Two marsupial species thought long extinct, until now known only from fossils, were found alive in New Guinea through a collaboration of scientists, indigenous communities and citizen scientists. The discovery of the pygmy long-fingered possum and the ring-tailed glider marks the first confirmation of live specimens in over 7,000 years, the Bishop Museum, a natural history museum in Honolulu, announced. The two animals are known as “Lazarus species,” a term for organisms that reappear after being thought to be extinct. “The discovery of two Lazarus species, thought to be extinct for millennia, is unprecedented,” said Australian Museum’s Dr. Tim Flannery in the press release 👇🏻⬇️more in the 1rst comments ⬇️👇🏻.

Two marsupial species thought long extinct, until now known only from fossils, were found alive in New Guinea through a collaboration of scientists, indigenous communities and citizen scientists. The discovery of the pygmy long-fingered possum and the ring-tailed glider marks the first confirmation of live specimens in over 7,000 years, the Bishop Museum, a natural history museum in Honolulu, announced. The two animals are known as “Lazarus species,” a term for organisms that reappear after being thought to be extinct. “The discovery of two Lazarus species, thought to be extinct for millennia, is unprecedented,” said Australian Museum’s Dr. Tim Flannery in the press release 👇🏻⬇️more in the 1rst comments ⬇️👇🏻.

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Scientists knew the pygmy long-fingered possum had been alive more recently after they discovered two specimens in a jar at the University of Papua New Guinea.

The work of citizen scientists led to the announcement of the pygmy long-fingered possum’s survival. Carlos Bocos, a citizen scientist who is now a co-author on the study, posted photos of the animal on iNaturalist, a platform where anyone around the world can post photos of their natural science findings.

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