Calling all budding zoologists! Please browse our unidentified pages and see if you can help with naming some of the animals we have been unable toRediscoveries
A rediscovered species is an animal that has been declared extinct, or has been unseen for many years, only to be (re)discovered years later. Some recent rediscoveries include:
Comorese Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) and Indonesian Coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis)
The Coelacanth is a fish that was believed to be extinct for 65 million years, until a specimen (L.chalumnae) was caught near South Africa in 1938. A second species surfaced in an Indonesian market (L.menadoensis) and was described in 1999
Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (Dryococelus australis)
This species was discovered on Lord Howe Island and believed to be extinct in 1930. It was rediscovered in 2001 on Ball's Pyramid (a small islet off the coast of Lord Howe Island). The population consisted of around 30 individuals
Rediscoveries are an important scientific event. It helps experts to understand how these animals adapt to their changing environments, and why one population dies out but another survives. Unfortunately most rediscovered species are put straight onto the Endangered or Critically Endangered list as they usually number very little. There are exceptions though, the Indonesian Coelacanth has a higher status of Vulnerable
The whole area of rediscovered species remains rather grey though. Some accounts are not always proof. For example, the last Thylacine specimen died in 1936, and it was pronounced extinct in 1982. But since 1936 there have been over 4,000 sightings, but none have been substantiated (i.e, a specimen or concisive photographical evidence). Other species are frequently reported, some examples include the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, Atlas Bear, Cave Bear, Caspian Tiger and Giant Moa
An interesting case is the Barbary Lion, an extinct subspecies of the African Lion. Some organisations claim to have Barbary Lions in their collections. The individuals do resemble the Barbary subspecies (large in size with a dense, dark mane that extends at least halfway along the underbelly), but they have yet to be 100% verified
Share or Bookmark this page