The Sardinian pika is an extinct species of lagomorph that was endemic to the islands of Sardinia, Corsica and neighbouring Mediterranean islands until its extinction likely in Roman times. It was the last surviving member of Prolagus, a genus of lagomorph once widespread throughout Europe during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, whose closest living relatives are pikas of the genus Ochotona.
Myotragus is an extinct genus of goat-antelope in the tribe Caprini which lived on the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca in the western Mediterranean until its extinction around 4,500 years ago. The fossil record of Myotragus on the Balearic Islands extends over 5 million years back to the early Pliocene on Mallorca, where it presumably arrived after the evaporation of the Mediterranean Sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis.
Nuralagus is an extinct genus of leporid, with a single species, Nuralagus rex, described in 2011. It lived on Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean during the Pliocene epoch. It is the largest known lagomorph to have ever existed, with an estimated weight of 8–12 kilograms (18–26 lb), nearly double the weight of the average Flemish Giant rabbit. It likely went extinct at the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition when Mallorca and Menorca were united as one island, letting the mammalian fauna of Mallorca, including the goat-like ungulate Myotragus, colonize Nuralagus's habitat.
The Cretan shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the island of Crete, Greece. Its natural habitat is temperate shrubland, and the animal is threatened by habitat loss. It is found in the mountainous highlands of Crete, having been displaced from lower altitudes by the lesser white-toothed shrew.
Nectogalini is a tribe of Old World water shrews within the family Soricidae. As of late 2007, it consisted of six extant genera and 25 species, with some of the latter being further divided into subspecies. Some, but not all members of the tribe are semiaquatic.
Dolinasorex glyphodon was a species of giant venomous shrew that is now extinct. Remains of the animal were found at the Gran Dolina site, located in the Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain by researchers from the University of Zaragoza, Spain between 1991 and 2007. The deposit is estimated to be between 780,000 and 900,000 years old. D. glyphodon was the only species in the genus Dolinasorex.
Episoriculus is a genus of shrew in the red-toothed shrew subfamily. Its common is brown-toothed shrew. It has been described as a subgenus to Soriculus in the past. The genus occurs at a number of locations in Asia, including Nepal and China.
The Taiwanese brown-toothed shrew is a species of shrew in the tribe Nectogalini. It is found only in Taiwan. It prefers dense ground cover in forests and subalpine shrublands in high mountains of central Taiwan. Its placement in Episoriculus has been questioned, with genetic analysis finding that it is more basal within Nectogalini than other members of Episoriculus.
Hypolagus is an extinct genus of lagomorph, first recorded in the Hemingfordian of North America. It entered Asia during the early Turolian and spread to Europe not much later, where it survived until the Middle Pleistocene. Though unknown in the Iberian Peninsula, fossils of this genus have been found in the Balearic Islands, suggesting an eastern migration during the dry period in the Mediterranean region known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis.
Hypnomys, otherwise known as Balearic giant dormice, is an extinct genus of dormouse (Gliridae) in the subfamily Leithiinae. Its species are considered examples of insular gigantism. They were endemic to the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean from the Early Pliocene until their extinction around 4,000 years ago. They first appeared in the fossil record on Mallorca during the Early Pliocene, presumably due to the Messinian salinity crisis causing a connection with mainland Europe. They later spread to Menorca, and a possible molar is also known from Ibiza. Hypnomys became extinct during the Holocene after human arrival on the Balearics. They were one of only three native land mammals to the islands at the time of human arrival, alongside the shrew Nesiotites and goat-antelope Myotragus.
This paleomammalogy list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2012, as well as notes other significant paleomammalogy discoveries and events which occurred during that year.
Leithia is an extinct genus of giant dormice from the Pleistocene of the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Sicily. It is considered an example of island gigantism. Leithia melitensis is the largest known species of dormouse, living or extinct, being twice the size of any other known species.
Nesiotites is an extinct genus of large red-toothed shrews belonging to the tribe Nectogalini known from the latest Miocene/Early Pliocene to Holocene of the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca.
Talpa tyrrhenica, also known as the Tyrrhenian mole, is an extinct species of mole belonging to the genus Talpa. It was endemic to the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia during the Pleistocene epoch.
Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) henseli is an extinct species of vole belonging to the genus Microtus that was endemic to Sardinia and Corsica during the Pleistocene and Holocene.
Dopasia is a genus of lizards in the family Anguidae. The genus contains seven species, which are native to Asia. They are most closely related to the North American Ophisaurus, and are sometimes considered part of that genus.
Soriculus is a genus of shrew native to Asia. Along with several fossil species, the only extant member of the genus is the Himalayan shrew, as other extant species have now been transferred to other genera.
Vipera latastei ebusitana was a viper subspecies native to Ibiza, Spain that is now extinct. It was a subspecies of the Lataste's viper and was a dwarf taxon resulting from insular evolutionary processes. Like all other vipers, it was venomous.
Crocidura kornfeldi is an extinct species of shrew that inhabited Central and Southern Europe between the Pliocene and Pleistocene. It is the first species of the widespread, extremely speciose genus Crocidura known with certainty to have colonized Europe. It is a widespread, well-documented species, with fossils known from Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania, and Crimea.
