Two marsupials thought extinct for 6,000 years found alive in Papua
Scientists have discovered two marsupial species long believed extinct living in the rainforests of Papua, Indonesia, a finding researchers describe as one of the most remarkable rediscoveries in mammal biology.
The animals, a ring tailed glider and a long fingered pygmy possum, were previously known only from fossil remains discovered in Australia. Their rediscovery was led by Tim Flannery of the Australian Museum in Sydney and supported by Indigenous communities in the region.
Researchers located and photographed the animals in the Vogelkop Peninsula in western New Guinea. The ring tailed glider, classified as Tousmaruensis, is related to Australia’s larger gliding marsupials but differs in several features, including a prehensile tail and hairless ears. Because of these differences, scientists placed it in a completely new genus, the first new marsupial genus identified in New Guinea since 1937.
Some Indigenous communities in the region consider the glider sacred and view it as a manifestation of ancestral spirits.
The second species, the long fingered pygmy possum (Dactylonax kambuayai), is a small striped marsupial about the size of a human palm. It has a distinctive elongated finger on each hand that is roughly twice as long as the others.
Flannery told New Scientist that the possum likely uses specialized hearing to detect low frequency sounds from wood boring beetle larvae. After locating the insects, the animal digs into decaying wood and extracts the larvae using its elongated finger.
Flannery said the probability of rediscovering a mammal believed extinct was extremely low, and finding two such species in the same region was unprecedented.
Scott Hucknull of Central Queensland University, who was not involved in the research, said the discoveries could be more significant than finding a living thylacine in Tasmania.
Until now, both species were known only through sub fossil remains. Fossils of relatives of the pygmy possum date back roughly 300,000 years, while the New Guinea population was believed to have disappeared around 6,000 years ago.
Scientists have kept the exact locations of the animals confidential to protect them from wildlife traffickers. Flannery warned that the animals’ highly specialized diets would make them extremely difficult to keep alive in captivity.
Researchers say the species may face threats from logging and habitat destruction. Very little is known about their population size, geographic range, or ecological requirements.
David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University expressed concern about the impact of large scale logging and land clearing in New Guinea. He said the discovery also raises questions about how many species may have already been lost in Australia due to similar environmental pressures.
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