Extinct Animal of the Day

posting animals that have gone extinct in the Holocene

~ no AI, all images Public Domain or Creative Commons

[Diplotomodon (𓅽) @Diplotomodon]

And here are the holotype claws of Megalonyx jeffersonii, currently on display at the Academy of Natural Sciences, scheduled to close for good at the end of the month

But not if you help save it: https://t.co/4VG9zbfL1E

[PokeMar 𓅪 @PokeMarr]

I share this every year and already have this year once but REMINDER!! DO NOT USE THE FAKE WEBS FOR SPOOKY SZN!!!!!

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

@_sightoplasm Sorry, I should've made it more clear in the OP that they are still around. I work for a National Park that's planning for their eventual reintroduction, so I'm familiar the wild AZ populations 💙
I hope they'll roam our park one day. We just need a lot more prairie dogs first!

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

"wait, the black-footed ferret is still alive"

Yes! Once extinct in the wild, they once more live in their natural habitat, but reintroduction has been slow and arduous

This is our first Survivor Sunday, where I'll share species once declared extinct or on the brink

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

Black-footed ferret
(Mustela nigripes)

~ lives in: central North American prairies
~ cause of extinction: decline in prairie dog populations, plague
~ last seen: declared extinct in 1979 & extinct in the wild in 1996
~ status: endangered

📸: USFWS Mountain-Prairie

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

@JackSherma8948 Or if that rancher hadn't recognized the ferret or reported it! The survival of the black-footed ferret is truly miraculous

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

Black-footed ferret
(Mustela nigripes)

~ lives in: central North American prairies
~ cause of extinction: decline in prairie dog populations, plague
~ last seen: declared extinct in 1979 & extinct in the wild in 1996
~ status: endangered

📸: USFWS Mountain-Prairie

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

@Ruessolini Not quite extinct now, but they once were, that's why I wrote their status as Endangered!

Every Sunday I'll be posting species formerly declared extinct or critically endangered that are still with us

Unfortunately this was a scheduled post and I forgot to add that part

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

@birdsoftoday @SlickAssTJ 💙

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

@ectopistachio I have no clue I'm afraid! I do work in museum collections, but I've never had to care for pinned butterflies.

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

Xerces blue
(Glaucopsyche xerces)

~ lived in: sand dunes of the San Francisco Peninsula
~ cause of extinction: habitat loss from urbanization
~ last seen: early 1940s
~ status: extinct

📸: https://t.co/5pgIudEfBJ

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

Jefferson's ground sloth
(Megalonyx jeffersonii)

~ lived in: widespread across North America
~ cause of extinction: unknown, possibly overhunting
~ last recorded: 9540–9420 BC
~ status: extinct

📸: https://t.co/jju9vKaQ3y

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

Hurricanes Dorian (2019) and Matthew (2016) may have been the final blow to the Bahama nuthatch, but that's only half the story

Logging & invasives devastated the pineyards these tiny birds called home

By 2007, only 23 birds could be found, confined to one piece of private land

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

Bahama nuthatch
(Sitta insularis)

~ lived in: Grand Bahama pineyards
~ cause of extinction: habitat loss, invasive species, hurricanes
~ last seen: 2018
~ status: critically endangered, most likely extinct following Hurricane Dorian in 2019

📸: Tom Benson, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

[🧃🐦‍⬛🧃 @jusdcanneberge]

@extinctoftheday Seeing the name of the account

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

@gaycrmcmccarthy There's only so many characters I can fit in a tweet 😭
I would love to go in more depth for each animal, what led to their declines, etc. But I prioritize fitting all the quick facts into one post

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

Bahama nuthatch
(Sitta insularis)

~ lived in: Grand Bahama pineyards
~ cause of extinction: habitat loss, invasive species, hurricanes
~ last seen: 2018
~ status: critically endangered, most likely extinct following Hurricane Dorian in 2019

📸: Tom Benson, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

@BigLaremy The most recent genetic analyses placed them within P. leo leo, yes, which is why I called them a population of the subspecies in the post. They were unique more for their range, habitat, and ecological niche in the Maghreb than their genetics

[Extinct Animal of the Day @extinctoftheday]

Barbary lion / Atlas lion / Egyptian lion
(Population of Panthera leo leo)

~ lived in: Maghreb region of North Africa
~ cause of extinction: overhunting
~ last seen: last confirmed in 1956, suspected extinction in 1960s
~ status: extinct

📸: Fernandus

[Robert Francis @rbfrncs]

My favorite story about carolina parakeets is that in 1780 a flock showed up near Albany in the middle of winter and scared the shit out of Dutch settlers so badly that they thought the world was ending

[minjus @sqilvin]

unfinished oil pastel project from 2019, I heavily referenced from Robert Havells work & gave up pretty quickly bc oil pastels hurt my brain

[jane @spedialyte]

one of the most haunting nature photos