I is for Indefatigable Galápagos Mouse
Indefatigable Galápagos Mouse
Nesoryzomys indefessus
Where it lived: Isla Santa Cruz, part of the Galápagos archipelago in the Pacific Ocean
Last seen in: 1934
Declared extinct by IUCN in: 2000
Extinction causes:
introduction of the Black Rat (Rattus rattus) to the island in the late 1930s—which either brought diseases that the native mouse could not overcome and/or directly competed with the mouse for resources
Rodents native to the Galápagos Islands were first collected during Charles Darwin's famous expedition in 1835. Since then, seven endemic species have been identified. Today, only four of these remain. In other words, almost half of the rodent species native to the Galápagos have gone extinct in less than 200 years.
Read more about the Galápagos Islands’ rodent species in “Rediscovery of rodents (Genus Nesoryzomys) considered extinct in the Galápagos Islands.”