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Extinct plant species

1. Calamites
Calamites were the medium-sized trees that are now extinct and you can’t find them
anywhere on the Earth. They used to grow to a height of above 30 meters and were
spore-bearing plants that lived during the Carboniferous and Permian periods (about
360 to 250 million years ago). Scientists study the structure of such plants from only
the fossils found in different areas of Earth.

2. Cooksonia
One of the oldest primitive extinct plants in the history of Earth is the Cooksonia
plant. This plant is believed to have existed on Earth about 433 million years ago.
Finding Cooksonia-fossils is difficult because only a few occurrences are known. The
Cooksonia plant only had slender stalks and it is believed to have possessed small
and lacked leaves, flowers and roots.
3. Lepidodendron
Lepidodendron plants were commonly known as the scale trees. They are an extinct
genus of primitive, vascular, tree-like plants related to the isoetes and lycopsids.
Their trunks are believed to be 1 meter in diameter and they used to reach up to a
height of 30 meters and more. They were mostly a part of the coal forest flora. They
became extinct when these swamps disappeared.
4. Rhynia
Rhynia was a bisexual sporophyte generation of a vascular plant that had anatomical
features more advanced than those of the bryophytes. This plant existed hundreds
of years ago on the planet Earth where it grew in the vicinity of a silica-rich hot
spring. Since they were bisexual in nature they used to grow close to the other
vascular plants.

5. Silphium
This plant was a major inclusion during the Greek and Egyptian dynasties and it
played a very vital role at that time. This plant was used as a medicine in treating
many of the diseases and problems faced by people. It also was used as a
contraceptive by ancient Greeks and Romans.
6. Saint Helena Olive
It was an island endemic native plant to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Ignore its name, this plant did not belong to the family of olives. Instead, it was a
tough plant with pale pink flowers that bloomed on the small island of Tristan da
Cunha. Their population was very few at that time also, until sometime later it
completely disappeared.
7. Sigillaria
Considered as one of the extinct plants to have ever existed on the planet Earth, it
evolved during the Late Carboniferous period. It is said that Sigillaria had scales, not
bark and it was a very tall plant that used to grow around 100 feet tall in height.
Sigillaria was the fastest growing plant and it had grass-like leaves that grew from a
fork at the top of the tree. Also Instead of producing seeds, Sigillaria reproduced by
creating spores.

8. Franklinia
One of the most beautiful flowering trees commonly known as the Franklin tree was
native to the Altamaha River valley in Georgia, USA. This plant mysteriously went
extinct in the wild and since then no trace of it has been found. This fragrant flower
was white in color with yellow pollination buds in between to help it reproduce more.
The specialty about this plant was it’s leaves that used to turn red in autumn.
Extinct animal species
Endangered Species:

Pygmy Racoons
Scientists estimate that only 192 mature pygmy raccoons remain in the world. These raccoons
that live in Mexico have a smaller size and are rounder than the raccoons you may have seen.
There are several efforts underway to try to protect this endangered species including the
creation of a protected mangrove forest.

Darwin’s Fox
There may be less than 649 Darwin’s foxes left in the world. The number of these foxes that live
in Chili has greatly diminished because of wood pulp plantation overtaking their natural habitat.
These foxes, which resemble small gray foxes, have significantly been harmed because their
habitat has been so broken up by the harvesting of trees.

Black Spider Monkeys

The black spider monkey, also known as the Guiana or red-faced spider monkey, weighs
between 15 and 19 pounds when mature. Deforestation has dramatically hurt this South
American native species. It is vital for this endangered species to survive because it spreads
seeds helping new plants to get started in the Amazon rainforest.
Saola
Saolas are deer that grow to be about 200 pounds when mature. They are a cousin of antelope,
and they have long horns that are incredibly sharp. Saolas only live in parts of Cambodia and
Vietnam where they have high mountains to climb.

Orangutans
You may have seen an orangutan during your last trip to the zoo, but they are going extinct in
their native habitat. While deforestation is a significant problem as orangutans will not cross
roads built to haul the lumber needed to make paper out. Therefore, they are living in small
groups with little genetic diversity. Unfortunately, these roads also make it easier for poachers to
get in to kill them.

Borneo Pygmy Elephants

Borneo pygmy elephants are the smallest elephant living in Southeast Asia. There are believed
to be less than 1,500 of these elephants that grow to be less than 5 feet tall living in the wild.
They have straighter tusks and larger ears than the typical Asian elephant that often grows to be
more than 8 feet tall.

Extinct Species:

Formosan Clouded Leopard

(NEOFELIS NEBULOSA BRACHYURA)
This big cat found only on the island of Taiwan, a
subspecies of the slightly larger clouded leopard found
throughout Asia, was declared extinct in 2013. The second
largest carnivore on the island after the Formosan black
bear (listed as vulnerable by the IUCN), the leopard’s
extinction was likely caused by the loss
and fragmentation of lowland forests on the
island, replaced by agriculture, forcing the cat up into ever
smaller ranges at higher elevations.
According to Global Forest Watch (GFW) data, Taiwan
lost 37,100 hectares of tree cover since the start of the
century, with a large spike in 2009. Illegal logging and
poaching of endangered tree species has posed a
consistent threat to the island’s primary forests.
Two unconfirmed clouded leopard sightings were reported
in 2018. One group of rangers reportedly saw the cat
darting out of the way of a scooter before running up a
tree and another group thought they saw one hunting
goats on a cliffside. The last official sighting of the
leopard was in 1983.

The only remaining Spix’s Macaws are in captivity. Rüdiger Stehn/Flickr

Spix’s Macaw

(CYANOPSITTA SPIXII)
This dusty blue bird earned popular attention for inspiring
the characters in the 2011 animated film, Rio. In reality,
the Spix’s Macaw is the rarest parrot species in the world,
and completely extinct in the wild.

These macaws were native to the arid lowland forests in

the interior and northeast of Brazil. Research determined
that a species of tree (Tabebuia caraiba) was critical to the
birds habitat, with one study noting that where these trees
had been cleared, the macaw had disappeared. Habitat
loss due to agriculture, combined with illegal trapping for
the pet trade, is theorized to have led to their decline. A
1990 search found only one site with conclusive evidence
of Spix’s Macaws living in the state of Bahia, and in 2018
they were declared extinct. It is estimated that between 60
and 80 individuals are still alive in captivity.
Mount Glorious Torrent Frog

(TAUDACTYLUS DIURNUS)
Amphibians are highly susceptible to extinction, with one in
three amphibian species listed on the IUCN’s endangered
species list. The Mount Glorious Torrent Frog, a
small diurnal frog native to just three mountain ranges on
the eastern coast of Australia, was one of the
early amphibian casualties. Although considered relatively
common in the 1970s, the frog experienced a sharp decline
and was declared extinct in 2004.
The Mount Glorious Torrent Frog inhabited mountain
rainforest streams and could be found hopping about in the
leaf litter and vegetation near the water. One single
cause of the frog’s extinction hasn’t been identified, but
logging in the watershed and upstream is hypothesized to
have had an impact. The area comprising the frog’s
estimated range lost 11,100 hectares of tree cover since
the start of the century. Based on the rapid decline pattern,
an infectious chytrid fungal disease could also have played
a part.
Cryptic Treehunter
The larger Cryptic Treehunter (center) compared to individuals of a similar species. Barnett
and Buzzetti (2014)

(CICHLOCOLAPTES MAZARBARNETTI)
This small bird, as the name suggests, defied discovery for
years, often getting mistaken for other similar-
looking species. When it was finally identified by scientists
in two tiny patches of humid Atlantic forest in Brazil in
2014, the treehunter was already critically endangered.
Intensive studies of the area estimated at most 10
breeding pairs existed in 2004, and that the population in
2014 was likely even lower, making it one of the world’s
rarest birds. By 2019 the IUCN had declared them extinct.
The region of eastern Brazil where the
Cryptic Treehunter was found has seen widespread tree
cover loss due to shifting agriculture. Forests
became highly fragmented and converted to sugarcane
plantations and pastureland, which lead to a decline in the
bromeliad species this bird specialized on for nesting.