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(#14) Guinea Highland Singing Dog
The New Guinea highland wild dog, also called the singing dog, has long existed in cross breeds with domestic dogs and in captivity, but scientists thought it was completely extinct in the wild. That all changed in 2016, when a muddy paw print was found in the deep forests of the New Guinea highlands. An expedition was launched and before long researchers had a photo of one of the dogs in a remote location, far from human civilization. What was more interesting about this find was that the dog photographed appeared to be pregnant, meaning there were bound to be more of them around.
By 2017, a small group of at least 15 of these dogs have been photographed, proving they still do exist in the wild. This species of dog is considered to be the most ancient and primitive canids in existence today.
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(#2) Pygmy Tarsier
It makes sense that the world's smallest mammal would also be one of its most vulnerable. They are less than four inches long, weigh next to nothing, and only live in Indonesia. And until recently, they were thought to be extinct. A live one had not been seen in the region since 1930, and scientists decided that it had likely been eradicated. Everyone continued to believe this until one of the little creatures was finally found in a mouse trap in 2000!
Scientists set up nets and were able to catch several live ones, and have since been researching their habitat and numbers. Scientists are still unsure how many of the animals are running about, so they are still considered highly endangered and conservation efforts are in full effect.
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(#6) Cuban Solenodon
- Solenodon cubanus
The Cuban solenodon has been around since the era of the dinosaurs - it even still looks a little prehistoric. They're only about 30 centimeters long, have long noses, and are actually venomous - but they're only found in a small part of Cuba. When their habitat was destroyed during the mid 1900s, and when dogs and cats began to eat them en mass, the species quickly found themselves on the decline. And by the 1970s, they were believed to be completely extinct.
Since then, sightings were mentioned here and there, but none were taken very seriously until 2003, when a research team actually captured one and identified it as a solenodon! Only a handful of them have been found, so they're still considered highly endangered, but conservation efforts are underway to try to save this little Lazarus species.
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(#9) Laotian Rock Rat
This fluffy little rat lives along the Mekong River (which forms the boarder between Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos) and was originally thought to be its own distinct species. Looking like a mixture of a rat and a squirrel, this rodent was researched in greater detail by scientists in 2005 as they were trying to determine exactly what species it was. Imagine their surprise when they discovered that their odd little rat was actually a species from an ancient rat family assumed to be extinct for over 11 million years!
No one knows how common or widespread these creatures are, but we do know that similar species have showed up in food markets as meat. It's possible that people have actually been eating this ancient species for centuries.
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(#4) Clarion Nightsnake
The Clarion Nightsnake wasn't a very well-known animal for decades, probably because it had only been spotted once. Then in 1936, renowned naturalist William Beebe visited the island of Clarion and found an oddly spotted snake. He put it in a jar and took it in for study. Return visits failed to find any more of these snakes, and soon the only remaining specimen was considered a labeling error, so the snake was forgotten.
In 1914, a research group was traveling through one of the remote Revillagigedo Islands when a student spotted an oddly patterned snake. After a series of DNA tests, they were able to confirm that this snake was, in fact, the Clarion Nightsnake. Scientists are still uncertain how many of these snakes exist, but they've survived for over 80 years on the little island without being disturbed.
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(#8) New Caledonian Crested Gecko
- Rhacodactylus ciliatus
New Caledonia is a small island just off the coast of Australia that's home to several unique species, including one brightly-colored and spiky little Lazarus species. The New Caledonian Crested Gecko was first discovered in 1866, but soon slipped into obscurity and was thought to be extinct. It wasn't until 1994 - over 100 years later - that scientists realized that these little guys were still around!
In the aftermath of a tropical storm, some of the geckos were discovered after being blown out of their natural forested habitat. Since then, scientists have kept their eye on a small breeding population, originating from a few of the adults found in 1994. All of the geckos you find in the wild today are likely related to those select few.
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About This Tool
When comes to extinction, most people will think of dinosaurs, mammoths. In fact, species extinctions never stop happening. Many authoritative studies and scholars have stated that some species are all extinct, but they never expected that these animals would miraculously come back. The coelacanth is a veritable living fossil, this species has long been thought to have become extinct about 60 million years ago, but in 1938, a living species was caught on the coast of southern Africa.
Are you interested in other unique species? The random tool introduced 14 extinct species that were once again found in other areas, they are still endangered animals and remind all humans that it is urgent to protect the habitat and ecological environment.
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