The First Mammal Extinct Due To Climate Change
Anthropogenic climate change is a known threat to biodiversity. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than 30,000 species that inhabit planet Earth are at risk today. In addition, we do not have to go far to discover the first mammal extinct due to climate change.
In February 2019, the media reported devastating news: the Australian government had confirmed the disappearance of the first rodent species as a direct consequence of the effects of climate change. If you want to know more about this now defunct mammal, we encourage you to continue reading.
Melomys rubicola, a ghost
We are facing the Melomys rubicola species , a rodent belonging to the Muridae family , a direct relative of the European field mouse. This small mammal was endemic to Bramble Cay, a cay located in the Australian waters of the Torres Strait.
The species was first documented in 1845 and in 2002 it was described as the most isolated mammal in all of Australia. As strange as it may seem, at the beginning of the 21st century, around 93 individuals were estimated in the only population present on the entire Earth, a figure that made it one of the most difficult mammals to observe in the world.
Some of the characteristics of this now extinct rodent are the following:
- For a mouse it was relatively large, with a body length that ranged from 14 to 16 centimeters long.
- The tail could measure, by itself, up to 18 centimeters.
- Compared to other rodents, it had a huge tail, short ears, and prominent legs.
- The average individual weighed between 78 grams and 164 grams.
- Its coloration was reddish-brown.
Once we have described the animal in question, it is necessary to address the reason for its disappearance. We will tell you about it in the following lines.
The first mammal extinct due to climate change.
Various studies are investigating the causes of the disappearance of this sympathetic mammal. The species was considered extinct in 2016, but it is estimated that the last individuals disappeared between 2009 and 2011. The main reason? the floods of the key in which they lived, events totally related to climate change.
The rise in sea level (0.19 meters in the last 100 years) and the destructive effects caused by the bad weather associated with climatic variations in the last century have led this species to extinction.
According to other bibliographic sources, the erosion of the land and the direct mortality of the individuals by the storms pushed the population of Melomys rubicola to the limit , which led to its total disappearance.
These same investigations cited above also provide a critical look towards government entities, since the conservation efforts of the species were minimal and late.
According to these reports, the species did not present sufficient physical attractiveness to generate awareness at the population level. After all, as much as it hurts to recognize, a koala tends to generate much more sympathy than a rat in an ordinary person.
The first documented, but not the only one
As unpleasant as it may be to know this type of data, this small rodent is the first documented mammal to disappear due to the direct action of climate change, but it is surely not the only one.
Australia is the place that holds the record for the most species of extinct mammals, as 29 other species have succumbed in the last 200 years due to various factors.
Some of these deleterious factors have been the introduction of stray cats, the disappearance of natural habitat due to the creation of pastures for herbivores and the fragmentation of ecosystems.
Undoubtedly, this trend towards extinction continues to rise, as the sea level will continue to rise along with the temperatures, with all the effects that this entails on the flora and fauna of the globe.
We’re still on time
Despite the hopeless tone of the words previously spoken, the truth is that we can still do a lot as a species to stop the mass extinctions that are coming. In the first place, it is necessary to emphasize that it is possible that the extinction of Melomys rubicola was preventable, but the efforts for its conservation came late and scarcely.
A joint action by researchers, who are responsible for estimating the states of animal populations in their natural environments, and the government, which should fund conservation and reintroduction programs, is essential. Melomys has been the first mammal to be extinct due to the direct action of climate change, but hopefully also the last.
