Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

Listed As Extinct For Millennia But Hiding In Plain Sight

Scientists just made a discovery so rare it has almost never happened before in the entire history of wildlife research. Two species of marsupials believed to have vanished from the earth more than 6,000 years ago have been found alive and well in the remote rainforests of New Guinea, the large tropical island just north of Australia. The pygmy long-fingered possum is a small striped creature with one unusually long digit on each hand, which scientists think it uses to fish beetle grubs out of rotting wood buried deep in the forest floor. The ring-tailed glider nests in tree hollows, swings through the forest canopy at night using its powerful tail, and is so meaningful to some local Indigenous communities that they believe the animals carry the spirits of their ancestors.

Both creatures were previously known only from ancient fossils, making them what scientists call Lazarus species, a term named for the biblical figure who was brought back from the dead. The odds of finding even one Lazarus mammal species alive are described by researchers as almost zero, which is exactly why discovering two at the same time has been called completely unprecedented and groundbreaking by the scientific community. Researchers worked closely alongside members of two local Indigenous communities whose deep knowledge of the forest proved absolutely essential to confirming that both animals were alive and well. The animals were photographed in a rugged and remote corner of New Guinea that had been so difficult for scientists to survey that researchers had long suspected undiscovered creatures might be hiding there. Conservationists are now quietly keeping the animals’ exact location secret to protect them from wildlife traffickers, while working to learn more about what these remarkable survivors need to thrive.

Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-thought-these-marsupials-went-extinct-6000-years-ago-they-just-found-the-animals-alive-180988312/

PrevPreviousFreemont California Was Just Named The Happiest City In America
NextThousands Of Blue Glow In The Dark Snails Return HomeNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

A Gamer Just Broke A 14-Year-Old Record By Playing Super Mario For 60 Hours Straight

April 29, 2026

A Japanese gamer named Audrey Mina has officially broken the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon playing games in the Super Mario series, sitting at her gaming desk in Chiyoda, Tokyo and playing from May 2 to May 5 of last year for a total of 60 hours, 17

Read More
Happy News

Medical Marijuana Got A Major Federal Upgrade

April 28, 2026

For the first time in more than 50 years, the federal government has fundamentally changed how it classifies medical marijuana, and for millions of patients and researchers, this is a very big deal. Effective April 28, 2026, the Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration officially moved FDA-approved cannabis products

Read More
Happy News

A Pill That Costs Pennies And Has Been Around For 125 Years May Also Fight Cancer

April 28, 2026

A pill that has been sitting in medicine cabinets for more than a century is showing signs of being far more powerful than anyone originally imagined, as a growing body of clinical evidence points to aspirin as a meaningful weapon against cancer. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden tracked

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.