In an extraordinary scientific discovery, scientists have found a small possum and ringtail glider in West Papua after 6,000 years.
For decades, researchers thought these species were extinct, but the recent remarkable discovery has rewritten the history of lost species.
According to findings published in the Records from Australian Museum magazine A small possum with an extra-long finger on each hand and a glider was found in remote rainforests on Friday.
The long-fingered possum, a striped marsupial, is believed to have disappeared from Australia during the Ice Age. The recently rediscovered possum has a distinctive fourth finger on each hand, twice as long as other fingers, allowing it to dig out wood-boring insect larvae.
The ring-tailed glider is found in the hollows of tall trees with a long tail that can grip branches. The locals of the Tambrauw and Maybrat clans consider it sacred and do not hunt or mention it by name out of respect.
According to scientists, local elders from the Tambrauw and Maybrat clans helped them identify these species.
“The discovery of one Lazarus taxon… is an extraordinary discovery,” said Prof. Tim Flannery, a prominent Australian scientist best known for his 2005 book The Weather Makers on climate change.
“But the discovery of two species, thought to have been extinct for thousands of years, is remarkable,” he added.
