Capricorn rabbit rat

Conilurus capricornensis

Blamed on cats

IUCN status: Extinct

NA

IUCN claim: “This species has never been recorded alive, so assessment of threats is speculative. It was probably affected by the same threats that contributed to the extinction of Conilurus albipes - most likely predation by feral cats”

Studies in support

No studies

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

NA

Evidence linking Conilurus capricornensis to cats. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008.
Evidence linking Conilurus capricornensis to cats. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008.

References

Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).

IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023

Wallach A.D., Lundgren E.J. (2025) Review of evidence that foxes and cats cause extinctions of Australia’s endemic mammals. BioScience. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaf046