==== Extinct Marine Animals in the Last 25 Years ====

  * **Caribbean Monk Seal (Monachus tropicalis)** - Officially declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2008, although the last confirmed sighting was in 1952. They were the only known seal native to the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

  * **Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer)** - Often referred to as the Yangtze River dolphin, the last confirmed sighting was in 2002, and in 2006, an expedition concluded that the species was likely extinct. It was declared functionally extinct due to habitat loss, water pollution, and boat traffic.

  * **Bramble Cay Melomys (Melomys rubicola)** - This small rodent, native to Bramble Cay in the Torres Strait, was declared extinct by the Australian government in 2019. The last sighting was in 2009, and its extinction was largely due to habitat loss caused by rising sea levels due to climate change.

  * **Eelgrass Limpet (Lottia alveus)** - This sea snail was last seen in 1929 and became extinct due to the loss of its primary food source, eelgrass, which suffered from a disease in the 1930s. Although its extinction wasn't officially noted until much later, it's considered extinct within this timeframe.

  * **Alaotra Grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus)** - A small bird last seen in 1982, it was declared extinct in 2010. Habitat destruction and hybridization with other grebe species contributed to its extinction in Lake Alaotra, Madagascar.