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 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.
Dwarf elephants are prehistoric members of the order Proboscidea which, through the process of allopatric speciation on islands, evolved much smaller body sizes in comparison with their immediate ancestors. Dwarf elephants are an example of insular dwarfism, the phenomenon whereby large terrestrial vertebrates that colonize islands evolve dwarf forms, a phenomenon attributed to adaptation to resource-poor environments and lack of predation and competition. Some modern populations of Asian elephants have also undergone size reduction on islands to a lesser degree, resulting in populations of pygmy elephants.
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.
The straight-tusked elephant is an extinct species of elephant that inhabited Europe and Western Asia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Recovered individuals have reached up to 3.81–4.2 metres (12.5–13.8 ft) in shoulder height, and an estimated 11.3–15 tonnes in weight. Like modern elephants, the straight-tusked elephant lived in herds, flourishing during interglacial periods, when its range would extend as far north as Great Britain. Skeletons found in association with stone tools and wooden spears suggest they were scavenged and hunted by early humans, including Neanderthals. It is the ancestral species of most dwarf elephants that inhabited islands in the Mediterranean.
Anancus is an extinct genus of "tetralophodont gomphothere" native to Afro-Eurasia, that lived from the Tortonian stage of the late Miocene until its extinction during the Early Pleistocene, roughly from 8.5–2 million years ago.
Pelorovis is an extinct genus of African wild cattle which existed during the Pleistocene epoch. The best known species is Pelorovis oldowayensis from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, from the Early Pleistocene. The species "Pelorovis" antiquus from the Late Pleistocene-Holocene has since been moved into Syncerus, the same genus as living African buffalo.
The Sardinian dhole is an extinct insular canid which was endemic to what is now the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica during the Middle-Late Pleistocene. It went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene around the time of human settlement of the islands.
Mammuthus lamarmorai is a species of mammoth which lived during the late Middle and Late Pleistocene on the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean. M. lamarmorai is a dwarf species, as it is estimated to have reached a shoulder height of only 1.4 metres (4.6 ft). It has been found mostly in the fine-grained sediments of the western part of the island.
Palaeoloxodon cypriotes is an extinct species of dwarf elephant that inhabited the island of Cyprus during the Late Pleistocene. Remains comprise 44 molars, found in the north of the island, seven molars discovered in the south-east, a single measurable femur and a single tusk among very sparse additional bone and tusk fragments. The molars support derivation from the large straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus). The species is presumably derived from the older, larger P. xylophagou from the late Middle Pleistocene which reached the island presumably during a Pleistocene glacial maximum when low sea levels allowed a low probability sea crossing between Cyprus and Asia Minor. During subsequent periods of isolation the population adapted within the evolutionary mechanisms of insular dwarfism, which the available sequence of molar fossils confirms to a certain extent. The fully developed Palaeoloxodon cypriotes weighed not more than 200 kg (440 lb) and had a height of around 1 m (3.28 ft). The species became extinct around 12,000 years ago, around the time humans first colonised Cyprus.
Asoriculus is an extinct genus of terrestrial shrews in the subfamily Soricinae and tribe Nectogalini, native to Europe and North Africa.
Prolagus is an extinct genus of lagomorph. Over 20 species have been named, and the genus was abundant and widespread in Europe during the Neogene. However, by the end of the Middle Pleistocene, it was confined to a single species, the Sardinian pika, on the Corsica, Sardinia, and surrounding islands, where it survived into historical times. In North Africa and Western Asia, the genus is known from the Miocene and Pliocene. The scientific name may mean "before hares" or "primitive hares". Its taxonomy is disputed, with it either being considered a member of the family Ochotonidae, which includes living pikas, or the only member of the family Prolagidae.
Xenocyon is an extinct group of canids, either considered a distinct genus or a subgenus of Canis. The group includes Canis (Xenocyon) africanus, Canis (Xenocyon) antonii and Canis (Xenocyon) falconeri that gave rise to Canis (Xenocyon) lycanoides. The hypercarnivorous Xenocyon is thought to be closely related and possibly ancestral to modern dhole and the African wild dog, as well as the insular Sardinian dhole.
Megalenhydris barbaricina is an extinct species of giant otter from the Late Pleistocene of Sardinia. It is known from a single partial skeleton, discovered in the Grotta di Ispinigoli near Dorgali, and was described in 1987. It was larger than any living otter, exceeding the size of South American giant otters (Petrolutra), which can reach two meters in length. The species is one of four extinct otter species from Sardinia and Corsica. The others are Algarolutra majori, Lutra castiglionis and Sardolutra ichnusae. It is suggested to have ultimately originated from the much smaller European mainland species "Lutra" simplicidens, which may be more closely related to Lutrogale than to modern Lutra species. The structure of the teeth points to a diet of bottom dwelling fish and crustaceans. A special characteristic of the species is the flattening of the first few caudal vertebrae. This might point to a slightly flattened tail.
Macaca majori, commonly known as the dwarf macaque, is a prehistoric macaque from the Early Pleistocene of Sardinia, Italy. It descended from the Barbary macaque. Its temporal range spans from about 2 million to 0.8 million years ago, during the Nesogoral faunal complex, alongside the goat-antelope Nesogoral, the pig Sus sondaari, the hyena Chasmaporthetes, the pika Prolagus, the shrew Asoriculus, the mole Talpa tyrrhenica, the mustelid Pannonictis, and the dormouse Tyrrhenoglis.
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.
Rhagamys is an extinct genus of rodents in the subfamily Murinae, the Old World mice and rats. The genus was established by the Swiss zoologist Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major to accommodate Rhagamys orthodon, which is the only species in the genus. It was endemic to the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia, descending from Rhagapodemus, which had colonised the islands around 3.6 million years ago. Its closest living relatives are of the genus Apodemus, which includes the field and wood mice.
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.
Enhydrictis is a genus of extinct mustelid, belonging to the subfamily Galictinae. The type species, and best known, is Enhydrictis galictoides from the Pleistocene of Sardinia and Corsica. Some authors attribute species from mainland Eurasia to the genus, but this is disputed, with others considering the genus endemic to Sardinia-Corsica.
