Sometimes, nature delivers a surprise that feels almost miraculous. Scientists have confirmed that two small marsupial species — the pygmy long-fingered possum and the ring-tailed glider — are still alive in Recent Guinea, despite being previously believed to have vanished from the Earth greater than 7,000 years ago.
The invention, years within the making, was announced March 5, 2026 by The Bishop Museum in Honolulu. The museum stated that each species had previously been known only from fossil evidence and had not been confirmed alive for greater than 7,000 years.
The confirmation was made possible through an unusual collaboration — one which brought together museum scientists, Indigenous communities and an on a regular basis citizen scientist armed with a camera.
What Are ‘Lazarus Species’?
The 2 marsupials are actually classified as “Lazarus species,” a scientific term used for organisms that reappear after having been thought extinct. The term evokes the story of a figure raised from the dead, and on this case, the label matches: scientists had no confirmed evidence that either animal had existed for 1000’s of years.
“The invention of two Lazarus species, considered extinct for millennia, is unprecedented,” Dr. Tim Flannery of the Australian Museum said in a news release.
The two Species’ Trail Began With Fossils within the Nineteen Nineties
The story of those two species stretches back a long time. The animals were first identified through fossils by Dr. Ken Aplin within the Nineteen Nineties, after teeth belonging to the species were excavated during an archaeological dig in western Recent Guinea. On the time, the fossil record was all that existed — there have been no known living examples of either creature, and each were presumed to have died out 1000’s of years ago.
That classification stood for years — until latest evidence began to surface.
Dr. Kristofer Helgen of the Bishop Museum later identified considered one of the species after seeing a photograph of a gliding ring-tailed possum within the wild. Helgen recognized the animal within the image as considered one of the species Aplin had previously classified as extinct. That single photograph helped set a broader investigation into motion.
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2 Years of Research, Multiple Lines of Evidence That the two Species Exist
Helgen and Flannery conducted research over the past two years to verify that each species are, in actual fact, still alive in Recent Guinea. Their work drew on several different types of evidence.
One key piece of the puzzle got here from the University of Papua Recent Guinea, where researchers discovered two preserved specimens of the pygmy long-fingered possum stored in a jar. Those specimens provided physical evidence that the species had survived more recently than the fossil record had suggested.
Additional confirmation of the pygmy long-fingered possum’s survival got here from an unexpected source: citizen scientist Carlos Bocos, who posted photographs of the animal on the biodiversity platform iNaturalist. The pictures proved significant enough that Bocos later became a co-author on the study documenting the species’ survival — a testament to how contributions from non-professional scientists can reshape scientific understanding.
A Message of Hope
For the scientists involved, the invention carries emotional weight that extends beyond the laboratory.
“To have the opportunity to say that they indeed are alive brings me joy as a scientist and conservationist. It appears like a second probability to find out about, and protect, these remarkable animals,” Helgen said in a news release.
Helgen also said the rediscovery demonstrates that “extinction could be averted,” adding, “It’s a message of hope, considered one of second probabilities.”