10 Most Amazing Extinct Animals of Indian Subcontinent

Indian subcontinent has a rich and varied biodiversity and home to some of the most rare as well as magnificent wild animals. There are 133 species of wild animals, birds and reptiles as either rare or highly endangered, over 10 per cent of India’s flora have extinct such as Sumatran rhinoceros and pink-headed duck.

Indian Aurochs

Indian Aurochs are extinct aurochs and ancestor of the zebu cattle,disappeared in the Holocene probably around 2000 BC. The Indian aurochs is known from fossil and subfossil, used to roam in the Indus valley and the Ganges valley to south India.

Indian Cheetah

Cheetah have been extinct from India 60 years back,Currently the Indian government is taking efforts to reintroduce the cheetah in India. Currently Asiatic cheetah critically endangered cheetah subspecies surviving today only in Iran.

Hyperodapedon

Hyperodapedon is one of the several species found in many areas of Indian Subcontinent.

Gigantopithecus

Gigantopithecus is an extinct genus of ape existed is now India, It was the largest known apes that ever lived in the world.

Exaeretodon

Exaeretodon is a genus of reptile up to 1.8 meters long (5.9 ft),from the Carnian-age Lower Maleri Formation of India.

Bharattherium

Bharattherium mammal was used to live in Indian Subcontinent also found in Madagascar and known from a total of eight isolated fossil teeth.

Godavarisaurus

Godavarisaurus is a sphenodontid reptile from the Kota Formation is a geological formation in India.

Himalayacetus

Himalayacetus is a carnivorous aquatic mammal extinct, lived in the ancient coastline of Indian Plate. The holotype of Himalayacetus was found in Himachal Pradesh.

Kurmademys

Kurmademys is a new side-necked turtle existed in Indian Subcontinent and name is derived from the Kallamedu Formation of southern India.

Sivatherium

Sivatherium was giraffe-like animal that found throughout Africa to the Indian Subcontinent, It have become extinct as recently as 8,000 years ago. Shiva’s beast is known from ancient rock paintings in caves.