Extinct & Extirpated Species of NJ
New Jersey was once home to many more species than are here today. Extinction and extirpation have robbed the state of much of its natural heritage. However, by examining what species we've lost and the reasons why they disappeared, we may learn from mistakes of the past to avoid future losses.
Extinction is a natural part of life. Without it, life on Earth would be unable to adapt to changing conditions on our planet. As time moves forward, some species adapt to changing climate, geographic, or oceanographic conditions as well as changing availability of prey and the presence of predators and competitors. Those species which are unable to adapt will become extinct.
EXTINCT: The end of a species; when a species dies out completely, it is classified as extinct.
If not for extinction, we would be living in a world populated with everything from trilobites to dinosaurs to woolly mammoths, as well as every other species which has ever inhabited the planet. However, the conditions on our planet today are not suitable for a large number of the species which existed in the past. Species which occur on Earth today are here because they have found a way to survive in today’s environment.
Evidence of many species which have become extinct in New Jersey can be found within the state’s geologic past. Dinosaurs such as hadrosaurus and dryptosaurus once roamed the state. Ancient large mammals such as mastodons also occurred in New Jersey. Although extinction is a natural part of life on Earth, the rate of species extinction has increased within the past few centuries due to human pressures on natural habitats and wildlife.
Native Americans lived in what is now New Jersey long before Europeans arrived. It is unknown whether these early inhabitants of the state were responsible for the disappearance of some of the large prehistoric mammals, such as mastodons, which once lived here. What we do know, however, is that within approximately the last 400 years (since New Jersey began to be colonized by Europeans), numerous species of wildlife have become extinct within the state due to the activities of humans.
The following ten species’ profiles provide information on species which once lived in New Jersey but are no longer found within the state. Five of those species are extinct, meaning that they no longer exist alive anywhere on the planet. The other five species are extirpated within New Jersey, meaning that, although they are no longer found within the state, they can still be found elsewhere. All ten of these species have disappeared from New Jersey only within the last 400 years, with one becoming extinct as recently as 1970.
EXTIRPATED: A local extinction; when a species no longer exists in a particular area, but still exists elsewhere.
Wildlife conservation attempts to avoid more species becoming extinct or extirpated. By creating lists of Endangered and Threatened species, wildlife biologists attempt to identify and prioritize those species which are most at risk of becoming extinct and then take action to protect them and restore their populations. There have been some successes – the Cooper’s hawk was once a Threatened species in New Jersey but has recovered. There have also been some losses, such as the species below.
EXTINCT SPECIES OF NEW JERSEY
EXTIRPATED SPECIES OF NEW JERSEY
Extinct Species of New Jersey
These five species have been lost forever from, not just New Jersey, but the entire planet. Their stories may help us understand how to better protect the species we still have.
- Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis)
- Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis)
- Heath hen (Tympanuchus cupido)
- Labrador duck (Camptorhynchus labradorius)
- Passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)
CAROLINA PARAKEET (Conuropsis carolinensis)
DESCRIPTION
This was the only member of the parrot family native to the United States. It was once found throughout the eastern half of the U.S. as far west as Colorado and as far north as Wisconsin. It was about 13 ½ inches long with a green body, yellow neck, and reddish-orange face.
The Carolina parakeet was once a very common bird in the eastern deciduous forests of the U.S. It lived in small groups but would gather in flocks numbering in the hundreds when food was abundant. Like many other parrots, this species was monogamous and long-lived.
This species fed on nuts, seeds, and fruit.
WHEN DID IT BECOME EXTINCT?
1918
WHY DID IT BECOME EXTINCT?
Carolina parakeets began to decline with the arrival of Europeans to North America. Unlike Native Americans, European colonists cleared large areas of forest which the birds relied upon for roosting, nesting, and foraging. With the loss of food from forests, the parakeets turned to human crops, such as apples, peaches, pecans, and various grains. They were regarded as a pest by farmers. Because of this, they were hunted mercilessly. And because parakeets are very social birds, when one of their own was killed, other parakeets would stay nearby the dead individual and expose themselves to harm. Thousands of Carolina parakeets were also captured for the pet trade and many others killed for their beautiful feathers.
Today, parrots are one of the most threatened groups of bird species. This is due to both habitat loss and the relentless pet trade. Thousands of parrots are collected from the wild throughout the world each year, often illegally. As a result, over one-third of all parrot species in the world are currently considered endangered or threatened.
ESKIMO CURLEW (Numenius borealis)
DESCRIPTION
The Eskimo curlew was a shorebird which migrated through New Jersey between its summer breeding grounds in the Canadian subarctic and its wintering range in the Argentinean Pampas. The curlew typically occurred in New Jersey during its fall migration, as the species hugged the coastline as they travelled south. During the northern migration in the spring, they would fly across the prairies of the U.S. and Canada.
The Eskimo curlew was about 12 inches in length and looked like a small whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus). It had long legs and a long decurved bill. The upper part of its body was a mottled brown while its belly was paler. There were dark streaks down its neck and sides and its head pattern was more muted than a whimbrel’s.
The Eskimo curlew fed primarily on small invertebrates, such as insects. One prey species on which they were heavily dependent on, in order to fuel their enormous migrations, was the Rocky Mountain locust.
This species migrated in large flocks and was once quite common. Other shorebirds such as red knots (Calidris canutus) and sanderlings (Calidris alba) most likely migrated with the curlew flocks in the fall.
WHEN DID IT BECOME EXTINCT?
1970
WHY DID IT BECOME EXTINCT?
Relentless hunting, conversion of prairies into agriculture, and the loss of prey species caused curlew populations to plummet. Because they migrated in such large, dense flocks, they made an easy target for hunters who could kill multiple birds with a single shot. One of their primary sources of prey during their spring migration, the Rocky Mountain locust, became extinct in 1902 after having been one of North America’s most abundant insect species.
This species, like the passenger pigeon, travelled in large flocks. It probably required a large flock size in order to persist; to avoid predators and breed successfully. Once their flocks dwindled to low numbers, their extinction became unavoidable.
Alarming parallels may be drawn between the fate of the Eskimo curlew and the increasingly imperiled red knot. The red knot, dependent upon horseshoe crab eggs to complete its similarly long migration between South America and northern Canada, has shown dramatic population declines in recent years as the number of horseshoe crabs have declined. Whether or not the red knot reaches the same population tipping point that the curlew reached, remains to be seen.
HEATH HEN (Tympanuchus cupido cupido)
DESCRIPTION
The heath hen was a subspecies of the greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) which could once be found along the coastal plain from Massachusetts in the north to Virginia in the south. Two additional subspecies of the greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri & Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) still exist in Texas and the U.S. Great Plains, although their populations have declined. Their preferred habitat was scrubby heathland barrens and grasslands.
The heath hen was about 17 inches in length, with a short tail and a heavily barred body with dark brown, cinnamon, and pale buff. Males had yellow-orange neck sacs which were inflated during the breeding season.
Males of this species would perform elaborate courtship displays for females. Males would gather at an elevated display area (a “lek”) and inflate their neck sacs, making booming sounds which could carry as far as a mile.
WHEN DID IT BECOME EXTINCT?
1932
WHY DID IT BECOME EXTINCT?
Heath hens were once very common during Colonial times, but relentless unregulated hunting caused this species to become extinct. It was hunted for both food and sport. Unfortunately, by the time conservation measures were attempted to be implemented for this species, it was too late. The population had declined to such a small number and had become isolated on one small island (Martha’s Vineyard), that a combination of predation by goshawks and feral cats, disease introduced by domestic poultry, and inbreeding finally led to the species’ extinction.
LABRADOR DUCK (Camptorhynchus labradorius)
DESCRIPTION
The Labrador duck once lived off the coasts of the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. It wintered along the coast of New Jersey and spent summers along the shorelines of Labrador and Newfoundland where it would breed and raise its young.
The Labrador duck was 22 ½ inches in length. The male had a dark body with white on the wings while the head, neck, and chest were white and there was a black stripe on its crown. The female was gray-brown with some white on the neck and wings.
This duck fed primarily on shellfish, particularly mussels, and had a very specialized bill which was soft and may have been sensitive to touch, allowing it to more effectively probe sand and mud for food. It could be found offshore or within bays and estuaries along the coast.
WHEN DID IT BECOME EXTINCT?
1875
WHY DID IT BECOME EXTINCT?
Although this species was certainly hunted, the exact reason for its extinction is largely unknown. It appears to have not been very common in historical accounts. Its meat was said to taste foul, but nesting sites were likely disturbed or plundered for its eggs. It is possible that changes in shellfish densities or distribution may have contributed to its extinction.
PASSENGER PIGEON (Ectopistes migratorius)
DESCRIPTION
The passenger pigeon was once one of the most abundant birds in the United States, with some estimates of 3 to 5 billion birds at the time that Europeans began to colonize the Americas. They lived throughout the United States and southern Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains, and would migrate as far south as Mexico and Cuba in the winter.
The passenger pigeon is in some ways North America’s most well-known extinct bird – it went from being one of the world’s most numerous birds to being extinct in just over 100 years. It was famous for its enormous flocks of hundreds of millions of birds. Some flocks which were observed in migration were said to be over a mile in width and about 300 miles long, taking 14 hours to pass overhead.
The passenger pigeon was similar in appearance to the domestic pigeon or rock dove (Columba livia) and larger than a mourning dove (Zenaida macroura). It differed from domestic pigeons in having a more graceful, streamlined body and a longer tail. Males were about 16 ½ inches in length while females were 15 inches long. Males were blue-gray above with a pinkish belly while females had more brown above and white on the belly.
This species’ preferred habitat was dense deciduous forests, where they would feed on seeds and acorns of trees. Worms and insects would supplement their diet in summer.
WHEN DID IT BECOME EXTINCT?
1914
WHY DID IT BECOME EXTINCT?
This species’ habit of flocking in large numbers made it vulnerable to hunters. It was often hunted as food and for sport and large numbers of birds could be killed as a flock flew overhead. Loss of forest habitat also contributed to their decline. As forests were cleared for agriculture, they had fewer safe roosting locations, less food resources, and a greater chance of being shot while out in the open.
By the 1890’s only about 250,000 birds remained and they were within a single flock. Unregulated hunting wiped-out the last wild birds and by 1914, only one passenger pigeon remained, at the Cincinnati Zoo. It is thought that this species may have required large flocks to successfully reproduce and that once their large flocks had dwindled, their eventual extinction was guaranteed.
Extirpated Species of NJ
These five species have been lost from New Jersey, but they still survive within a portion of their range. Although unlikely, it’s possible they could return to the state in the future. In the meantime, their stories may help us understand how to better protect the species we still have.
- Cougar (Felis concolor)
- Eastern pearlshell (Margaritifera margaritifera)
- North Atlantic gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
- Rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis)
- Trout-perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus)
COUGAR (Felis concolor)
DESCRIPTION
Also known as the mountain lion or puma, the cougar is one of the most wide-ranging big cats in the world. At one time, it could be found across the entire width of North America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. It was also found as far north as Canada and as far south as southern South America, including vast areas in between within Mexico and Central America. Today, the cougar is no longer found east of the Mississippi River with the exception of a small population in southern Florida and a few individuals who trek eastward occasionally. Their population remains stable in western portions of North America and throughout portions of South America.
Cougars have such a wide distribution because they are highly adaptable and flexible when it comes to habitat. They occupy temperate and tropical forests, swamps, deserts, and mountainous areas. In some areas of the U.S. west, they have been known to live within close proximity of suburban locations.
The cougar is uniformly buff colored with a long tail, large paws, and strong legs for leaping. The tail is often tipped with a dark brown or blackish color. Cougars can grow to a length of 6 ½ feet and weigh up to 230 pounds. Males are larger than females.
Cougars are solitary carnivores and they prey on a wide assortment of wildlife from small mammals such as rabbits and squirrels to larger animals such as deer. They will also kill livestock such as sheep or young cattle. They are active during any time of the day but most active at dawn and dusk.
Females give birth to 2-3 spotted cubs within a den, usually between the months of April and September. Cubs nurse for about 5-6 weeks and the young remain with their mother for 1-2 years. Females typically have a litter every two years. In the wild, cougars usually live to 10 years, but they can live longer than 18 years in captivity.
WHEN DID IT BECOME EXTIRPATED IN NEW JERSEY?
1700’s-1800’s
WHY DID IT BECOME EXTIRPATED IN NEW JERSEY?
Habitat loss and killing by humans are the primary reasons this species no longer exists in New Jersey. Big cats require large home ranges and as natural habitat is lost or becomes fragmented, it becomes unsuitable. Cougars were also, and continue to be, persecuted due to fear and anger over livestock losses. In many areas, bounties or rewards were offered for each cougar killed.
Low deer populations in the 1800’s may have also contributed to the cougar’s demise. It’s hard to believe that deer density in New Jersey was ever low, but in the 1800’s, when there was less suitable deer habitat and more people hunting them for food, it was.
The eastern cougar was listed as endangered by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1973, although it was thought to have already been extinct as early as the 1930’s. In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the species extinct. However, in June 2011, a 2-5 year old male cougar was struck and killed by a car in Connecticut. It is believed that this individual roamed over 1,500 miles from the Black Hills region of South Dakota based on DNA evidence. Big cats are very wide-ranging animals that can cover a great deal of distance in a relatively short amount of time as they search for prey, mates, or their own territory.
EASTERN PEARLSHELL (Margaritifera margaritifera)
DESCRIPTION
This freshwater mussel was formerly common in the Hackensack River and was also known to occur within the Delaware River watershed. It can currently be found throughout much of the northeastern United States, including Pennsylvania and New York, as well as southeastern Canada and across much of Europe.
The eastern pearlshell is about 6 inches long and the shell is dark, almost black, and sub-elliptical in shape. This mussel prefers cold, clean, soft-water streams with a moderate to fast flow and a fine substrate of firm sand, gravel or cobble. It can live for over 100 years and does not reach sexual maturity until about 20 years old. It is thought to be one of the longest-lived invertebrate animals in the world.
Eastern pearlshells breed by releasing their larval young, known as glochidia, into the water. The glochidia attach themselves to a host fish. In this first stage of the mussel’s life, they are parasites of the fish, feeding on them and being transported away from the parent. Once the larval stage is complete, the mussel detaches from the fish and completes its life cycle in the substrate of the stream. Each freshwater mussel species has its own specific host fish for the larval stage. Host fish for the eastern pearlshell includes several species of trout and salmon.
WHEN DID IT BECOME EXTIRPATED IN NEW JERSEY?
1900’s
WHY DID IT BECOME EXTIRPATED IN NEW JERSEY?
Pollution of streams, habitat alteration, dam building, introduction of exotic species, and over-collection of individuals most likely contributed to the eastern pearlshell’s extirpation in New Jersey and these factors continue to be threats for the remaining 12 species of native freshwater mussels found in the state.
One in ten of North America’s freshwater mussel species has gone extinct in this century. Meanwhile, 75% of the remaining species are either rare or imperiled. This alarming decline is directly tied to the degradation and loss of essential habitat, and the invasion of exotic species which compete for space and food with native mussels.
Destruction and alteration of freshwater mussel habitat includes dam construction, channelization, and dredging. Dams alter the physical, chemical, and biological stream environment, sometimes destroying over half of the mussels upstream and downstream of the dam. The most harmful effect of dams, however, is the elimination of host fish species and resulting disruption in the mussel’s reproductive cycle. Increased silt in the water caused by erosion may also threaten mussel habitats, as do contaminants such as heavy metals and pesticides, and discharge from sewage treatment plants.
NORTH ATLANTIC GRAY WHALE (Eschrichtius robustus)
DESCRIPTION
The North Atlantic gray whale could once be found off the coasts of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada as well as on the other side of the Atlantic, along the coast of Europe. It is the same species which is still found along the Pacific coast of the U.S. as well as the northern Pacific coast of Asia.
Like gray whales in the Pacific Ocean, North Atlantic gray whales were primarily a coastal whale, never venturing too far from land. They would migrate between winter breeding and calving grounds in the southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to summer foraging grounds in New England.
Gray whales are benthic filter feeders. They will scoop up large mouthfuls of fine sediment and then use the baleen strips within their mouth and their tongue to squeeze out the sand and water from their mouth while trapping small invertebrates inside to then be swallowed.
Gray whales grow to a length of 50 feet and a weight of 80,000 pounds, with females being slightly larger than males. They are mottled gray in color with small bumps along their back, and no fin. Their only natural predators are large sharks and killer whales, which usually target young whales or calves.
WHEN DID IT BECOME EXTIRPATED IN NEW JERSEY?
1600’s-1700’s
WHY DID IT BECOME EXTIRPATED IN NEW JERSEY?
Like other large whale species, the gray whale was hunted mercilessly for its meat and blubber, which yielded oil ideal for lamp oil and, much later, in the production of margarine. Baleen was also of value. Whalebones were also used in the manufacture of glue, gelatin and manure. Besides being eaten by humans, the meat has also been used in dog food and, when dried and crushed, cattle feed.
Because gray whales typically occur in shallow water and within enclosed bays and lagoons, especially during their breeding and calving season, they are especially vulnerable to hunters. In addition, whalers often targeted newborn calves, knowing that the calves’ mothers would stay by their side and therefore be an easier target.
Gray whales were most likely extirpated from Atlantic waters off Europe before disappearing from the Atlantic coast of North America. Gray whales off the Pacific coast of North America were also hunted and were critically endangered at one time. However, due to protective measures, the gray whale population in the eastern Pacific Ocean has rebounded and they were removed from the U.S. List of Endangered and Threatened Species in 1994. Gray whales in the western Pacific Ocean, along the coasts of Russia and Korea, remain imperiled with no more than 100 individuals remaining.
In May 2010, a gray whale was observed off the coast of Israel, in the Mediterranean Sea. It is unknown how this individual was able to find its way there, thousands of miles from the nearest known population of gray whales. It seems unlikely that North Atlantic gray whales would have gone undetected for hundreds of years, due to their large size, but it is not impossible. It is more likely that this individual made an enormously long voyage, as whales are known to do, and found itself in unknown waters.
RUSTY-PATCHED BUMBLE BEE (Bombus affinis)
DESCRIPTION
This species of bumble bee was once common throughout much of its range as recently as the 1990’s. However, it has declined so rapidly that it no longer exists in New Jersey and may even become extinct within the next 10-20 years. It could once be found across much of eastern and central North America. Currently, its range is restricted to southern Ontario and a few locations in the U.S. Midwest.
The rusty-patched bumble bee is named for the rust-colored patch found on worker bees’ abdomens. Workers also have yellow on their first and rear half of their second abdominal segments, with the remaining segments being black. The head is black and the thorax is yellow with a black spot between the wings. The queen and males look similar to workers except that they lack the rust-colored patch and queens are larger.
This bumble bee, like other species of bumble bee, is a pollinator. It feeds on plant nectar and, in so doing, performs a vital function for the ecosystem by assisting plants in reproduction. They nest underground in colonies with a queen and her workers. Their larvae are fed honey produced by the bees themselves. Only young mated females survive the winter and they overwinter usually in leaf litter on the forest floor. Unlike honey bees, bumble bees can sting many times.
WHEN DID IT BECOME EXTIRPATED IN NEW JERSEY?
Late 1900’s
WHY DID IT BECOME EXTIRPATED IN NEW JERSEY?
Habitat alteration and destruction, as well as habitat fragmentation and the loss of plants on which to forage, have contributed to the decline of many pollinator species such as bees. However, the most likely cause for this species’ dramatic decline is the introduction of a non-native pathogen and parasite. Pollinators, such as bumble bee species, were brought to North America from Europe and vice versa. Some of these insects carried with them diseases and parasites which the rusty-patched bumble bee had never encountered before and was not able to fight. Unless the species develops a resistance to them, it will eventually become extinct. There is also a possibility that it may be able to survive on isolated offshore islands as long as they are not exposed to the parasites or disease.
Many additional species of pollinators are also declining dramatically due to the spread of non-native diseases and this may have dire consequences for the production of food crops for humans.
TROUT-PERCH (Percopsis omiscomaycus)
DESCRIPTION
The trout-perch is a small fish which grows to about 7 inches in length, has a relatively large head for its size, and is yellow-olive in color with 7-12 dusky spots on its back and a pale underside. It can be found across Canada from western Quebec to the Yukon and, within the United States, it can be found in the Northeast and Midwest states as well as Alaska. Throughout their current range, they remain a very common species.
Trout-perch typically inhabit large ponds and lakes, but they can also be found in deep flowing pools within some streams and rivers. They spawn in streams or rivers, usually in the spring or early summer, and will then return to their lake habitat. By day, they prefer to remain in deeper water and then occupy more shallow water at night. They prey primarily on invertebrates, such as insects and small crustaceans, but larger individuals may also consume small fish.
WHEN DID IT BECOME EXTIRPATED IN NEW JERSEY?
Late 1900’s
WHY DID IT BECOME EXTIRPATED IN NEW JERSEY?
Trout-perch are especially sensitive to pollution and sedimentation. They may also be temperature-sensitive. Although the exact cause of their extirpation in New Jersey is unknown, it is possible that its sensitivity to these environmental conditions may have played a role.
Although it can no longer be found in New Jersey, it still survives in Pennsylvania and New York. It has been extirpated from several of the watersheds in which it was once found, particular in the Mid-Atlantic region (the southern portion of their historic range).