List of extinct animals of the Philippines

The Philippines is a young archipelago with oldest soils dating back to Jurassic and archipelago forming during the Paleogene.^[1] Its faunal records of fossil bodies mostly are within the Cenozoic era with Pleistocene fauna began appearing in many islands attributable to modern geography. Paleontological and archeological findings yielded information regarding the extinct species found in the Philippines through the excavation of various sites in the country. The first scientifically described megafaunal fossil found was of a Stegodon (Stegodon mindanensis). It was collected from a Manobo medicine man in Mindanao, which was used as a talisman.^[2][3] Recent Holocene extinctions, however, are on the rise, being associated with human derived activities. Deforestation is one of the primary cause and is the reason of numerous extinctions and extirpations in the island of Cebu.^[4]

Cenozoic extinctions[]

The Philippines had a large and diverse group of mammalian species in the past. They are widely distributed across the archipelago, but they became extinct due to several factors. At least eleven mammalian genera and a reptile have been extinct since the Pleistocene Epoch. A fossil species of the Sirenia has been found on Palawan and possibly went extinct during the Miocene. Most of the described fossils are only known from their incomplete remains known from the Pleistocene. Many among the fossils collected were collected even without stratigraphic data.^[3] This makes the identity of many specimens vague, and presents problems in many aspects. Confirming the question of the validity of only having one large stegodon species is one.^[3][5] There are also problems about having many of the early specimens being lost. This, in turn, made the categorization of some fossils to be uncertain. The fossil of the supposed cf. Antilope found in 1910, was suggested by Koenigswald in 1956, to be a bovid fossil rather than an antelope. Nothing definite will be pronounced as the fossil was lost.^[3]

Image/ Possible reconstruction	Genus	Common name/species	Period	Family	Description
	Dugong cf.	Palawan fossil Sirenia	Miocene	Dungongidae	Discovered in Palawan in 2011. The fossil has not yet been extracted from the rocks in fear of destroying the natural heritage caves of Palawan.[6]
	Homo	H. luzonensis	Pleistocene	Hominidae	Locally named "ubag" in reference after mythical cavemen, with earliest possible attestation of existence during the Middle-Pleistocene (ca. 777,000 to 631,000 ya);[7] this species showed signs of dwarfism similar to that of the Homo floresiensis. Homo luzonensis also showed signs of having basal characteristics comparable to the genus Australopithecus.[8]
	Stegodon	S. trigonocephalus	Pleistocene	Stegodontidae	Once roamed in the plains of the entire archipelago. Unfavorable geographical conditions caused their extinction.[9] This species is also known as the large stegodon counterpart among the identified species of stegodonts in the Philippines,[10][11] weighing possibly around 1,017 kg to 1,713 kg.[12] Other estimates put it around 2 tons.[13]
		S. orientalis	Pleistocene		The Sinic stegodon, registered as S. sinensis (its junior synonym) in many papers. Assigned after the excavations and discoveries in Cabarruyan island, Pangasinan. With overall slight dwarfing in form than the mainland S. orientalis.[3] The presence of such mainland fauna was used as an argument of a potential Taiwan land bridge.[14] But this was contested by Heaney in 1985.[10] This, in turn, was later supported again in 2021.[15]
		S. luzonensis	Pleistocene		With fossils found in Cagayan, Rizal and Kalinga, this dwarf stegodon is thought to be wide spread across the Greater Luzon island during the pleistocene. It had a larger skull and lower-crowned teeth compared to present-day elephants (i.e. "Loxodonta sp" and "Elephas sp.").[10][16] Stegodon luzonensis might have potentially weighed around 1,300 kg.[13]
		S. mindanensis	Pleistocene		Also considered as a pygmy stegodon, with estimates on weight about the size of a carabao (ca. 400 kg). First described in 1860 by Carl Semper in Agusan river valley in Mindanao.[2] Other specimens were based from molars with 37mm and 51mm width and with height-width index of 88 (This may suggest that this specimen may have come from a Mammoth or just a progressive stegodon) and only 47 on the other one.[17] This stegodon has also been noted to be similar in morphology of being small and possessing a high-crowned molar to Stegodon sompoensis found in the Celebes, Flores and Timor.[17][18]
	Elephas	Elephas sp.	Pleistocene	Elephantidae	Probably found across the Philippine archipelago, with a notable site like Cabatuan, Iloilo. Other fossils could also be found on Cagayan Valley, Pangasinan and Rizal.[19] These fossils are fragmentary and cannot be associated with known species. But it is speculated that elephants of different islands were of different species.
		Philippine dwarf elephant E. beyeri	Pleistocene		A dwarf elephant found on the Cabarruyan island and possibly other Visayan islands as well.[3] The stature of this dwarf elephant is estimated to be only 1.2m.[19] It is hypothesized by Koenigswald in 1956 to be a descendant of the Elephas namadicus (Palaeoloxodon) lineage found in the Middle-Pleistocene.[20][21]
	Palaeoloxodon	Straight-tusked elephant P. namadicus (=antiquus)	Pleistocene		The straight-tusked elephant described was attributed to the largest Palaeoloxodon species under the name Elephas cf. namadicus (=antiquus). It is however, speculated to have been dwarfed around the size of modern elephants based from their molars compared to their towering mainland counterparts.[3]
	Nesorhinus	Philippine rhinoceros N. philippinensis	Pleistocene	Rhinocerotidae	It presumably have existed in the Middle Pleistocene (709 ± 68 kya). It is thought to have island-hopped from Taiwan to Luzon probably around late Miocene or later.[15] It was essentially a larger version of its modern relative, the Sumatran rhino.[22] A fossilized upper jaw was first to be described in 1965. It is a portion of right upper jaw with two well-preserved molars.[23] A survey of the Cagayan valley in 2013, however, revealed an almost complete disarticulated skeleton of a Philippine rhino showing signs of butchering from a hominin.[7]
	Celebochoerus	C. cagayanensis	Pleistocene	Suidae	Lived in the Cagayan Valley on Luzon.[24] Argued to be a premature species designation, rejected by De Vos and Bautista in 2001.[5]
	Rusa	Palawan deer Rusa sp.	Pleistocene	Cervidae	Unknown extinct species of deer larger than the Calamian hog deer found on the Palawan mainland.
	Megalochelys	Luzon giant tortoise M. sondaari	Pleistocene	Testudinidae	Lived on the island of Luzon during the early Pleistocene up until (ca. 1,700,000 BCE). It had a carapace length of around 70 to 90 cm or up to almost 3 ft.[25] It was excavated in Laguna and was described in 2007.
	Batomys	B. cagayanensis	Pleistocene	Muridae	Known only from two specimens around the Late Pleistocene (ca. 67,000 BP). It is presumed to be contemporaneous with the H. luzonensis that is also excavated around the locality.[26]
	Bubalus	Luzon buffalo B. sondaari	Pleistocene	Bovidae	Lived on Luzon[27]
		Cebu tamaraw B. cebuensis	Pleistocene or Holocene		The Cebu tamaraw stood only 75 cm (2 ft 6 in) and weighed about 150 to 160 kg (330 to 350 lb).[9][28] The species was smaller than the modern Mindoro tamaraw.

Holocene extinctions[]

During the Holocene Epoch, assisted by the closing of the Palawan land bridge from the Late Pleistocene, the rising sea level, climate change, and human occupation; many among the Palawan fauna went extinct. Introduced animals, like the Asian elephant, either became extinct or were transported back to Sabah for unknown reasons sometime during ca. 13th to 16th centuries. One former species of bat known as Acerodon lucifer was thought to be extinct, but is now synonymous with the giant golden-crowned flying fox. Thus, the species still thrives in the archipelago, but is locally extinct on the island of Panay. There were also more recent extinctions (postcolonial era) caused by overhunting and habitat fragmentation; examples of this are several Cebu fauna like the Cebu warty pig and several barb species found in the lake Lanao.^[29]

Image/ Possible reconstruction	Genus	Common name/species	Approximated date of extinction	Family	Description
	Cuon	Dhole C. alpinus	5,000 BCE[30]	Canidae	Lived on Palawan during the Pleistocene and Early Holocene.[31] With fossil remains similar to Canis familiaris, it remains inconclusive. But the presence of a wild dog crossing from the Sunda shelf to Palawan is cited to be more likely than an early arrival of a domesticated dog.[32][33]
	Panthera	Tiger P. tigris ssp.	5,000 BCE[30]	Felidae	Two articulated phalanges and another phalanx piece were found amidst an assemblage of other animal bones and stone tools in Ille Cave near the village of New Ibajay. From the stone tools, besides the evidence for cuts on the bones, and the use of fire, it would appear that early humans had accumulated the bones.[34] Additionally, the condition of the tiger subfossils, dated to approximately 12,000 to 9,000 years ago, differed from other fossils in the assemblage, dated to the Upper Paleolithic. The tiger subfossils showed longitudinal fracture of the cortical bone due to weathering, which suggests that they had post-mortem been exposed to light and air. Tiger parts were commonly used as amulets in South and Southeast Asia, so it may be that the tiger parts were imported from elsewhere, as is the case with tiger canine teeth, which were found in Ambangan sites dating to the 10th to 12th centuries in Butuan, Mindanao. On the other hand, the proximity of Borneo and Palawan also makes it likely that the tiger had colonized Palawan from Borneo before the Early Holocene.[3][35]
	Crateromys	C. ballik	0 AD	Muridae	Another murine with fossils found in Cagayan, regardless of its large size it was named Ballik after Dupaningan Agta's word for small. This is in reference for its relatively smaller size than the extant cloud runners of the same species (i.e. Giant bushy-tailed cloud rat).[26]
	Carpomys	C. dakal			A giant cloud rat with size rivalling the Phloeomids reaching around 2 kg. Named Dakal in reference to their big size.[26]
	Elephas	Asian elephant E. maximus	1600s	Elephantidae	Introduced in the ca. 13th-16th century from Sabah in the reign of the Sultanate of Sulu, and became extinct on Maguindanao, or were transported back to Sabah. Bone fragments are the only proof left behind of their existence.
	Oriolus	Cebu dark-throated oriole O. steerii assimilis	1906	Oriolidae	Initially considered a separate species by Tweede in 1878.[36] Last sighted in1906.
	Coracina	Cebu bar-bellied cuckooshrike C. striata cebuensis	1900s	Campephagidae	Extinct in the 20th century.[37]
	Pelicanus	Spot-billed pelican P. Philippensis	1960s	Pelecanidae	Named taxonomically because of abundance in the Philippines up until the 1900s[38] but declined and become extirpated in the country around the 1960s.[39]
	Antigone	Luzon sarus crane A. antigone luzonica	1960s	Gruidae	Species extirpated in the Philippines, subspecies became extinct in the 1960s.[40] No distinctive characteristic was observed or studied in the Philippine population compared to other subspecies.[41]
	Penelopides	Ticao tarictic hornbill P. ticaensis	1971	Bucerotidae	A subspecies of the Visayan tarictic hornbill that lived in Ticao island. It was declared extinct by the year 2013[42] and last seen in 1971.
	Sus	Cebu warty pig S. cebifrons cebifrons	2000	Suidae	The Cebu warty pig previously lived on the island of Cebu before becoming extinct in modern times, primarily due to habitat destruction and human exploitation. The subspecies was declared extinct in 2000, but other warty pig subspecies still survive on other Philippine islands.
	Barbodes	Several lake Lanao Barb species B. amarus B. baoulan B. clemensi B. disa B. flavifuscus B. herrei B. katolo B. lanaoensis B. manalak B. pachycheilus B. palaemophagus B. palata B. resimus B. tras B. truncatalus.	2020	Cyprinidae	At least 15 species of endemic cyprinid from lake Lanao were confirmed to be extinct.[29][43][44]

Other possibly extinct animals[]

There are also animals that are considered to be extinct but has unconfirmed sightings, reported sightings or supposed rediscoveries. Some populations may also just be data deficient but are predicted to be extinct. These populations, however, are almost always certainly considered as Critically endangered if not extinct.

Image	Common name/scientific name	Family	Description
	Several lake Lanao Barb species Barbodes cataractae Barbodes lindog Barbodes sirang	Cyprinidae	Additional three species are considered possibly extinct: Barbodes cataractae, Barbodes lindog, and Barbodes sirang. B. lindog and B. sirang have reported sightings within the last ten years (2008 for the former and 2016 for the latter). The B. cataractae on the other hand has not been recorded during the market surveys of 1973 to 2017.[45][46][47]
	Bia Exyrias volcanus	Gobiidae	Endemic to Taal lake, being the only freshwater species within the genus and only located on a limited area; it has not been sighted in surveys since 1996.[48]
	Yellow-bellied goby Silhouettea flavoventris	Gobiidae	Endemic to Taal lake, described in 1927 with 37 specimens ranging 25-37mm in length. It has not been sighted since the 1990's.[49]
	Scarus rivulatus	Scaridae	Reported extinct in the Philippines by the IUCN during its assessment in 2009 (published in 2012), experiencing massive population reduction by 60-70% in a span of 20–30 years.[50] It, however, can still be observed in Siquijor by the year 2020 comprising 18.6% out of 209 of the collected sample of juvenile parrotfish species.[51] Otherwise, its global population is still under Least concern category.[50]
	Uling goby Sicyopus cebuensis	Oxudercidae	Locally known as tughud in cebuano. It is classified as data deficient in IUCN red list but is considered to be possibly extinct in 2015 as the river it resides is polluted.[52] It has alleged sightings in 2019.[53]
	Neostethus ctenophorus	Phallostethidae	Endemic in the Laguna de Bay, it is threatened by industrialization and invasive species. Despite numerous fish surveys it was last seen in 1937.[54]
	Manila bay herring Clupea manulensis	Clupeidae	Since its description in 1822, there have been no sightings nor documentations that assesses this species' presence.[55]
	Laguna white-legged damselfly Risiocnemis laguna	Platycnemididae	Has not been rediscovered since its discovery in 1916, and is only known from specimens found in Paete, laguna. With Paete's rapid urbanization and being a heavily populated location with heavy forest degradation. The population of this damselfly is expected to be critically endangered if not extinct.[56]
	Jolo sika deer Cervus nippon soloensis	Cervidae	Introduced during the Holocene (unknown date). No current population census and may be possibly extinct in Sulu.[57] Although it is still listed by the IUCN as extant resident introduced population.[58]
	Bornean bearded pig Sus barbatus	Suidae	Reports of Bornean pigs on the islands of the Sulu archipelago have been documented, probably driven by their periodically sea crossing habits to reach nearby islands.[59] It is classified by the IUCN redlist as possibly extinct in the area.[60]
	Ilin island cloud-runner Crateromys paulus	Muridae	Locally known as siyang,[61] it is known from one specimen collected in 1953, and has never been formally studied in the wild.[62]
	Lesser ranee mouse Haeromys pusillus		Possibly extirpated in Calauit islands and Palawan.[63]
	Cebu hanging parrot Loriculus philippensis chrysonotus	Psittaculidae	A recognized subspecies of the Philippine hanging parrot, generally believed to be extinct.
	Siquijor hanging parrot Loriculus philippensis siquijorensis		Like the cebu subspecies, this subspecies is also regarded as possibly extinct.[64]
	Luzon blue-backed parrot Tanygnathus everetti duponti		No sightings since the 1970s in the island of Luzon, likely extinct.[65]
	Polillo blue-backed parrot Tanygnathus everetti freeri		No sightings since 2004 in the island of Polillo, likely extinct.[65]
	Catanduanes bleeding heart Gallicolumba luzonica rubiventris	Columbidae	Based only from one single specimen collected in 1971, lives exclusively in Catanduanes.
	Sulu bleeding-heart Gallicolumba menagei		Expedition on 2009, failed to find signs of this species' continued existence.[66] The sulu bleeding-heart if not extinct, may have been critically endangered and may probably be less than 50 individuals. Other reported sightings may be attributed to other local bleeding-heart species (i.e Luzon and Mindanao bleeding-hearts)
	Negros fruit dove Ptilinopus arcanus		Originally described in 1953,[67] with an alleged sighting by a local hunter in the 1990s. Currently listed as critically endangered if not extinct.
	Cebu white-bellied woodpecker Dryocopus javensis cebuensis	Picidae	With unconfirmed possible sightings in 1998 and 2000.[68] It is likely critically endangered if not extinct.
	Cebu blackish cuckooshrike Coracina coerulescens altera	Campephagidae	Last confirmed sighting in 1906.[69] Unconfirmed sighting in 2000.[68]
	Negros celestial monarch Hypothymis coelestis rabori	Monarchidae	Found on Sibuyan and Negros. This subspecies has not been recorded since 1959 and may now be extinct.[70][71]

See also[]

• List of mammals of the Philippines
• List of Asian animals extinct in the Holocene

References[]