13-extinct-animals-found-alive.

They're called "Lazarus species" — creatures that have disappeared, sometimes for millions of years, only to miraculously be rediscovered again in modern times. Just as Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus in the Gospel of John, so these species manage to survive. Their rediscoveries are a bewildering reminder that when given a chance, life finds a way to survive. Here's a short list of 13 animals long-feared extinct that, in fact, have been rediscovered.
(Text: Bryan Nelson)

CREDIT: Associated Press

Coelacanth

Coelacanth are an ancient order of fish believed to have gone extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period some 65-plus million years ago. That was until 1938, when one was miraculously discovered off the east coast of South Africa near the mouth of the Chalumna River. Closely related to lungfishes and tetrapods, coelacanths are among the oldest living jawed fishes known to exist. They can live as long as 100 years and swim at depths of 90 to 100 meters.

CREDIT: Wiki Commons/GNU

Bermuda Petrel

The dramatic rediscovery of the Bermuda Petrel has become one of the most inspiring stories in the history of nature conservation. Believed extinct for 330 years, the birds had not been seen since the 1620s. Then, in 1951, 18 nesting pairs were found on remote rocky islets in Castle Harbor. Even so, they are still battling extinction today with a global population just over 250 individuals.

CREDIT: Wiki Commons/Dave Pape

Chacoan peccary

The Chacoan is the largest (by size) species of peccary, a beast that resembles a pig but hails from a different continent and cannot be domesticated. The Chacoan peccary was first described in 1930 based only on fossil records, and was believed to be extinct. Then in 1975, surprised researchers discovered one alive in the Chaco region of Paraguay. Today there are around 3,000 known individuals.

CREDIT: Michael Whiting

Lord Howe Island stick insect

Sometimes referred to as “land lobsters” or “walking sausages,” the Lord Howe stick insect is considered the rarest insect in the world. Believed extinct since 1930 after being wiped off its only known native habitat on Lord Howe Island, the enormous insect was rediscovered in 2001 when fewer than 30 individuals were found living underneath a single shrub on the small islet of Ball's Pyramid, the world's tallest and most isolated sea stack.

CREDIT: "Visor Austral" José Luis Bartheld/Flickr

Monito del Monte

The Monito del Monte is a remarkable, diminutive marsupial believed to have been extinct for 11 million years until one was discovered in a thicket of Chilean bamboo in the southern Andes. The creature is more closely related to Australian marsupials than to other South American ones, and it is likely related to the earliest known Australian marsupial which lived 55 million years ago.

CREDIT: IUCN

La Palma giant lizard

Until its recent rediscovery in 2007, the La Palma giant lizard was believed to have been extinct for around 500 years. It was found again so recently that the IUCN Red List still lists the animal as extinct. Found in the La Palma region of the Canary Islands, the lone discovered individual had an estimated age of 4 years and was a foot long. New expeditions to the area are currently planned in hopes of finding a breeding population.

CREDIT: Wiki Commons/CC License

Takahe

The Takahe is a flightless bird indigenous to New Zealand thought to be extinct after the last four known specimens were taken in 1898. However, after a carefully planned search effort, the bird was rediscovered in 1948 near Lake Anau. This extremely rare, odd-looking bird remains endangered today, with only 225 individuals remaining.

CREDIT: animalpicturesarchive.com

Cuban solenodon

This strange-looking creature is so rare that only 37 specimens have ever been caught. It was originally discovered in 1861, but no individuals were found from 1890 to 1974. Unusual among mammals in that its saliva is venomous, the Cuban solenodon was most recent sighted in 2003, an event so celebrated that the individual was given a name: Alejandrito.

CREDIT: Wiki Commons/public domain

New Caledonian crested gecko

Originally described in 1866 and long feared extinct, this unusual gecko was rediscovered in 1994 in the aftermath of a tropical storm. Its oddest features are the hair-like projections found above the eyes and a crest which runs from each eye to the tail. The species is currently being assessed for CITES protection and endangered status.

CREDIT: Doug Beckers/Flickr

New Holland mouse

The New Holland mouse was first discovered in 1843. It vanished from view for over a century before its rediscovery in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park north of Sydney in 1967. The cute creatures are still fighting for their existence despite valiant conservation efforts. One of its remote Victorian populations was wiped out in the Australian wildfires of 1983, although healthier populations still exist in New South Wales and Tasmania.

CREDIT: Yaniria Sanchez-de Leon/University of Idaho

Giant Palouse earthworm

Originally discovered in 1897, these giant worms were declared extinct in the 1980s until three specimens were unearthed, the most recent in 2005. Found in Eastern Washington state and parts of Idaho, these ghostly burrowers can dig down as deep as 15 feet, grow to as long as 3.3 feet in length, and are albino in appearance.

CREDIT: AP/Phillip Round/The Wetland Trust

Large-billed reed-warbler

This species has been hailed as the world's least-known bird. It is known only from a single specimen collected in 1867, and was long believed extinct. Then in Thailand in 2006, a wild population was discovered and confirmed to be large-billed reed-warblers via DNA matching to the original specimen. Today the birds largely remain a mystery, and unfortunately DNA sequence variation points to a stable or shrinking population structure.

CREDIT: David Redfield/WWF

Laotian rock rat

This species was first discovered for sale as meat at a market in Thakhek, Khammouan, in Laos in 1996, and was considered so unusual and distinct from any other living rodent that it was given its own family. Then in 2006, after a systematic reanalysis, the Laotian rock rat was reclassified — incredibly — to belong to an ancient fossil family that was thought to have gone extinct 11 million years ago. Return trips to Laos by the Wildlife Conservation Society have uncovered several other specimens, raising hopes that the animal may not be as rare as once thought.