List of recently extinct mammals

Recently extinct mammals are defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as any mammals that have become extinct since the year 1500 CE. Since then, roughly 80 mammal species have become extinct.

See also: List of prehistoric mammals

Mammalian species (IUCN, 2020-1)
  • 5850 extant species have been evaluated
  • 4978 of those are fully assessed
  • 3651 are not threatened at present
  • 1244 to 2116 are threatened
  • 81 to 83 are extinct or extinct in the wild:
    • 81 extinct (EX) species
    • 2 extinct in the wild (EW)
    • 0 possibly extinct [CR(PE)]
    • 0 possibly extinct in the wild [CR(PEW)]
  1. excludes data deficient evaluations.
  2. NT and LC.
  3. Threatened comprises CR, EN and VU. Upper estimate additionally includes DD.
  4. Chart omits extinct (EX) species

Extinction of taxa is difficult to confirm, as a long gap without a sighting is not definitive, but before 1995 a threshold of 50 years without a sighting was used to declare extinction.

One study found that extinction from habitat loss is the hardest to detect, as this might only fragment populations to the point of concealment from humans. Some mammals declared as extinct may very well reappear. For example, a study found that 36% of purported mammalian extinction had been resolved, while the rest either had validity issues (insufficient evidence) or had been rediscovered.

As of June 2023, the IUCN listed 233 mammalian species as "critically endangered", while 27% of all mammalian species were threatened with extinction.

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