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Twelve animals thought to be extinct, some for hundreds, one for millions of years, before being rediscovered: https://www.treehugger.com/lazarus-species-extinc

by Zanni 4y ago

Twelve animals thought to be extinct, some for hundreds, one for millions of years, before being rediscovered: https://www.treehugger.com/lazarus-species-extinct-animals-found-alive-4869279 https://www.treehugger.com/lazarus-species-extinct-animals-f...

jhbadger 4y ago
Except that in general the "rediscovery" isn't something dramatic -- it's just a systematist in a lab looking at an animal known by many and realizing that it is the same species as fossilized/preserved specimens thought to be extinct rather than a common related species. That's quite different from finding a thylacine, an animal that couldn't be confused with anything else.
- MichaelCollins 4y ago
  This seems like a very inaccurate summary of the examples given in that article.
  - jhbadger 4y ago
    Bermuda Petrel -- there are many nearly identical petrels, exactly the same to non-experts. Chacoan Peccary -- There are many wild pigs. Coelacanth -- Maybe the only real example of a "rediscovered species". But that's only because we know the oceans far less than we know the land. Lord Howe Island Stick Insect -- You've probably seen a stick insect like this yourself even if it is genetically different. La Palma Giant Lizard -- Same genus as Gallotia, a very common lizard on the Canary islands. Takahe -- It's the same genus as the swamp hen. To an non-expert, they are the same. Cuban Solenodon -- it looks like a common shrew to non-experts. New Caledonian Crested Gecko -- It's a geko. New Holland Mouse -- it's a mouse (not a marsupial, despite being native to Australia). Giant Palouse Earthworm -- It's an earthworm, although larger than normal. Large-Billed Reed-Warbler -- same genus as many other warblers, exactly the same to non-experts who don't measure the bill. Laotian Rock Rat -- It actually is of a unique genus, so more interesting than most of these examples, but still, it's a rodent not that different to the average person than other rodents.

by Zanni 4y ago

jhbadger 4y ago

Except that in general the "rediscovery" isn't something dramatic -- it's just a systematist in a lab looking at an animal known by many and realizing that it is the same species as fossilized/preserved specimens thought to be extinct rather than a common related species. That's quite different from finding a thylacine, an animal that couldn't be confused with anything else.

MichaelCollins 4y ago
This seems like a very inaccurate summary of the examples given in that article.
- jhbadger 4y ago
  Bermuda Petrel -- there are many nearly identical petrels, exactly the same to non-experts. Chacoan Peccary -- There are many wild pigs. Coelacanth -- Maybe the only real example of a "rediscovered species". But that's only because we know the oceans far less than we know the land. Lord Howe Island Stick Insect -- You've probably seen a stick insect like this yourself even if it is genetically different. La Palma Giant Lizard -- Same genus as Gallotia, a very common lizard on the Canary islands. Takahe -- It's the same genus as the swamp hen. To an non-expert, they are the same. Cuban Solenodon -- it looks like a common shrew to non-experts. New Caledonian Crested Gecko -- It's a geko. New Holland Mouse -- it's a mouse (not a marsupial, despite being native to Australia). Giant Palouse Earthworm -- It's an earthworm, although larger than normal. Large-Billed Reed-Warbler -- same genus as many other warblers, exactly the same to non-experts who don't measure the bill. Laotian Rock Rat -- It actually is of a unique genus, so more interesting than most of these examples, but still, it's a rodent not that different to the average person than other rodents.