4 ms·

Scientists rediscover an insect thought to be extinct for 80 years

69 points by thedday 4y ago

coldtea 4y ago
>Thought to Be Extinct for 80 Years Let's hope Thought will return after those 80 years...
l1n 4y ago
The Lord is rising up from under the bloodwood tree, He gave new life to you, the Wood-feeding cockroachy, Sent down his angels with feathery antennae, Who emerged to say the roaches aren't lost to history, 'Scending tree bark stairs. Hey la, hey la, the roaches are back. 'Scending tree bark stairs. Hey la, hey la, the roaches are back!
BeetleB 4y ago
My favorite "extinct" animal found again (also 80 years!): https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/s... Wikipedia has a whole page of these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_taxon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_taxon
- louthy 4y ago
  My favourite, and quite hilarious: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/30/voeltzkow-chameleon-rediscovered-madagascar https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/30/voeltzko...
- femto 4y ago
  That article was written in 2012 and ended with speculation on whether black rats could be eradicated from Lord Howe Island, to allow it to be repopulated with stick insects. Ten years later, in 2022, it's looking promising. No rats have been seen for a while and surveillance is ongoing before eradication is declared. Meanwhile the native species are flourishing. https://invasives.org.au/media-releases/lord-howe-island-claims-national-award-for-being-on-the-cusp-of-record-rat-eradication/ https://invasives.org.au/media-releases/lord-howe-island-cla...
  - tsol 4y ago
    Wow that's cool. Thanks for posting that
bitwize 4y ago
"Life finds a way." > cockroach "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could..."
Brendinooo 4y ago
Guess there's hope for the Tassie tiger!
- bayesian_horse 4y ago
  They have a harder time hiding under stones...
bayesian_horse 4y ago
I currently keep three cockroach species, mostly to feed other animals. There's actually a hobby around collecting cockroach species. Please refrain from obvious jokes about accidentally "keeping" cockroaches.
Someone 4y ago
FTA: “Long believed to be extinct on the main island of Lord Howe Island” Reading that, I thought this was about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryococelus_australis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryococelus_australis (“Dryococelus australis, commonly known as the Lord Howe Island stick insect or tree lobster, is a species of stick insect that lives on the Lord Howe Island Group. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Dryococelus. Thought to be extinct by 1920, it was rediscovered in 2001” This is a different species, though, and unlike the stick insect, which was rediscovered on Ball’s pyramid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball%27s_Pyramid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball%27s_Pyramid) it wasn’t extinct on the island.

69 points by thedday 4y ago

>Thought to Be Extinct for 80 Years Let's hope Thought will return after those 80 years...

l1n 4y ago

The Lord is rising up from under the bloodwood tree, He gave new life to you, the Wood-feeding cockroachy, Sent down his angels with feathery antennae, Who emerged to say the roaches aren't lost to history, 'Scending tree bark stairs. Hey la, hey la, the roaches are back. 'Scending tree bark stairs. Hey la, hey la, the roaches are back!

BeetleB 4y ago

My favorite "extinct" animal found again (also 80 years!): https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/s... Wikipedia has a whole page of these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_taxon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_taxon

louthy 4y ago
My favourite, and quite hilarious: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/30/voeltzkow-chameleon-rediscovered-madagascar https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/30/voeltzko...
femto 4y ago
That article was written in 2012 and ended with speculation on whether black rats could be eradicated from Lord Howe Island, to allow it to be repopulated with stick insects. Ten years later, in 2022, it's looking promising. No rats have been seen for a while and surveillance is ongoing before eradication is declared. Meanwhile the native species are flourishing. https://invasives.org.au/media-releases/lord-howe-island-claims-national-award-for-being-on-the-cusp-of-record-rat-eradication/ https://invasives.org.au/media-releases/lord-howe-island-cla...
- tsol 4y ago
  Wow that's cool. Thanks for posting that

bitwize 4y ago

"Life finds a way." > cockroach "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could..."

Brendinooo 4y ago

Guess there's hope for the Tassie tiger!

bayesian_horse 4y ago
They have a harder time hiding under stones...

bayesian_horse 4y ago

I currently keep three cockroach species, mostly to feed other animals. There's actually a hobby around collecting cockroach species. Please refrain from obvious jokes about accidentally "keeping" cockroaches.

Someone 4y ago

FTA: “Long believed to be extinct on the main island of Lord Howe Island” Reading that, I thought this was about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryococelus_australis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryococelus_australis (“Dryococelus australis, commonly known as the Lord Howe Island stick insect or tree lobster, is a species of stick insect that lives on the Lord Howe Island Group. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Dryococelus. Thought to be extinct by 1920, it was rediscovered in 2001” This is a different species, though, and unlike the stick insect, which was rediscovered on Ball’s pyramid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball%27s_Pyramid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball%27s_Pyramid) it wasn’t extinct on the island.