This is a very vague question, for millions of animal species are extinct, but I will answer this as best as I can. First of, dinosaurs are extinct, and there is one major theory behind why. This is the belief that an immense meteorite hit the earth where the gulf of Mexico is. This impacts threw tons upon tons of dust into the atmosphere, so much so that the sun was blocked for years and years. Plants died off, as did the herbivores, and thus the carnivores. Of course, some species survived. These animals thrived and continued to reproduce. As time went on, some animals died off simply because they were not deemed fit enough to survive, in other words, they just weren't capable of surviving in their environment any longer. Now, if you believe enough of what Darwin said, this is essentially descent with modification. Now as we came along, we being humans, we hunted and we spread. Whales, dodos, and so many other animals were hunted to extinction. So many undiscovered species of insects reside in the rain forest and we destroy there habitat, killing them forever. We have spread wide and far over Earth and we have moved into almost every animal's home. Albeit, we are not entirely responsible, the Ice Age killed millions of species of animals. The last cause for extinction that I can think of is fear and ignorance, snakes, wolves and all the other "scary" animals are killed for this reason. As for a list of animals that are extinct, I will have a list too long to create by myself.
Extinct animals are animals that used to live on earth but due to natural or man-made causes have all died out. The species is then called extinct.
That's true, but there is a little more to it. I will give a minimum amount: Most of the extinct animals were prehistoric. The reason why all the prehistoric animals are wiped out today is because of a meteor. One of the reasons why animals today are extinct is because of the loss of habitats, due to cutting down forests, and other living places.
Barbary Lion-
Panthera Leo Leo The Barbary lion was the largest lion of the subspecies. Barbary lions had a large black mane that covered its belly and ran down its back and shoulders. Big male lions weighed in over 500 pounds and grew up to eleven feet long.
Dodo, dinosaurs, quagga, (although a breeding-back programme has recently commenced, through selective breeding of the southern Plains Zebras).
Also the Cape Lion, the American lion (which was the largest subspecies ever), The passenger pigon( flocks use to be in the millions darkening the evening skies)
Australian extinct species: This list includes the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger), Eastern Bettong, Eastern hare-wallaby, Tammar Wallaby, Toolache Wallaby, Pig-footed bandicoot, western barred bandicoot, and many species of hopping-mouse.
1 Dawson Caribou 2 Newfoundland Wolf 3 Giant Short-Faced Bear 4 American Cheeta 5 Mammoths
Dinosaurs
The main cause of the extinction of an animal species is humans. Habitat destruction, poor hunting management and illegal poaching are the main causes of modern animal extinction. Though animals prey on each other, this is not a likely cause of extinction. Disease and starvation can also be contributing factors. Therefore, proper conservation management is also needed to help maintain healthy animal populations to prevent the loss of additional species.
The Marsupial Lion is now extinct. The Marsupial Lion looked feline with a muscular build, large stabbing teeth and cat-like claws. The prehistoric lioness carried its young in a pouch, in common with present day kangaroos.
Historically speaking, man has directly caused the extinction of many species (and counting). Some famous examples of animals include the ivory-billed woodpecker, the Tasmanian tiger, passenger pigeons, dodo birds, the great auk, and the elephant bird.
Since the year 2000 some notable species have become extinct. The Baiji dolphin, the West African black rhino, the golden toad, the Hawaiian crow, and the Pyrenean ibex have all disappeared forever in the past 8 years alone. Habitat loss is the leading contributor to extinction, but overhunting, exotic species introduction, and changing climate each have a role.
Information on species currently threatened with extinction can be found on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species -see Related links below.
It should be remembered, though, that not all species extinctions are the result of human activity. The dramatic rise in the rate of species extinctions in recent years, however, indicates that human activity is having a disproportionate effect on the planet's biodiversity.
For more information on extinct and endangered animals see
Related links below.