Search launched for 25 missing species

When I read the reassessment and the papers it cited, it said the clouded leopards in Taiwan were likely to be the same subspecies as those in mainland China and so mainland individuals could be introduced and still be taxonomically appropriate. I don't remember any of them claiming that the original population was introduced, though.

Funny that this happened not long after a Zanzibar leopard was confirmed as well... it's a good time to find long-lost island cats, it seems!

 

It's hard to conceive of a mechanism by which they would have been introduced, to be honest.

 

I'm with @FunkyGibbon on this. It's possible, but I'd like to know how this could have happened. Additionally, aren't the Formosan animals supposed to be significantly distinct morphologically?

~Thylo

 

Most of that felid taxonomy review was a mess... It's unfortunate we probably won't get more comprehensive studies into most of the taxa for quite some time. I think the Iriomote Cat, Zanzibar Leopard, and now perhaps Formosan Clouded Leopard need to be prioritized a bit now.

~Thylo

 

Velvet pitcher plant found

 

Great news! I actually read this previously, as I check it regularly, but I forgot about this thread.

Ironically, last night I had a dream I saw some live pink-headed ducks of all things. Maybe it's a sign? I know the search a couple of years ago was unsuccessful, but there are reports the species has been seen alive in recent times.

 

I do hope your dream comes true

 

Lost primates: Lost Primates — The Search for Lost Species

 

Anyone who has spent some time in Tasmania will tell you that there is are huge areas where virtually no-one lives. Much of the country is covered in thick undergrowth that is impossible to walk through and could easily hide a number of species. I have seen large wallabies simply disappear into scrub which is often only about 4 foot (1m20cm) high. Although no positive evidence exists that the Thylacine still lives, there have been many indications that it might yet survive. Lets not give up hope!

 

Well, that would be the second possibly extinct or extinct species I have rediscovered in my dreams. The first would be a species of moa I found high in the mountains of New Zealand, but the chances of that are much, much more slim. I wish though!

But yeah, I would definitely love for the duck to be rediscovered!

 

Dream on! I would rather be positive than give up all hope, however, if you would prefer to take the negative view, it's all right with me!

 

Don't get me wrong, I actually am fairly positive when it comes to conservation, and I personally think that the majority of species on that Top 25 Lost Species will be found alive sooner or later. Just look at what has already been rediscovered from that list in a few years, as well as the many lost amphibians that have been rediscovered: Bornean rainbow toads, Hula painted frogs, many species from the Western Ghats of India, rain frogs in Haiti, etc.

That said, there's a difference between most of the species on that list and a family of megafaunal flightless birds that, based on archaeological evidence, was wiped out within a century or two of human arrival by Maori settlers and has never been seen alive by people of European ancestry. I would love for there to be a surprise as great as surviving moas in the 21st Century, but I think the odds are very, very slim. To me, it's not negativity, it's just looking at things realistically. Many species that were thought extinct very well may survive in secrecy, but unfortunately there are undoubtedly many species that are gone.

 

I do agree with you on the subject of large flightless birds, and of the larger mammal species. Their survival is, I believe, really too much to hope for. That said, there have been odd reports of some strange sightings now and then, from many parts of the world, including here in Australia. I remain hopeful!

 

I remain hopeful, too. Even with the survival of moas being unlikely, I still think there are some relatively large animals that remain undiscovered or whose survival remains unknown. There almost certainly aren't any surviving glyptodonts, or steppe or woolly rhinos, or diprotodonts, or other fauna well over a tonne that has survived hidden since the Ice Ages, but let's look at the last few decades. Dingiso, which are a fairly large tree kangaroo, were not discovered by scientists until the 1990s in the mountains of New Guinea, and they're relatives of the Wondiwoi tree kangaroo, itself almost certainly rediscovered last year. Myanmar snub-nosed monkeys and kipunjis are both fairly large primates discovered by science this millennium. Saola, while extremely rare, were discovered in the 1990s along with some muntjac species in Southeast Asia. None of these animals are sauropods or mammoths, but they're still reasonably-sized animals. Even the Laotian rock rat, while not as big, is a fairly recent and evolutionarily unique discovery in the same general part of the world. I think there are still some surprises in the rainforests and mountainous regions in places like parts of South America, New Guinea, or the mountainous regions of Southern Asia.

So I look forward to seeing what other animals on that "Lost Species" list turn up alive, because it's not a question of if it will happen, but which ones and when.

 

From an earlier quote I had the impression that you were very negative about finding long lost or new species. I am very pleased to say that I was obviously mistaken. Keep hoping!

 

Update on the Pondicherry shark:

Pondicherry Shark — The Search for Lost Species

I myself watched the episode just now. Very exciting.

 

forrest galnte has now fond the shark the galapgos tortoies and alos the zansibar leopard. this is in about a year

 

The "Lost Species" that have been found has definitely heated up within the last year. I wonder why the "Lost Species" website listed the tortoise as "Found" before genetic confirmation, but not the Wondiwoi tree kangaroo or the Pondicherry shark? Granted the former was based on a live caught specimen, while the kangaroo's rediscovery was based on a photograph, and the shark has just been announced, but I still find it odd.

 

yes that is a bit werid