View original imageThis is an original generative reconstruction, not a photograph or scientific plate.
134 / Recently extinct
Chilean Sandalwood
Santalum fernandezianum
Demand for fragrant wood reduced this island tree to a final individual recorded in 1908.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- Prehistory–about 1910–1916
- Final stage
- Early 20th century
- Geographic range
- Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Chilean Sandalwood?
This archive records Chilean Sandalwood under the scientific name Santalum fernandezianum, with an age of Prehistory–about 1910–1916 and a range of Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago. Demand for fragrant wood reduced this island tree to a final individual recorded in 1908.
Santalum fernandezianum was a small endemic tree and, like other sandalwoods, probably drew some water and nutrients from neighboring roots. It was already exceptionally rare in the 1800s.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Chilean Sandalwood at a glance
- Scientific name
- Santalum fernandezianum
- Age
- Prehistory–about 1910–1916
- Last recorded stage
- Early 20th century
- Known range
- Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago
- Broad group
- plant
- Archive era
- Recently extinct
- Habitat signals
- plant communities, soils, water availability and climate
- Documented regions
- Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago
03 / ANATOMY
How was Chilean Sandalwood built?
Overall body plan
Demand for fragrant wood reduced this island tree to a final individual recorded in 1908.
Growth architecture
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Chilean Sandalwood, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Reproductive structures
Santalum fernandezianum was a small endemic tree and, like other sandalwoods, probably drew some water and nutrients from neighboring roots. It was already exceptionally rare in the 1800s.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Chilean Sandalwood.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Chilean Sandalwood live?
Santalum fernandezianum was a small endemic tree and, like other sandalwoods, probably drew some water and nutrients from neighboring roots. It was already exceptionally rare in the 1800s. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on plant communities, soils, water availability and climate. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Chilean Sandalwood live?
This archive currently lists Prehistory–about 1910–1916; Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
Prehistory–about 1910–1916, with the final recorded stage listed as Early 20th century. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels plant communities, soils, water availability and climate. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Chilean Sandalwood?
Primary record
Herbarium material, wood, collection notes and the 1908 observation define its form and disappearance.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Chilean Sandalwood within Prehistory–about 1910–1916 and Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Chilean Sandalwood disappear?
Long-term timber cutting was central, compounded by introduced animals, vegetation change and a tiny final population.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Chilean Sandalwood FAQ
What was Chilean Sandalwood?
This archive records Chilean Sandalwood under the scientific name Santalum fernandezianum, with an age of Prehistory–about 1910–1916. Demand for fragrant wood reduced this island tree to a final individual recorded in 1908.
When did Chilean Sandalwood live?
The current archive range is Prehistory–about 1910–1916; its youngest recorded stage is Early 20th century.
Where was Chilean Sandalwood found?
The archive currently lists Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Chilean Sandalwood?
Herbarium material, wood, collection notes and the 1908 observation define its form and disappearance.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS