The key difference between extinction and extirpation is that extinction refers to the complete disappearance of a species from the earth while extirpation refers to the disappearance of a species from a given or specific area.
Extinction and extirpation are two different phenomena often confused people. Extinction is the termination of an evolutionary lineage. There are no living representatives of that particular species. In contrast, extirpation is the disappearance of a species from a specific region. Here, a particular species is no longer found in a particular geographic area as they have migrated to another region. These two terms are applied to both plants and animals. Moreover, anthropogenic activities are one of the key factors affecting both extinction and extirpation.
