• There seems to be some interest in extinct species and living fossils, as evidenced by various posts on the 'lost cities' thread, so I thought I'd start this one:

    I have recently been fascinated by the notion of lost animals, species thought to be extinct being rediscovered.

    Such as the Tasmanian tiger which has been spotted recently after going extinct in the 30's

    Also many other species thought to be extinct many millions of years ago, being rediscovered in modern times and totally wigging the fuck out of biologists.

    Are there any confirmed spottings of the Tasman tiger though? Other than the coelocanth, what other species are there?

    Apparently some moose were released in Fjordland in New Zealand about a hundred years ago - there are still occasional reports of them.

    ^ Here's a little list:

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/14-extinct-animals-that-were-rediscovered

    And the coelcanth is fucking amazing!

    Not just what it looks like, but what it meant for evolutionary biology.

    This animals thing may seem like a weird derail. But I get the same sense of wonder and excitement with the notion of 'lost' species as with lost kingdoms etc. We have an enormous amount of bizarre fossils from hundreds of millions of years ago, which we assume are long extinct and would have no place in todays ecosystems. But then things like the Coelacanth can rock up and blow those ideas out of the water. To show us, everything on this planet is not known to modern humans, there are still mysteries and hidden worlds out there.

    These fossils & remnant's are amazing clues, just like archaeological artefacts.

    To go to Australia and spot a thylacine, would give me the same buzz as seeing the loch ness monster. But it is actually plausible which is amazing.

    I know it's not quite the theme of the thread but thought it may fit here as on the previous page...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22770959

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