Top 5 Rediscovered Species

Top 5 Rediscovered Species





5. Cuban Solenodon

Since its discovery in 1861 by the German naturalist Wilhelm Peters, only 36 had ever been caught. By 1970, some thought the Cuban solenodon had become extinct, since no specimens had been found since 1890. But then one was spotted in 1999 and again in 2003! They were believed to be extinct but apparently because it is a nocturnal burrower, living underground, they are just very rarely seen.

4. Chacoan Peccary

The Chacoan peccary is a species of peccary found in South America. About 3000 exist in the world. The Chacoan peccary has the unusual distinction of having been first described in 1930 based on fossils and was originally thought to be an extinct species. In 1971, the animal was discovered to still be alive in the Chaco region, in the Argentine province of Salta. The species was well known to the native people, but it took a while for scientists to rediscover its existence.

3. Laotian Rock Rat

The Laotian rock rat sometimes called the "rat-squirrel", is a rodent species of the Khammouan region of Laos. The animal was placed in a new family, Laonastidae. In 2006, the classification of the Laotian rock rat was disputed by Mary Dawson. Dawson and her colleagues suggested instead it belongs to the ancient fossil family Diatomyidae, that was thought to have been extinct for 11 million years.

2. Takahe

The takahe is a flightless bird indigenous to New Zealand and belonging to the rail family. It was thought to be extinct after the last four known specimens were taken in 1898. However, after a carefully planned search effort the bird was rediscovered by Geoffrey Orbell near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison Mountains, South Island, on 20 November 1948. By early 2013 there were said to be over 250 of the takahes in the wild.

1. Coelacanth

This fish was believed to have gone extinct 66 million years ago at the end of the late Cretaceous period, but it was discovered as a living species off the coast of South Africa in 1938. It is considered a living fossil because this fish species has evolved very little in the past 400 million years.