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The years 2000 - present |
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| Tasman Booby (Sula dactylatra tasmani) |
12 August 2009 |
IUCN |
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The Tasman Booby (Sula tasmani) was believed to have become extinct in the late 18th century due to hunting by hungry European sailors. This "extinct" species turns out be a subspecies of a living species, the Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra). A team of scientists from across New Zealand and Australia found an overlap in skeletal size between fossil and modern boobies in the North Tasman Sea and show that fossil birds have mitochondrial control region sequences that are identical to those found in modern North Tasman Sea birds, the Masked Booby subspecies Sula dactylatra fullagari. Sula tasmani and Sula dactylatra fullagari are now junior synonyms of the new name for these seabirds: Sula dactylatra tasmani. |
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Cyprus Spiny Mouse (Acomys nesiotes) |
22 October 2007 |
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There has been no record of this Cyprus Spiny Mouse since 1980 and there was uncertainty about whether it is extinct because quantitative data is lacking. No considerable effort has been made since the 1980s to verify its presence and it may persist in small numbers. For this reason, the IUCN considers it data deficient. Mustafa Sozen, a Turkish biologist, photographed this species on 22 October 2007 after four individuals were captured in the Nicosia district in the Turkish occupied area in the north at an altitude of about 600 meters. See them yourself: photo 1 and photo 2. |
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La Palma Giant Lizard (Gallotia auaritae) |
13 July 2007 |
IUCN |
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This
species once ranged from sea-level up to 800 m asl in the littoral zone of
La Palma in the |
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2006 |
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In 2006, National Director for The Peregrine Fund’s Madagascar Project, Lily-Arison Rene de Roland, and field biologist, Thé Seing Sam, discovered the rare bird while conducting avian surveys in a remote part of northern Madagascar.
Photo: a male Madagascar Pochard. Photo courtesy by Lily-Arison Rene de Roland. Copyright © The Peregrine Fund. All rights reserved. |
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Cahaba Pebblesnail |
3 May 2005 |
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The announcement of the rediscovery by the Nature Conservancy, were reported Tuesday 3 May 2005 by The Birmingham News. Stephanie Clark, a University of Alabama postdoctoral student from Australia, stumbled onto a Cahaba pebblesnail on a trip to the Cahaba River in Bibb County. Clark, who began postdoctoral research at the University of Alabama last year, didn't know what she had found at first. "Behold, there was this oddball snail under a rock," Clark said. "I didn't know that I'd found an extinct one straightaway, but I knew I'd found something that I hadn't seen before." The Cahaba pebblesnail, round, yellow, only about a quarter of an inch long, had not been spotted since 1965. The 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species still classifies this species as extinct. According to the IUCN the rediscovery requires confirmation before the species status can be reassessed, but it is likely to be Critically Endangered. |
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Nodulose
Coosa River Snail (Elimia lachryma |
3 May 2005 |
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The announcement of the rediscovery by the Nature Conservancy, were reported Tuesday 3 May 2005 by The Birmingham News. Jeff Garner, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' mollusc biologist, rediscovered the cobble Elimia and the Nodulose Coosa River snail on a dive in the Coosa River. Garner went diving below Lake Logan Martin and found two species that had not been spotted since the dams changed the river. Clark was accompanying a graduate student to the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge when she found the Cahaba Pebblesnail that had not been spotted since 1965. Garner, who has found several other species believed to be extinct, knew what he had immediately. According to Garner: "One of these I found is pretty distinctive. I've always said it was my favourite snail, I hated it was extinct. It sort of has teardrops around the periphery." The 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species still classifies this species as extinct. According to the IUCN the rediscovery requires confirmation before the species status can be reassessed, but it is likely to be Critically Endangered. |
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Cobble
Elimia (Elimia
vanuxemiana) |
3 May 2005 |
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See Nodulose Coosa River Snail (Elimia lachryma). The 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species still classifies this species as extinct. According to the IUCN the rediscovery requires confirmation before the species status can be reassessed, but it is likely to be Critically Endangered. |
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American Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis principalis) |
April 2004 |
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The ivory-billed woodpecker Campephilus principalis principalis, one of the largest and most spectacular of the world’s woodpeckers, has been rediscovered in North America, in the "Big Woods" region of eastern Arkansas. Visual encounters during 2004 and 2005, and analysis of a video clip from April 2004, confirm the existence of at least one male. Acoustic signatures consistent with Campephilus display-drums also have been heard from the region. Extensive efforts to locate birds away from the primary site remain unsuccessful, but potential habitat for a thinly distributed source population is vast (over 220,000 ha). A resident subspecies of ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis bairdii) occupied tall forests throughout Cuba, and a small population was mapped and photographed in eastern Cuba as late as 1956. Fleeting observations of at least two individuals in 1986 and 1987 by several experts are widely accepted as valid, but repeated efforts to confirm continued existence of that population have failed. For more information you can visit: http://www.ivorybill.org. |
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2004 |
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A
single female Yunnan box turtle was purchased late 2004 from a market in
Kunming, Yunnan, China (Zhou and Zhao, 2004). In 2005, a single live male
Yunnan Box Turtle had been discovered (Zhou,
2005)
and in 2007 it was announced that another living female had been found (He et
al. 2007). In 2007, Chinese scientists found that the three newly discovered
individuals are very similar both in morphology and in mitochondrial DNA
sequence to an old museum specimen of Cuora yunnanensis, suggesting that
the three new individuals are the very Cuora yunnanensis, and thus
confirming scientifically that the species is not extinct (He et al. 2007).
Photo: Rediscovered specimen of the Yunnan Box Turtle. According to Wikimedia Commons this image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0. |
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2004 |
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Groves and Bell (2004) revised the subspecies of Equus quagga. They conclude that "the extinct true Burchell's zebra" is a phantom. The Burchell's zebra Equus quagga burchelli still exists in Kwazulu-Natal and in Etosha: it is the geographically intervening population that is extinct, not a distinct subspecies as such. Photo: Burchell's zebra in the Etosha-National Park in Namibia. Photographed by Freddy Weber in August 2004. The copyright holder of this work allows anyone to use it for any purpose including unrestricted redistribution, commercial use, and modification. |
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Long-legged Warbler (Trichocichla rufa) |
November 2003 |
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Several news reports (November 2003) reported that researchers from BirdLife have rediscovered the Long-legged Warbler Trichocichla rufa, a small bird from the Fijian island of Viti Levu, not seen since 1894 and previously feared extinct. The mysterious bird, found only in the mountains of Fiji, and also known as the Long-legged Thicketbird, was found one year into a survey of rare birds in the Pacific nation and photographed for the first time ever. Fijian researchers found 12 pairs in Wabu, a remote Forest Reserve on Fiji’s largest island. This small, reddish-brown bird, named after its relatively long legs for a warbler and its preference for dense undergrowth, was only known from four birds collected in 1890-1894, and a handful of reports in the 1980s-1990s, none of which was confirmed as true. Another sub-species on the island of Vanua Levu, Trichocichla rufa clunei, was discovered in 1974 when two birds were seen, but has not been found again. Special thanks to BirdLife International for the picture (and of course the rediscovery). |
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Barkudia Limbless Skink (Barkudia insularis) |
17 September 2003 |
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| A highly threatened species i.e. limbless skink (Barkudia insularis) which is endemic to Badakuda island of Chilika was re-sighted on 17th September, 2003 after a gap of 86 years. It was first discovered from this Island by Dr. Kemp & Anandale the then director of zoological survey of India in 1917. The species is completely endemic to this island as this is not found anywhere in the world other than this island. The lizard is without any limb and looks like a giant earth worm. After that this highly threatened species endemic to Badakuda island was thought to have been extinct from Chilika as it was not recorded to be sighted by anybody. Even during the course of the extensive survey conducted by Zoological Survey of India for a period of 3 years i.e. from 1985 to 1987 the lizard was not sighted in spite of best effort. The presence of an island resort at Sanakuda island, close to the Badakuda island is creating concern among the environmental community. The resort was allegedly set up by clearing natural vegetation including a rare endemic mangrove species and noisy generators now provide electricity to the resort. Aside from the rediscovered skink, the area is also frequented by the rare Irrawady dolphin and numerous bird species. The Wildlife Society of Orissa had demanded immediate inclusion of Insularis in the Wildlife Protection Act and has asked for immediate action to be taken against the resort’s illegal occupation of the Sanakuda island. Nearly two million birds visited Chilika in the winter of 2002, making it one of the most important migratory waterfowl habitats in Asia. More info: Chilika Development Authority - Rediscover. |
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Fuertes's Parrot (Hapalopsittaca fuertesi) |
28 July 2003 |
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August 1911, two bird collectors from the American Museum of Natural History
in New York - Leo Miller and Arthur Allen - visited the same volcano as
Jorge and Alonso to explore its birdlife. They spent several months in the
desolate high Andean wilderness, and discovered a "distinct and
interesting" parrot that was previously unknown to science. The birds
were described the following year and named Hapalopsittaca fuertesi, or
Fuertes's Parrot, also called the 'Multicoloured Parrot' by local farmers.
Since
the original discovery the continued existence of this intriguing species
has remained a mystery with no confirmed sightings of the bird. July
28, 2003, researchers with ProAves Colombia, supported by American Bird
Conservancy (ABC) and the World Parrot Trust (WPT), photographed one of the
world's rarest parrots in the high Andes of Colombia confirming the survival
of this long lost species. Colombian ornithologists Jorge Velasquez and
Alonso Quevedo found a flock of 14 Fuertes's Parrots in a remote area of the
central Andes close to Los Nevados National Park. To
date, just 14 Fuertes's Parrots, including 3 juveniles, have been
discovered, surviving in just a few dozen hectares of forest. The critical
requirements of the species appear to be tall mature trees, where they feed
on berries amongst the epiphyte-laden canopy branches and find vital nesting
cavities. http://www.abcbirds.org/media/releases/fuertes_parrot_release.htm
Photo: Rediscoverd Fuertes's Parrot, Hapalopsittaca fuertesi. Photo by Jorge Velasquez. ©2002 Fundacion ProAves - Colombia. |
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New Zealand Storm-petrel (Oceanites maorianus) |
25 January 2003 |
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25th January 2003 a possible sighting of the supposedly extinct New
Zealand storm-petrel, Oceanites maorianus, was made by Brent
Stephenson, Sav Saville, and several other birders, during a pelagic out
of Whitianga, New Zealand. On 17 November 2003 Bob Flood and Bryan
Thomas chartered a boat out of Auckland and chummed at a location just
north of Little Barrier Island. They observed, photographed, and videoed
10 -20 birds identical to that which were seen on 25 January. An article
by Bob Flood has just been published in the December 2003 issue of
'Birding World', along with superb photos by Bryan Thomas, and
effectively this confirms the existence of this supposedly extinct
species. Presumably the species has managed to survive on a
predator-free island, possibly in the Hauraki Gulf. A priority now is to
find out exactly where these birds are breeding, assess and monitor
their population and put in place appropriate conservation measures.”
These sightings have clearly not proved to be one-offs, as birds have
been continued to be seen on subsequent pelagics off New Zealand in
early 2004. For example, on 18 January 2004, up to 11 New Zealand
Storm-petrels were seen, and the birds have even been filmed for New
Zealand television! More information: Wrybill
Birding Tours, NZ - The 'rediscovery' of the extinct New Zealand storm-petrel,
and BirdLife
International - News - New Zealand petrel causes a storm. The official word
from the New Zealand Rare Birds Committee (part of the Ornithological
Society of New Zealand) is still not out, but they are pretty confident
about what has been found.
Photo: New Zealand Storm-Petrel. Courtesy of Brent Stephenson. http://www.eco-vista.com and http://www.wrybill-tours.com.
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Rancho Grande Harlequin Frog (Atelopus cruciger) |
6 January 2003 |
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On January 6, 2003 an expedition of researchers from the Sociedad Científica Amigos del Parque Nacionál Henri Pittier, and rangers from Inparques, the Venezuelan National Park Service, rediscovered a population of the Rancho Grande Harlequin frog in a ravine on the Caribbean side of the coastal mountains within Parque Nacionál Henri Pittier. This frog was featured in several recent articles about the plight of amphibians, including an article in the May 2001 National Geographic. There have been no confirmed reports of observations this species since 1982, leading some to speculate that it may have become extinct. The expedition was conducting a biological inventory on a transect from Rancho Grande Biological Station to the coastal town of Cata. This population was discovered after the expedition had altered its original path because of rough terrain to a ravine in the Rio de Cata drainage. Rafael Fenández, the expedition coordinator, observed a single individual, then the group encountered several as they moved through the ravine. This appears to be a healthy local population, which may have been congregating to breed along this mountain stream. Source: SCAPNHP Newsletter March 2003. |
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Snail without common name from the Seychelles (Gulella thomasseti) |
August 2002 |
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Since 1905, the original location of this species (Cascade Estate, Mahé) was largely cleared for cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) plantations and the remaining native forest was invaded by cinnamon and other invasive plants. It is now dominated by these species (and six introduced species). Searches of the area and nearby forest have failed to locate G. thomasseti and it was subsequently assessed as Extinct in 1996. In August 2002, a single fresh shell of G. thomasseti was found in an a relict fragment of primary forest approximately 1.8 km south-south-east of the original collection site. This specimen confirms the continued survival of the species and suggests that the species is restricted to primary forest habitat. Searches in mist forest in the north of the island have failed to find the species and it is possible that G. thomasseti is restricted to the southern Mahé. So far, the species is known only from 40 m² of Vateriopsis seychellarum forest at Grand Bois, Mahé, although other similarly isolated relict forest pockets may remain undetected. The area of occupancy for this species is currently estimated at less than 10 km², with only one known location and continuing decline in quality of habitat (as indicated by invading cinnamon saplings). Therefore it is assessed as Critically Endangered under criterion B (CR B2ab(iii)). |
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May 2002 |
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The species was thought to be extinct but has recently been found in May 2002. It is restricted to the Cikola river with extremely limited distribution. The Cikola is a tributary of the Krka river in Croatia. This fish species was previously listed as Leuciscus turskyi. (Crivelli 2005) |
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2001 |
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The São Tomé Grosbeak (Neospiza concolor) has recently been rediscovered. A reported sighting in 1992 was met with scepticism by some, but a new sighting by Martin Dallimer, Tony King and Pedro Leitao in late 2001 along with the first ever photo of a living bird confirms that this species is not extinct as was previously suspected. |
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Lord Howe Island Phasmid |
February 2001 |
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The Lord Howe Island Phasmid is such a rediscovered extinct animal. In February 2001 a team of five scientists rediscovered 3 specimens of this stick-insect on the distant volcanic island called Ball's Pyramid, 23 kilometres to the south-east of Lord Howe Island. At the right-hand picture you’ll see one of those rediscovered phasmids. |
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Bavarian Pine Vole (Microtus bavaricus) |
2000 |
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This
rodent was previously
known from only one location in Garmish-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany,
which has since been altered by the construction of a hospital. No
specimens of this rodent were recorded after 1962 and it was thought to be
Extinct. However, a population
apparently belonging to this species was discovered in 2000 in Northern
Tyrol, just across the German-Austrian border. An Austrian scientist,
Friederike Spitzenberger, stumbled upon the species in one of her
"living traps". Its species status is
confirmed by genetic studies.
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The years 1990 - 2000 |
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Madeiran
Land Snail |
1999 |
IUCN |
| This species was originally listed as possibly extinct by Wells and Chatfield (1992) and Groombridge (1994). It was reassessed as Extinct in the 1996 list (Baillie and Groombridge 1996) as the species has not been recorded since the 1860s despite intensive searching since 1983. Cameron and Cook (1999) rediscovered the species at the west end of the island at two close, but separate locations, in drier but well vegetated regions, which were relatively undisturbed, but differed from the habitats described in Wollaston (1878). Only fresh shells have been recorded to date, but these are sufficiently fresh to assume the species is living at these sites. Source: The 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. | No Image |
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La
Gomera
Giant Lizard |
1999 |
IUCN |
| This species, thought to be long extinct, was rediscovered as a living animal in 1999, and is known only from two separate inaccessible cliffs 2 km apart, close to the Valle Gran Rey, in the west of the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands (Spain). The species is thought to have once ranged throughout much of La Gomera, and the present range is less than one hectare. The population of this species consists of only 90 individuals remaining in the wild. There is a captive population of about 44 animals (in 2004). It is present in the Parque Rural de Valle Gran Rey. The species is protected by international legislation. A captive breeding programme has been established on La Gomera, and a species recovery plan is in place. There is a need to control cat populations in the vicinity of the remaining animals. Further surveys are needed on La Gomera within other isolated areas to determine if any more remnant populations of this species persist. The implementation of education programmes for local people has been recommended. Following the ruling of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, the name of this species is Gallotia bravoana, not Gallotia gomerana. | No Image |
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Fabulous Green Sphinx of Kauai (Tinostoma smaragditis) |
February1998 |
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| This enthusiastically named species, found on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, moved from Data Deficient to Endangered. In 1996, the moth was assessed as Extinct but in February 1998, a male Tinostoma was discovered. A second male was caught in another part of the island in October 1998, photographed, marked and released. Two females were also found in eastern Kauai, both released. The moth’s status was changed to Data Deficient in 2003, pending a full reassessment. It occurs only in a few areas of native forest on Kauai. The area in which most specimens were collected has been hit by hurricanes. Given the moth’s restricted range, the few known localities and ongoing threats to habitat, it is now reassessed as Endangered. Photo © Mandy Heddle. |  |
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Forest Owlet (Heteroglaux blewitti) |
1997 |
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| This recently rediscovered species has a tiny, severely fragmented population known from less than ten recent localities. It is inferred to be declining as a result of loss of its deciduous forest habitat. These factors qualify it as Critically Endangered. This little owl is endemic to central India. It was known from four widely separated localities during the 19th Century, but was them thought to be extinct for more that 100 years. In 1997 the owlet was rediscovered and only 25 individuals are currently known. Photo © Farah Ishtiaq. |
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Zona (Rheocles sikorae) |
1996 |
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Rheocles sikorae, a freshwater fish from Madagascar, was previously thought to be Extinct. However, since 1996 it has been collected from five forested stream areas near the town of Marolambo, where it is well known to local residents. In view of its apparently restricted current range, the species is likely to qualify as Vulnerable. However, more collections are needed to confirm the restricted distribution of the species and additional data are required to evaluate any additional threats to its habitat or threats having a direct impact on the population. It is therefore listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN Red List. |
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Fernandina Rice Rat (Nesoryzomys fernandinae) |
1995 |
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This rodent species was listed as Extinct in 1996 because although it was only described in 1980 based on material in fresh owl pellets, no living specimens were collected until well into the 1990s. Surveys during 1995 and 1997 have shown the species to be present at all five sites sampled on the island of Fernandina, to which the species is confined. The highest trap success was along the volcano rim where the vegetation was most dense. Given that the size of the island is 642 km² and that the area of occupancy is likely to be considerably smaller, a listing of Vulnerable due to restricted distribution seems reasonable. In addition, although Fernandina is currently free of introduced rats, mice and feral cats, the accidental introduction of any of these would rapidly result in the demise of any indigenous rodents on the island as has happened elsewhere in the Galápagos. The volcano on Fernandina is one of the most active in the world, hence a catastrophic eruption is an ever-present threat. |
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Corsican Snail (Helix ceratina) |
1995 |
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This snail is listed as Critically Endangered by the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It was rediscovered in 1995 after having been last seen in 1902. There are only 7 hectares of habitat left, in the suburbs of Ajaccio, on the southwest coast of Corsica, France. The species is protected under French and European Union law, and its habitat is now covered by an "Arrêté de Protection de Biotope", the first ever taken specially in France for a snail. Despite this, its survival near Ajaccio is in jeopardy because of development (airport, access to beach, etc.). Captive breeding has been successful and there are plans to establish a new population elsewhere in Corsica. In Neolithic times the Corsican Snail had a much wider distribution on the island. Photo © G. Falkner. |
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Miller Lake Lamprey (Lampetra minima) |
1992 |
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A freshwater fish from Oregon, US, the Miller Lake lamprey was thought to have gone Extinct in about 1958 as a result of a deliberate chemical treatment of Miller Lake (the only known location at the time) to exterminate this species to stop it eating introduced trout fingerlings. However, in 1992, an adult lamprey collected in the Williamson River was identified as L. minima, and, in 1996, unidentified lamprey were collected in Miller Creek, the outflow stream of Miller Lake. Subsequent surveys in the summers of 1997-1999 reconfirmed the extinction of the species in Miller Lake, but also led to the discovery of several subpopulations within and outside the Miller Lake sub-basin. The lamprey is provisionally listed as Data Deficient pending a reassessment of its status. |
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