Top 10 Extinct Creatures That Aren’t Extinct
Published on June 3, 2008 - 86 Comments
We seem to be bombarded constantly by doom and gloom tales of new animals becoming extinct and being told that we should be stopping it - something that is usually impossible for the average person. I thought it might be nice to show a positive list about extinct animals, so here is my list on the top 10 animals that were thought to be extinct but are actually still around!
The New Holland Mouse is a rodent first described in 1843. It vanished from view after that and was presumed extinct until it was rediscovered in 1967. It is found only in Australia. The mouse is currently listed as endangered and a number of the populations are now considered extinct - some due to the Ash Wednesday Wildfires in 1983.
The terror skink (Phoboscincus bocourti) was long thought extinct until a specimen was discovered in 2003 in New Caledonia. The skink measures around 50cm and has long sharp curved teeth - unusual for a skink as they are normally omnivores. The only other known example of the skink was also discovered in New Caledonia in 1876.
The Giant Palouse Earthworm, from North America, was considered to be extinct in the 1980s but recently it has resurfaced. Little is known about the worm, but what is known is very strange. It can grow up to 3 feet in length and when handled, gives off a smell like lilies. The creature is believed to be able to spit in defense. It is albino in color.
The Takahe is a flightless bird native to the South Island of New Zealand. It was thought to be extinct after the last four specimens were taken in 1898. After an extensive search for the bird, it was rediscovered near Lake Te Anau in 1948. The bird is currently endangered. Takahes have an unusual eating habit, in which they pluck grass with their beak, grasp it in one claw, and eat only the softest parts at the bottom of the leaf. They then throw away the rest.
The Mountain Pygmy Possum was first described as a Pleistocene fossil in 1896. It was rediscovered alive in 1966 in a ski-hut on Mount Hotham, Australia. The possum is mouse-sized and is found in dense alpine rocks and boulders. The female possums live at the top of the mountain while the males live lower down. In order to mate, the males travel up to the females. Because they need to cross a road, their survival was in danger, so the Australian government built them a “tunnel of love” beneath the road.
Gracilidris is a genus of nocturnal ants that were only know through the fossil record - in fact the only known fossil existing of this ant is a specimen in amber. The ants were discovered alive and were described in 2006, but to this day very little is known about them. The ants live in small colonies and nest in soil.
The Bermuda Petrel, a nocturnal ground-nesting sea-bird, was thought extinct for 330 years. It is the national bird of Bermuda and was rediscovered in 1951 when 18 pairs were found. It was believed to have been made extinct after the English settled Bermuda and introduced cats, rats, and dogs. The bird has an eerie call that caused Spanish sailors to believe the isles were haunted by Devils. For that reason, they never settled there.
The Laotian Rock Rat (also known as the rat squirrel) was first described in 2005 by a scientist who put it in to its own family of creatures (Laonastidae). One year later, the classification was disputed by others who believe that the rock rat is actually a member of the extinct family Diatomyidae which vanished in the late Miocene period. The animals are like large dark rats with tails like a squirrel. Surprisingly, the first specimens were found on sale as meat at a market in Laos.
The La Plama Giant Lizard was thought extinct from 1500. It lived in La Palma in the Canary Islands and it is believed that the introduction of cats caused its final downfall. In 2007 it was rediscovered in its original location despite the belief that the only lizards left in the Canary Islands were on Gran Canaria. An interesting sidenote is that the islands are named after dogs, not canaries - the name comes from the Latin Insula Canaria which means “Island of the Dogs”. Canary birds are actually named after the islands.
This entry is number one because it is the coolest - the Coelacanth was thought to be extinct since the end of the Cretaceous period. In 1938 it was rediscovered in various African nations, making it a Lazarus Taxon - one of a group of organisms that disappears from the fossil record only to come back to life later. Coelacanths first appear in the fossil record 410 million years ago. They normally live near the bottom of the ocean floor but have, on some occasions, been caught closer to the surface. They have been known to grow past fifteen feet long, but there isn’t a single attack record on a human as the fish live so deep.
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1. Arkz - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:26 am
um i got one the ivory billed woodpecker thought to have gone extinct in the late 80s they recently have been spotted
2. chris_b - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:27 am
These animals would be missed terribly
3. dangorironhide - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:28 am
Nice list, it’s good to read about some of these. I like the name ‘terror skink’, it seems to match it’s ‘don’t f*ck with me’ look well! The Laotian rock rat is one damn ugly rodent! It’s the polar opposite of the New Holland mouse.
4. WarningDontReadThis - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:33 am
Yay I thought there would be no list today.
Great list.
5. WarningDontReadThis - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:36 am
10 and 6 are my faves. I watched a documentary about nr 1. It looks cool.
6. SocialButterfly - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:39 am
The takahe looks very pretty… #1 is nasty looking.. .wouldn’t want to bump into him at the local swimming hole!
7. Robeywan - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:49 am
I was waiting for the Ivory Billed Woodpecker too. I’m glad you left it off, since there is still no concrete evidence yet. All those directly involved are convinced it exists, believing the eye witness accounts of some very reputable ornithologists.
8. Clantargh - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:50 am
So has more than one coelacanth been discovered? I had thought it was a lone example as the only one ever seen and that there was a reward for finding others that had never been claimed? Goes to research it.
9. SlickWilly - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:51 am
Very cool list!
10. Clantargh - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:53 am
Ah I was wrong but it took 14 years for a second one to be discovered.
11. caboose - June 3rd, 2008 at 6:58 am
Brilliant list, been waiting for something interesting to pop on this site lately
Hey just letting you know there’s a spelling error on #6 “The femals possums live at”
12. 116880 - June 3rd, 2008 at 7:04 am
on # 6 it says “The femals possums” when I’m sure its supposed to say “female”
13. JLo - June 3rd, 2008 at 7:04 am
Has anyone seen the clever Jetta commercial that discusses the Coelacanth? Quite funny.
14. jfrater - June 3rd, 2008 at 7:25 am
caboose and 116880 : thanks for pointing out the error - I have fixed it
15. Nick Opie - June 3rd, 2008 at 7:29 am
There’s also the crested gecko (Rhacodactylus ciliatus) - a native of New Caledonia thought to be extinct for over 100 years until 1994. It’s now one of the most commonly kept reptile species in both the US and the UK.
Great list though!
16. ha! - June 3rd, 2008 at 7:33 am
i knew that the coelacanth would be in the list.
but i sure was hoping that dodos would still exist.
*sigh
17. The-Dude - June 3rd, 2008 at 7:43 am
Great list, but i think the Laotian Rock Rat isnt alive look at the picture its a robot(whats the wire about). Was it trapped?
18. Mom424 - June 3rd, 2008 at 7:51 am
Great List!
I heard about the Ivory billed woodpecker and watched the video; it is inconclusive unfortunately. I also read recently of another siting of the Tasmanian Tiger, long thought extinct.
19. Joshua - June 3rd, 2008 at 8:07 am
Glad the Ivory-billed isn’t on there. I have a friend who spent six months looking for it. The general consensus is that it is not alive, and the Cornell researchers are quietly distancing themselves from it.
I wish it was around though, would be a pretty bird to see.
20. Sharki - June 3rd, 2008 at 8:09 am
Mom242 - There is a lot of debate about the existance of the Tasmanian Tiger. The last known one died in captivity, but there are constant reports of sightings. Hopefully it’s still out there.
21. Randall - June 3rd, 2008 at 8:15 am
Joshua:
Sorry, but your statements fly in the face of what I hear.
A) I don’t know where you get this “the general consensus is that it is not alive.” At best the question is open, with many researchers steadfastly maintaining the birds are there. At worst we’re talking about a controversy where some are skeptical, and others stand by their original findings. I don’t see a “consensus” of any kind in this, that the bird is in fact extinct.
B) Cornell researchers are not “quietly distancing themselves from it.” In fact, they stand by their original findings. I’m sure they’d admit there’s more work to be done to definitively establish the survival of the birds, but Cornell hasn’t backed off on it.
22. deedee0323 - June 3rd, 2008 at 8:18 am
I am so curious how researchers can determine that creatures so small as #8 and #5 are extinct. I feel like it must be extremely difficult so they make educated guesses.
23. diogenes - June 3rd, 2008 at 8:20 am
Hmm. A 3ft. spiting albino worm that smells like lillies.
Okay.
Takahe lawn mowers! Those things are beautiful.
Lazarus Taxon- lie deep in the dark mud and spawn when nobodies looking.
24. trojan_man - June 3rd, 2008 at 8:24 am
I’ve got one - candidatus presidentus moralis. Once flourished in the US but hasn’t been seen since the 1940s or 1950s. I hear of people seeing them but they are afraid of the general public and don’t make many appearances.
25. SlickWilly - June 3rd, 2008 at 8:50 am
You left off one very important entry: Carcharodon Megalodon. Yeah, that’s right, I said it. It’s out there, believe me. Abandon all coastal regions. And when it comes to your town, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
26. Matt - June 3rd, 2008 at 9:00 am
More Ceolacanth have been found, it sort of crawls on the ocean floor. My god that laotian rat thingy is scary, wouldn’t wanna see one of those in my house.
27. Ro - June 3rd, 2008 at 9:08 am
Another fascinating list. Number 1 was best as I have great interest on both endangered species and deep sea fishes.
28. romerozombie - June 3rd, 2008 at 9:29 am
Bantha
29. copperdragon - June 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 am
i almost thought this was an April Fools list, especially when i saw the giant white spitting earthworm!! the coelacanth brought me back to reality.
30. Kreachure - June 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 am
Here’s one I hope you’ll need to add in the future:
Plesiosaurus!
Woohoo! Go Nessie!
31. walter - June 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 am
umm….albino’s not a color.
32. MzFly - June 3rd, 2008 at 10:33 am
Interesting list. I think the Ivory Billed Woodpecker should be given honorable mention, but I understand the evidence may be inconclusive. I attended an open discussion at Wahsington National Zoo last year and the consensus at that time was that the Ivory Billed Woodpecker had been seen in nature but that the number of species was undetermined.
33. Nelia - June 3rd, 2008 at 10:36 am
I was rooting for #1 to be something cute… so not the case
Those fish are pretty badass looking though.
I wouldn’t ever want to see one, cause they look pretty gross, but those albino worms are interesting. How do they give off a lilly smell? how weird.
34. Vera Lynn - June 3rd, 2008 at 11:24 am
I knew coelacanth would be #1. How did they come to say that the ants were extinct? I think that would be hard to do.
I read something about the extinct passenger pigeons. A man was watching them migrate. They flew in a mile wide flock for a couple of hours. Insane to think we killed the whle species. Sad.
35. Vera Lynn - June 3rd, 2008 at 11:24 am
Sorry. That should be “whole”.
36. MPW - June 3rd, 2008 at 11:39 am
great list. good to know these creatures still exist.
a few human suggestions:Tony Danza, the guy who played Erkel. they are still alive:>
37. MPW - June 3rd, 2008 at 11:40 am
human not humar……my bad
38. MPW - June 3rd, 2008 at 11:57 am
I personally like the Pygmy possum, dont why just do
39. Joshua - June 3rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Randall,
After considering your comment, I feel you are correct.
I should revise my first statement to: the scientists and birders that I have talked to regarding the IBWO (including my friend who was on one of Cornell’s mobile search teams this past season) is that it is extinct.
I feel that the second statement was based on something misunderstood by myself from a conversation.
That being said, I sincerely hope they can find definitive proof of the bird’s existence. There is still a lot of area to be searched and/or monitored, so I’m not giving up hope!
40. Cedestra - June 3rd, 2008 at 1:41 pm
#6 reminds me of the rodent used in Willow for Fin Razel- “Willooooow, you eeeediot!”.
24. Oh, don’t go there. We don’t need to turn *this* into a political debate.
41. 80s - June 3rd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Let’s face it, I was looking for the unexpected plot twist where Dodos are not extinct and you were too.
42. KannonKitsune - June 3rd, 2008 at 2:52 pm
The Coelacanth is amazing and that is one of the coolest pictures I have ever seen of one.
That is a fierce fish.
43. DiscHuker - June 3rd, 2008 at 4:04 pm
just recently extinct is regular gas for under $3.50 in the US.
44. goof_ball - June 3rd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
10 and 6 are cute
45. NN - June 3rd, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I was half-expecting a joke entry. XD. Coelacanth on number 1? Did I call it or what? It’s been number one on two of this site’s animal lists.
Oh, well. Very good list though. I must admit I didn’t know the Bermuda Petrel was once ‘extinct’. I thought they were bountiful.
46. Khan - June 3rd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Actually I did a lot of looking into the coelacanths after catching one in Animal Crossing. Theres been more than two discovered, as when the scientists asked the local third-world fishing villages, a few men who owned fishing vendors for 20+ years claimed to have caught them on very rare occasions, found no meat on them, killed them and thrown them away. Little did they know that could land them millions upon millions of dollars if they kept a live specimen. Its a true pity and a true hard blow to the scientific communities when such beauty unconciously goes to waste.
47. Vera Lynn - June 3rd, 2008 at 7:24 pm
People are still looking for a Bears quarterback. I think they must be extinct. Does anyone know? Heard anything to the contrary? I thought not. Too bad. They went the way of the passenger pigeon.
48. MPW - June 3rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
go packers
its true vera they do need a new QB
sexy rexy aint cuttin’ it
49. Vera Lynn - June 3rd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Packers are awesome. Let’s see how they do this year without Favre. If he is really retired.
50. nyys - June 3rd, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I was sure that the ivory-billed woodpecker would be in this…
51. Tonny SS - June 3rd, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Number 7… How does it taste?
52. MPW - June 3rd, 2008 at 9:51 pm
tonny it tastes kind of like spotted owl.
53. Tiffany H - June 3rd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
the Terror Skink?! THE…TERROR Skink?! terror SKINK! there’s no more awesome a name than that.
Kiss my ass, Mountain Pygmy Possum! I’m a TERROR SKINK!
54. jfrater - June 3rd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Tiffany H: heh that is exactly what I thought when I first saw it
55. jestr - June 3rd, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Tasmanian Devil?
56. Jono - June 3rd, 2008 at 11:32 pm
You missed a REALLY great one. This one should of kicked off that stupid earthworm:
Lord Howe Island Stick Insect:
The stick insects were once very common on Lord Howe Island, where they were once used as bait in fishing. They became extinct there soon after Black rats were introduced to the island in 1918 when the supply ship Makambo ran aground. The last one was seen on the island in 1920, and after that the species was thought to be extinct.
In the 1960s a team of climbers visited Ball’s Pyramid, a rocky sea stack 23 km south-east of Lord Howe Island. Ball’s Pyramid is the world’s tallest and most isolated sea stack. The islet is treeless and extremely steep, with a peak 562 m from the sea surface. The climbers discovered a dead Lord Howe island stick insect. During subsequent years, a few more dead insects were discovered, but expeditions to find live specimens failed.
In 2001, a team of entomologists and conservationists landed on Ball’s Pyramid to chart its flora and fauna. To their surprise they rediscovered a population of stick insects living under a single Melaleuca shrub. The population was extremely small, only 20-30 individuals.
How freaking cool is that?
57. The-Dude - June 4th, 2008 at 3:41 am
DiscHuker- people in the UK would kill if they could get unleaded at 4 dollars/ One litre is 1.19 pounds on average, so thats 5.4026 pounds(10.56154274 dollars) per gallon. Sorry my keyboard is up the left so i cant use any symbols.
58. 80s - June 4th, 2008 at 4:19 am
To summarise The-Dude’s post:
People in the UK pay $10.50 per gallon. And Americans think they have it bad, geez.
Those Takahe look awesome, they remind me of the Hawkstriders from World of Warcraft and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what inspired them.
59. DiscHuker - June 4th, 2008 at 5:40 am
dude and 80’s - prices in many countries are worse, but in the UK you have a central public transit system. i live just outside of houston, tx. routinely needing to go 25+ miles to get places and there is no bus or rail system. a car is the only real choice.
but atleast it will probably be close to $5.00 by the end of july.
60. tookyb - June 4th, 2008 at 6:07 am
In Australia everyone is complaining because petrol is $1.50 a litre. I am not sure how that compares in terms of gallons, but the Aussie and the US dollar are virtually $1 for $1.
Scientists at a uni in Australia recently injected Tassie Tiger DNA into a mouse embryo, so hopefully they won’t be extinct forever. We are bringing them back Jurassic Park style!
61. Jennie - June 4th, 2008 at 7:11 am
The Pygmy Possum is the most adorable little thing. To bad its a mountain dweller. I can see how they would be assumed as extinct since they are small and hide in mountain regions.
The Gracilidris (ant) has the oddest legs. They look like spider legs.
62. rushfan - June 4th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Dude: What does “up the left” mean? Is it something British and cheeky?
63. fungirl - June 4th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
WHAT ABOUT THE DODO THEY WERE EXTINCT AND NOW THEY LIVE HERE IN THE USA I SAW ONE ONCE!
64. gguy - June 5th, 2008 at 8:44 am
One more little typo…”ants that were only know through the fossil record”
Great list. Very enjoyable. Thanks
65. Hipco - June 7th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I think the Cuban solenodon should be placed in this category too!!!!!!!
66. cicero - June 8th, 2008 at 1:22 am
i live near where the ivory-billed woodpecker was supposedly found. i personally think it was just a tourism ploy because the towns around there made a killing off the research teams and tourists. but thats just my opinion.
67. cocololo - June 9th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
i love how people thought the bermuda petrels were demons. them damn spaniards and their phobias. never a dull moment…
and who doesn’t love a nasty looking worm that smells like lilies! even if you hate worms, you can’t hate something that smells like lilies. its like hating your grandma. not likely.
68. funny - June 9th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
macro evolution sucks and you all know
69. ArekExcelsior - June 10th, 2008 at 10:04 am
How is it impossible for the average person to help stop species loss? DO SOMETHING. Protest, get involved. That will help.
70. smg45acp - June 11th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Just a suggestion, How about a list of “Living Fossils”?
I find it so funny how animals are supposedly evolving at break neck speed, but then there are all these other animals that haven’t changed even a tiny little bit from fossils that are claimed to be hundreds of millions of years old.
The coelacanth being a prime example.
71. SlickWilly - June 11th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Smg: Animals are not evolving at break neck speed. It takes thousands of generations for a new species to evolve, and the time it takes depends on the life cycles and reproductive habits of the species in question. This could take anywhere from a matter of days or weeks (in the case of bacteria) to millions of years (in the case of hominids). Additionally, a species will only evolve if selective environmental pressure is applied. If a species is functionally perfect to live and breed in it’s environment, there is no reason for it to evolve. That’s why, besides getting smaller, the morphology of sharks has remained virtually unchanged for millions of years. Same goes for modern “saurian” reptiles like alligators, crocodiles, and caymens. The same goes for the coelacanth.
72. yan - June 16th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
wow many extint animals i love it
73. Tempyra - June 20th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Has anyone (Kiwis most likely) been to Tiri Tiri Matangi? You can see takahe there, they wander around the grassy parts of the island. I met one, his name was Greg
74. Spanner in the works - July 4th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
No moa, no moa,
In old Ao-tea-roa.
Can’t get ‘em.
They’ve et ‘em;
They’ve gone and there ain’t no moa!
Thought you’d really appreciate that, Jamie.
I dug it out of Ed (E.O.) Wilson’s ‘The Diversity of Life’ (1992).
This is a seminal book that anyone with the slightest concern for what is happening (going wrong) with this planet ought to read.
“Extinction is the most obscure and local of all biological processes. We don’t see the last butterfly of its species snatched from the air by a bird or the last orchid of a certain kind killed by the collapse of its supporting tree in some distant mountain forest.” (E.O. Wilson, op. cit.)
Yours was an excellent comment Slickwilly: that a species takes thousands (actually more likely hundreds of thousands to millions) of generations to evolve should tell us exactly what the loss of JUST ONE SPECIES means. We are now so far above the background rate of extinction (i.e., with no appreciable human intervention) that biologists calculate VERY CONSERVATIVELY we shall have lost 5-10 percent of all species on earth in thirty years time. That is based on current known rates and existing acceleration. Many put it much higher.
There are two linked aspects to this situation, biodiversity (quality) and biomass (quantity). We are only addressing the former here, and believe me, I am thrilled those charismatics above are still with us, but I have to say we are whistling in the dark here rather than congratulating ourselves. We could all too easily do a similar list, or two, or three, of species that have gone extinct in our lifetimes.
Biomass is effectively the collectivity of organisms; their weight or numbers. Apparently there is more weight of ants on the Earth than human beings! But loss of biomass is one of the critical precursors of extinction. I wonder how many of you know that some species of penguin are down to a third of their numbers of a mere 30 years ago. Yes, 30 years ago.
Concerning numbers, there is also a critical population level below which species cannot recover. (It differs from species to species.) Ought I to mention the passenger pigeon as an example on the 4th of July?
That’s enough from me for now, but do, please read Wilson.
Oh, yeah. Something we all forgot. Conan Doyle’s Lost World was a false alarm, but those of us who’ve seen the ‘Jurassic Park’ trilogy know just how many cute little critters, supposedly extinct, are still hanging in on an island off Central America. There was even a rumour of a formation of pterosaurs breaking out towards the mainland last time I heard.
75. Spanner in the works - July 5th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Philip DeVries is now a well known presenter of TV Natural History programmes. We bought his ‘Butterflies of Costa Rica’ when we spent a short holiday there in 1997. That’s his ‘proper’ job. (The butterflies were lovely, but so complicated to identify we ended up ‘doing’ the birds.)
In vol.2, asked to explain his work (actually describing and publishing for science hitherto unknown species of Central American butterflies), DeVries wrote on the opening page that he gives the following terse answer:
“I write epitaphs for a living.”
76. KC - July 30th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
I’m happy to announce that it is the last day of July and gas is $3.88 where I live!
Sorry, west-coasters….
77. Andrew - August 7th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Nice list, except for the picture that goes with #4: that’s a Fea’s Petrel, not a Bermuda Petrel. How do I know this? I read the words on the picture.
78. littleR - August 27th, 2008 at 6:18 am
wow. cool list! A snake that emitts the odor of lilies? the Bermuda Petrel doesn’t have claws?
79. littleR - August 27th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Nice! Don’t the Bermuda Petrel have claws?
80. Rare - September 4th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Omigosh the rock rat is soo cute! Look at it’s adorable tail and handsome face! And littleR, it’s and albino worm, not snake
81. liam - September 12th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
SAVE THOSE BIRDS AND THE CUTE MOUSE AND THE UGLY MOUSE AND THE OPOSSUM NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
82. liam - September 12th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
THE BERMUDA PETREL IS ADORABLE !!!!!!
83. liam - September 12th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
PLEASE SAVE THE TAKAHE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
84. Eric D. - October 6th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
extinction is quite sad. a tragedy, really. heartbreaking, if you ask me. it’s just a shame to think of the world without all it’s beauty. i just stumbled upon this article, which says 1 in 4 mammals are in danger of extinction. just terrible.
http://features.csmonitor.com/.....s-mammals/