Researchers at the Australian Museum in Sydney report the rediscovery of no fewer than two species of marsupial that were thought to have gone extinct at least 6,000 years ago. The identification of these Lazarus species – the dwarf long-fingered possum (Dactylonax kambuayai) and the Ayamaru ringtail possum (Tous ayamaruensis) – was made possible by combining a range of evidence: (misidentified) museum specimens, fossil fragments, rare photographs, and sightings reported by local communities in Papua New Guinea (Records of the Australian Museum, 6 March). Palaeobiologist and lead author Tim Flannery describes the find in an accompanying press release as a ‘remarkable discovery’ in the remote rainforests of the Vogelkop Peninsula in north-western New Guinea.
The dwarf long-fingered possum (now redescribed as Dactylonax kambuayai) is a strikingly striped marsupial with one exceptionally long finger on each hand. The species still lived in Australia during the Pleistocene, but was known to science only from Holocene fossils at least 6,000 years old, found in western New Guinea. The second (re)discovery, the Ayamaru ringtail possum (Tous ayamaruensis), is the closest living relative of the Australian ringtail possums: smaller than its Australian counterparts, with naked ears and a strong prehensile tail. This ringtail possum holds deep cultural significance for local communities and is considered sacred by some clans of the Vogelkop. They inhabit an area of giant kauri trees that, according to local belief, marks the birthplace of all animals and people. ‘The Vogelkop is an ancient fragment of the Australian continent that has been incorporated into the island of New Guinea’, says Flannery. ‘The forests may harbour further hidden remnants of Australia’s past.’
