We are just less than a week into the new decade and already the first animal species has been declared extinct by wildlife conservationists: the Chinese Paddlefish has been declared extinct; they were declared extinct on the 3rd of January 2020.
Beforehand, the Chinese Paddlefish was classed as a critically endangered species. However, these animals haven't been seen in the wild in the past decade, and wildlife conservationists already thought that they were extinct. Therefore, it's likely that the Chinese Paddlefish became extinct several years ago, or perhaps became extinct as long as a decade ago.
The Chinese Paddlefish was also known as the Chinese Swordfish and the Elephant Fish, probably because these animals look both like a Swordfish and had a long nose which looked like an Elephant's trunk.
One of the few places where the Chinese Paddlefish were found, was the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River has already seen wildlife extinctions over the past few years. The Yangtze River Dolphin was declared extinct in 2007, and is probably the first notable animal which has became extinct within the 21st century; the extinction of the Yangtze River Dolphin seems to be the start of the Sixth Mass Extinction of the 21st century. Another wild animal that has become almost extinct in the Yangtze River in recent years, is, the Yangtze Soft Shell Turtle. Last year in April, the last female Yangtze Soft Shell Turtle died, now there are only three males left, therefore, it seems certain that within the near future the Yangtze Soft Shell Turtle will also become extinct.
These exinctions, and near extinctions, within the Yangtze River shows that this ecosystem is in very poor health, and, it could be even said that it is an ecosystem which is dying.
Sources:
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/scientists-declare-the-long-lost-chinese-paddlefish-extinct
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/aug/08/endangeredspecies.conservation
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/another-species-extinct-this-time-the-yangtze-giant-soft-shell-turtle-64005