Two marsupials thought to have been extinct for 6,000 years found alive

Two marsupial species that scientists thought were extinct at least 6,000 years ago have been found alive on the island of New Guinea.

The ring-tailed glider and pygmy long-toed possum, previously known to science only from fossils found in Australia, have now been found and photographed on the Vogelkop Peninsula in Papua, Indonesia, with the help of local indigenous communities.

Tim Flannery of the Australian Museum in Sydney says it took him and his colleagues years of detective work to confirm that the animals are indeed back from the dead, involving tantalizing sightings, misidentified museum specimens and the recovery of sub-fossil remains.

Recent photographic evidence and close work with local communities have finally allowed scientists to confirm that the animals are indeed alive, but their habitat faces serious threats from logging. Scientists know little about their exact range and ecological needs, posing challenges to their conservation.

Scott Hucknull of Central Queensland University in Australia, who was not part of the team, says the findings are “more important than finding a living thylacine in Tasmania”.

The ring-tailed glider (Tou’s ayamaruensis) is a relative of the three Australian larger glider species in the genus Petauroides. However, it has a number of fundamental differences, notably a prehensile tail and unfurred ears, which led scientists to reclassify it in its own genus.

Some of the indigenous people of the region regard the glider as sacred and an animal to be avoided and protected, which may have contributed to it remaining unknown to science until now.

“It’s one of the most photogenic animals, the most beautiful marsupials you’ll ever see,” says Flannery.

The pygmy long-toed possum (Dactylonax kambuayai) is a beautifully striped animal with one digit on each hand that is twice as long as the other fingers.

“They also have a whole series of specializations in the ear region that seem to be related to the detection of low-frequency sound,” says Flannery. “So presumably they’re listening for tree-chained beetle larvae, and then they rip up the rotting wood and use that finger to fish out the larva.”

The exact location where the animals live is being kept secret due to fears that pet traders could target the species.

Flannery warns these traders against doing this. “They would be incredibly difficult to keep in captivity because their diet is so highly specialized. Advanced warning for anyone thinking of keeping one as a pet: it won’t live long,” he says.

The fossil record for Tous the genus is as cryptic as its living presence, says Hucknull. There are 3-million-to-4-million-year-old fossil teeth from sites in Victoria and New South Wales in Australia, then a gap until 280,000 years ago, when fossils at Mount Etna and Capricorn Caves in Queensland suggest that the ancient Tous was a relatively common possum.

“The smallest fossil species is indistinguishable Tous now found alive in West Papua, says Hucknull.

“Pocket-sized, bizarre and cute Dactylonax kambuayai is as important as Tous» he says. “With its massively elongated finger and a small size that fits in the palm of your hand, it represents a distinctive ecological role.”

David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University, Canberra, says these are “fascinating and important findings”.

“I am also very concerned about the scale of logging and land clearing that is happening in New Guinea,” he says. “It also makes me wonder what might have been lost in Australia as a result of all the land clearing that has taken place here.”

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