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 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 (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 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 (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.Martin, P. S. (2005). Twilight of the mammoths: Ice Age extinctions and the rewilding of America (Vol. 8). Univ of California Press 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.White, L.C. et al. (2018) High-quality fossil dates support a synchronous, Late Holocene extinction of devils and thylacines in mainland Australia. Biology Letters, 14(1), 20170642 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 Mammalia)
Platypus and echidnas (order Monotremata)
Echidnas (family Tachyglossidae)
Locally extinct (disputed) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesWestern long-beaked echidnaZaglossus bruijniiWestern New Guinea, Indonesia and possibly Kimberley, Western AustraliaThis critically endangered species occurs in Western New Guinea, Indonesia. The existence of Zaglossus in mainland Australia during the Late Pleistocene is proven by fossils and cave paintings. A more recent presence in mainland Australia is disputed. A 2012 study reported the existence of a previously overlooked specimen in the Natural History Museum, London. The label notes it was collected by John T. Tunney from Mount Anderson in Kimberley, Western Australia in 1901. The study argues that the western long-beaked echidna survived as a rare species in Kimberley into the 20th century based on the circumstantial improbability of a collection label misassignment, the uniqueness of ectoparasites found on the specimen, the similarity of some Kimberley forests to known habitat in New Guinea, and the testimony of an Aboriginal elder. A 2017 study disputes this conclusion and argues that the specimen most likely came from New Guinea and was mislabeled. Additional research such as ancient DNA, stable isotopes, and trace elements may shed more light on this specimen, and targeted studies of relevant Kimberley Pleistocene and Holocene subfossil assemblages would be worthwhile.
Carnivorous marsupials (order Dasyuromorphia)
Dog-like marsupials (family Thylacinidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesThylacineThylacinus cynocephalusMainland Australia, Tasmania, and New GuineaIn Tasmania, the last confirmed wild individual was killed in 1931,Sleightholme, Stephen R.; Gordon, Tammy J.; Campbell, Cameron R. (2020). "The Kaine capture – questioning the history of the last Thylacine in captivity". Australian Zoologist. 41: 1–11 and the last in captivity died at Hobart Zoo in 1936. Contrary to the consensus, a 2023 statistical analysis of alleged sightings suggested that thylacines survived in remote Tasmanian wilderness for decades past the 1930s. The peak likelihood for thylacine extinction was from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. There is extensive evidence for thylacines in mainland Australia from paleontology and rock art. The scientific consensus is that thylacines were extirpated from mainland Australia around 1277-1229 BCE, although the Thylacine Museum records several alleged mainland sightings from the 19th and 20th centuries. Thylacines were also present in New Guinea until 3050 BCE.
The extinction of the thylacine in mainland Australia was likely caused by competition with human hunters and dingos, while in Tasmania it was deliberately exterminated by sheep farmers.
Marsupial shrews (family Dasyuridae)
Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesSouthern mulgaraDasycercus archeriNullarbor Plain, Great Victoria Desert, and Swan Coastal PlainOnly known from subfossil remains.Newman-Martin, J., Travouillon, K. J., Warburton, N., Barham, M., & Blyth, A. J. (2023). Taxonomic review of the genus Dasycercus (Dasyuromorphia: Dasyuridae) using modern and subfossil material; and the description of three new species. Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 47(4), 624-661Vega, A. G., von Takach, B., Umbrello, L., Cullen, D., Cowan, M., Crisp, H., ... & Ottewell, K. (2025). A Tale of Two Tails: Untangling the Phylogeography and Demographic History of Extant Species of Mulgara (Dasycercus spp.) in the Australian Arid Zone. Journal of biogeography, 52(10), e70006Dasycercus cristicaudaSouthern Australia?Formerly considered a subspecies of the crest-tailed mulgara (D. hillieri).Little mulgaraDasycercus marlowiNorthern TerritoryOnly known from subfossil remains.Northern mulgaraDasycercus woolleyaeTanami, Simpson, Gibson, and Great Sandy Deserts.
Locally extinct Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesTasmanian devilSarcophilus harrisiiMainland Australia and TasmaniaMost recent subfossil remains in mainland Australia were dated to 1277-1229 BCE. The introduction of the dingo, changes and intensification of human hunting, and warming climate have been speculated as possible reasons. The species survives in Tasmania and was reintroduced to New South Wales in 2020.
Bandicoots and bilbies (order Peramelemorphia)
Bandicoots (family Peramelidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesDesert bandicootPerameles eremianaCentral AustraliaLast known individual was collected in 1943, with unconfirmed sightings continuing until the 1960s. The extinction was caused by predation by introduced feral cats, red foxes, competition with European rabbits, and changes to the fire regime after the British colonization of Australia.New South Wales barred bandicootPerameles fasciataNew South WalesReclassified as a distinct species in a 2018 study. The last individual was collected in 1846.Southwestern barred bandicootPerameles myosurosWestern AustraliaReclassified as a distinct species in a 2018 study. The last individual was collected in 1906.Southern barred bandicootPerameles notinaSouth Australia, Victoria, New South WalesReclassified as a distinct species in a 2018 study. The last individual was collected in 1857.Nullarbor barred bandicootPerameles papillonNullarbor Plain, southern AustraliaDescribed in a 2018 study. The last individual was collected in 1928.Peroryctes aruensisPulau Kobroor, Aru IslandsMost recent remains dated to 9105-8482 BCE.
Bilbies (family Thylacomyidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesLesser bilbyMacrotis leucuraDeserts of AustraliaAlso known as yallara. The last individual was collected in 1931, though a skull of unknown age was retrieved from a wedge-tailed eagle's nest in 1967. The main causes of extinction are believed to be predation by cats and foxes, possibly exacerbated by changes to the fire regime.
Pig-footed bandicoots (family Chaeropodidae) Common nameScientific nameRangeCommentsPicturesSouthern pig-footed bandicootChaeropus ecaudatusSouthern and western AustraliaThe last reliably dated individual was collected in 1901, though Pintupi people recalled it surviving in the Gibson desert until the 1950s. The cause of extinction was predation by feral cats and foxes. The two species were considered one until 2019.Northern pig-footed bandicootChaeropus yirratjiCentral Australia
Kangaroos, possums, wombats, and allies (order Diprotodontia)
Kangaroos and wallabies (family Macropodidae)