Scientists confirm two marsupial species believed extinct for 7,000 years are alive in New Guinea, highlighting the role of Indigenous knowledge, citizen science and renewed hope for global biodiversity conservation.
Two marsupial species once believed to have vanished more than 7,000 years ago have been found alive in New Guinea, scientists said, marking a rare rediscovery of animals previously known only from fossils.
The pygmy long-fingered possum and the ring-tailed glider were confirmed alive through a collaboration between scientists, Indigenous communities and citizen scientists, the Bishop Museum in Honolulu announced on Tuesday.
The discovery marks the first confirmation of live specimens of the two animals in over seven millennia.
“To be able to say that they indeed are alive brings me joy as a scientist and conservationist. It feels like a second chance to learn about and protect these remarkable animals,” said Dr. Kristofer Helgen of the Bishop Museum in a news release.
Helgen and Dr. Tim Flannery of the Australian Museum, both researchers of mammalian species in New Guinea, spent the past two years working to confirm the animals’ existence.
The species are known as “Lazarus species”, a term used for organisms that reappear after being thought extinct for long periods.
“The discovery of two Lazarus species thought to be extinct for millennia is unprecedented,” Flannery said in the press release.
For Helgen the rediscovery carries a broader message about conservation.
“It’s a message of hope, one of second chances,” he said. “Extinction can be averted.”
The animals were first identified as fossils by Dr. Ken Aplin during the 1990s after their teeth were excavated in an archaeological dig in western New Guinea.
Years later Helgen saw a photograph of the gliding ring-tailed possum taken in the wild and immediately recognized it as one of Aplin’s supposedly extinct species.
Indigenous communities in the Tambrauw and Maybrat regions of West Papua also assisted scientists in identifying the animals through their knowledge of the marsupials’ distinctive lifestyle, according to the museum.
Evidence that the pygmy long-fingered possum had survived more recently came from an unexpected source when scientists discovered two preserved specimens stored in a jar at the University of Papua New Guinea.
Citizen science also played a key role in confirming the animal’s continued existence.
Carlos Bocos, a citizen scientist who later became a co-author of the study, uploaded photographs of the pygmy long-fingered possum to iNaturalist, a global platform where users share observations of wildlife.
The images helped scientists verify that the species, once thought lost to history, was still alive.
