lion Panthera spelaea and the cave hyena Crocuta spelaea in the Late Pleistocene of Baikal-Yenisei Siberia. RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF THERIOLOGY, 23(1), 83-94.
Locally extinct