List of extinct animals of the Philippines

The Philippines had a large and diverse group of mammalian species in the past. They are widely distributed across the archipelago. However, they became extinct due to several factors. There are at least eight mammalian species that have been extinct since the Pleistocene Epoch. A fossil species of Sirenia has been found on Palawan and went extinct during the Miocene. Other unknown species of extinct deer, buffalo, pig and small mammals are only known from incomplete fossil remains known from from Pleistocene. The Asian elephant was introduced to the philippines, originally transported to the Sultanate of Sulu and Maguindanao, but became extinct on those areas or were transported back to Sabah for unknown reasons sometime during the 13th to 16th(?) century. 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.

Paleontological and archeological findings yielded information regarding the extinct Mammalian species found in the Philippines through the excavation of various sites in the country.

Image	Common name/scientific name	Period	Description
	Elephas sp.	Pleistocene	Found on Iloilo, Panay Island
	Asian Elephant Elephas maximus	Holocene	Introduced in the 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.
	Stegodon luzonensis	Pleistocene	Once roamed in the plains of Luzon, Mindanao and entire Philippine Archipelago. Unfavorable geographical conditions and human exploitation caused their extinction.[1]
	Palawan fossil Sirenia Dugong sp.?	Miocene	Discovered in Palawan in 2011. The fossil hasn't yet been extracted from the rocks in fear of destroying the natural heritage caves of Palawan. Future technology in fossil extraction is the only way to get and identify the fossil.[2]
	Fossil murines	Pleistocene	Excavations in Callao Cave, in the lowland (c. 85 m elevation) Cagayan River Valley of northeastern Luzon, Philippines, have produced the first fossils of any endemic genera of Philippine murinae rodents. Three dentaries dated to the Late Pleistocene, between c. 50,000 and 68,000 BP, are referred to the genera Batomys and Apomys.[3]
	Tiger Panthera tigris	Holocene	Extinct on Palawan Island. The identity of the subspecies found on Palawan is uncertain, though the tiger bones appear similar to the Sumatran tiger. They became extinct due to a combination of diminished prey, loss of habitat and human interference.[1][4]
	Philippine rhinoceros Rhinoceros philippinensis	Pleistocene	Due to the lack of a complete skeleton, little is known about Rhinoceros philippinensis, other than that it lived during the Pleistocene era (2.588 million – 11,700 years ago) and that it was essentially the larger version of its modern cousin, the Sumatran rhino. Fossilized upper jaw. The specimen is a portion of right upper jaw with two well-preserved molars and a broken one of a rhinoceros.[1][5]
	Cebu warty pig Sus cebifrons cebifrons	Holocene	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, however, other warty pig subspecies still survive on other Philippine islands.
	Palawan Cervus Cervus sp.	Pleistocene	Unknown extinct species of deer found on the Palawan mainland.
	Cebu tamaraw Bubalus cebuensis	Pleistocene or Holocene	The Cebu tamaraw stood only 75 cm (about 2 ft 6 in) and weighed about 150 to 160 kg (around 300 lbs).[1][6] The species was smaller than the modern Mindoro Tamaraw.
	Luzon giant tortoise Megalochelys sondaari	Pleistocene	Lived on the island of Luzon.[7]
	Celebochoerus cagayanensis	Pleistocene	Lived in the Cagayan Valley on Luzon. [8]
	Luzon Buffalo Bubalus sondaari	Pleistocene	Lived on Luzon. [9]
	Dhole Cuon alpinus	Holocene	Lived on Palawan during the Pleistocene and Early Holocene.[10]

See also

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

References