Lazarus taxon

Potential explanations

Related but distinct concepts

Reappearing fossil taxa

• Bush dog, last surviving species of the genus Speothos; first described as an extinct taxon in 1842 by Peter Wilhelm Lund, based on fossils uncovered from Brazilian caves; Lund found and described living specimens in 1843 without realizing they were of the same species as the fossils, dubbing the living bush dogs as members of the genus "Icticyon"; this was not corrected until some time in the 20th century.
• Chacoan peccary, last surviving species of the genus Catagonus; believed to be the closest living relative to the extinct genus Platygonus. First described as extinct in 1930 as fossils; live specimens found in 1974.
• Coelacanth, a member of a subclass thought to have gone extinct 66 million years ago; live specimens found in 1938.
• False killer whale, first described by the British paleontologist and biologist Richard Owen based on a skull discovered in 1843 found in Stamford, Lincolnshire in England and dated to the Middle Pleistocene around 126,000 years ago. The first carcasses washed up on the shores of Kiel Bay in Denmark in 1861, until this point the species was thought to be extinct.
• Nightcap oak, representing a genus previously known only from fossils 15 to 20 million years old, were recognized in 2000 and 1995, respectively.
• Gracilidris, a genus of dolichoderine ants thought to have gone extinct 15–20 million years ago was found in Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina and redescribed in 2006.
• Laotian rock rat, a member of a family thought to have gone extinct 11 million years ago; found in 1996.
• Majorcan midwife toad, in the family Alytidae, described from fossil remains in 1977, discovered alive in 1979.
• Dawn redwood, a genus of conifer, described as a fossil in 1941, rediscovered alive in 1944.
• Monito del monte, sole surviving member of the order Microbiotheria; first described in 1894, thought to have gone extinct 11 million years ago.
• Bulmer's fruit bat, originally described from a Pleistocene garbage pile, it was subsequently discovered alive elsewhere in its native New Guinea.
• Monoplacophora, a class of molluscs believed to have gone extinct in the middle Devonian Period until living members were discovered in deep water off Costa Rica in 1952.
• Mountain pygmy possum, first discovered in the fossil record in 1895; rediscovered alive in 1966.
• Schinderhannes bartelsi, a Devonian member of the family Anomalocarididae, previously known only from Cambrian fossils, 100 million years earlier.
• Wollemi pine, a genus of coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae; previously known only from fossils from 2 to 90 million years ago, rediscovered in 1994.
• Calliostoma bullatum, a species of deepwater sea snail; originally described in 1844 from fossil specimens in deep-water coral-related sediments from southern Italy, until extant individuals were described in 2019 from deep-water coral reefs off the coast of Mauritania.

  Reappearing IUCN red list species

Plants

• Afrothismia pachyantha, in the family Burmanniaceae; first discovered in 1905, rediscovered in 1995.
• Antirhea tomentosa, in the family Rubiaceae; first discovered in 1780, rediscovered in 1975.
• Asplundia clementinae, a species of plant in the family Cyclanthaceae.
• Badula platyphylla, a species of plant in the family Primulaceae.
• Blunt chaff flower, a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae.
• Bulbophyllum filiforme, a species of epiphytic plant in the family Orchidaceae; first botanically described in 1895.
• Bulbostylis neglecta, an endemic member of the family Cyperaceae; first collected in 1806, rediscovered in 2008.
• Café marron, thought extinct in the 1950s but rediscovered in 1980.
• Camellia piquetiana, in the family Theaceae; discovered in the 19th century, rediscovered in 2003.
• Climbing alsinidendron, in the family Caryophyllaceae.
• Cyanea dunbariae, in the bellflower family; rediscovered in 1992.
• Cyanea procera, in the bellflower family.
• Pygmy goosefoot, thought extinct since 1959, but rediscovered in 2015.
• Eugenia bojeri, a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae.
• Euphrasia arguta, a plant from the genus Euphrasia, in the family Orobanchaceae; thought extinct since 1904, rediscovered 2008.
• Franciscan manzanita, thought to be extinct in the wild since 1942, rediscovered in 2009.
• Furbish's lousewort, Canadian species identified as an extinct species in 1880, rediscovered in the 1970s.
• Jellyfish tree, the only member of the genus Medusagyne, of the family Ochnaceae; thought extinct until 1970.
• Mammillaria schwarzii, a species of plant in the family Cactaceae; thought to be extinct for some time, until rediscovered in 1987.
• Medemia argun in the family Arecaceae, it is the only species in the genus Medemia.
• Mount Diablo buckwheat, in the family Polygonaceae; thought to be extinct around 1935 but found again in 2005, then again in 2016.
• Pittosporum tanianum, a species of plant in the family Pittosporaceae.
• Rhaphidospora cavernarum, a plant species in the family Acanthaceae; thought to be extinct since 1873 but relocated in 2008.
• She cabbage tree a small tree in the family Asteraceae.
• Sicilian fir, in the family Pinaceae.
• Takhtajania perrieri, a genus of flowering plants in the family Winteraceae; first collected in 1909, rediscovered and reclassified multiple times between 1963–1997.
• Turbinicarpus gielsdorfianus, a species of plant in the family Cactaceae.
• Virginia round-leaf birch, a rare species of tree in the birch family; first discovered in 1914, thought to be extinct until 1975
• Yellow fatu, a species of plant in the family Malvaceae. The plant was once considered extinct until 2003.

  Cultivars

• Judean date palm, found as a seed dated from between 155 BC to 64 AD, replanted in 2005.
• Montreal melon, a common plant in the 19th century that disappeared but was rediscovered after a couple of generations in 1996.

  Sponges

• Neptune's Cup, a species of demosponge in the family Clionaidae; thought to be extinct from overharvesting in the early 1900s, rediscovered in 2011.

  Annelids

• Giant Palouse earthworm, a species of earthworm belonging to the genus Driloleirus; thought extinct in the 1980s, but found again in 2006.

  Insects

• Lord Howe Island stick insect ; a species of stick insect in the family Phasmatodae; thought to be extinct by 1930, rediscovered in 2001.
• Canterbury knobbed weevil, in the family Curculionidae; first discovered in 1877, last seen in 1922 until it was rediscovered in 2004.
• Megachile pluto, the world's largest bee. Not seen after 1858, when it was first collected, until it was rediscovered in 1981.
• Dinosaur ant, a rare genus of ants consisting of a single species, discovered in 1931, not seen again until 1977.
• Petasida ephippigera, a species of grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae; thought to be extinct from 1900 until 1971, when a single male specimen was spotted, followed by a breeding pair shortly afterwards.
• Bone skipper fly, in the family Piophilidae; first described and last seen in Central Europe, before being photographed in Spain in 2009.
• Pitt Island longhorn beetle, is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae; last seen on Pitt Island in 1910, and found again on a nearby island in the Chatham Islands in 1987.

  Fish

• Black kokanee, a Japanese species of salmon in the family Salmonidae; believed extinct in 1940 after attempts at conservation seemingly failed. The species was rediscovered in Lake Saiko in 2010, having survived after prior conservation efforts had introduced it there.
• Smoothtooth blacktip shark, a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae; known only from a specimen caught in 1902, the shark was rediscovered at a fish market in 2008.

  Amphibians

• Armoured frog, a species of frog in the family Hylidae; first discovered in 1976, until its rediscovery in 2008.
• Ansonia latidisca in the family Bufonidae; first discovered in 1924, until its rediscovery in 2011.
• Painted frog, a species of true toad in the family Bufonidae, believed to be extinct since 1995, until it was rediscovered in 2006.
• Atelopus laetissimus, a species of toad in the family Bufonidae.
• Mindo harlequin frog
• San Lorenzo harlequin frog, a species of toad in the family Bufonidae.
• Atelopus varius a toad endemic to the Talamancan montane forests, between Costa Rica and Panama.
• Atelopus ignescens, a species of toad in the family Bufonidae; thought to be extinct since its last recorded sighting in 1988, until its rediscovery in 2016.
• Hula painted frog, the only living member of the genus Latonia; thought to be extinct in the 1950s, until it was rediscovered in 2011.
• American cinchona plantation treefrog, a rare species of frog in the family Hylidae; thought to have become extinct, until its rediscovery in 2007.
• Bolivian Cochran frog, not seen for over 18 years until its rediscovery in early 2020.
• Black jumping salamander, a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae; believed to be extinct, until rediscovered in 2000 and again in 2006 and 2007.
• Large-crested toad, a critically endangered species of true toad in the family Bufonidae.
• Taudactylus rheophilus, a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae.
• Philautus chalazodes, a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae; no verifiable reports of this species, until its rediscovery in 2011.
• Starry night toad, not seen for over 30 years until rediscovery in 2019
• Sumatra toad, a species of toad in the family Bufonidae.
• Telmatobufo venustus, a species of frog in the family Calyptocephalellidae, not seen from 1899 until 1999.
• Thorius minutissimus'', a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae.

  Mammals

• Bavarian pine vole, is a vole in the family Cricetidae; believed extinct in the 1960s, until it was rediscovered in 2000.
• Black-footed ferret, a North American species presumed extinct in 1979 until it was rediscovered in 1981. A captive breeding program of the discovered ferrets successfully reintroduced the species into the wild.
• Brazilian arboreal mouse, a South American rodent species of the family Cricetidae; first described in 1886, was believed to be extinct for over one hundred years.
• Onychogalea fraenata, a vulnerable species of macropod; thought to be extinct since the last confirmed sighting in 1937, but rediscovered in 1973.
• Caspian horse, thought to be descended from Mesopotamian horses; remains dating back to 3400 B.C.E, but it was rediscovered in the 1960s.
• Zyzomys pedunculatus'', a species of rodent in the family Muridae; thought to be extinct in 1990 and 1994, until a reappearance in 2001 and in 2002, then the species went unrecorded until 2013.
• Cuban solenodon, thought to have been extinct until a live specimen was found in 2003.
• Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat, assumed extinct after discovery in 1974, but rediscovered in 2012.
• Fernandina rice rat, thought extinct in 1996 but found again in the late 1990s.
• Gilbert's potoroo, extremely rare Australian mammal presumed extinct from the 19th century until 1994.
• Humboldt marten, subspecies of the Pacific marten thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1996 on remote camera traps in the Six Rivers National Forest in northern California.
• Miller's grizzled langur, presumed extinct 2010, rediscovered 2012.
• Leadbeater's possum, thought to be extinct until 1965.
• Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat, believed extinct since the 1400s or 1500s, but rediscovered in 2009 near Machu Picchu in Peru.
• Mahogany glider, described in 1883 and not recorded between 1886 and 1973. An expedition by the Queensland Museum in 1989 found a living population.
• New Guinea big-eared bat, previously, the species was believed to have been extinct since 1890, when it was last spotted. In 2012, researchers realised that a female bat collected near Kamali was a member of this species.
• New Holland mouse, described by George Waterhouse in 1843, it was re-discovered in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, North of Sydney, in 1967.
• Philippine naked-backed fruit bat, in 1996 the species was declared extinct by the IUCN, as none had been sighted since 1964, but the bat was rediscovered in 2000.
• Roosevelt's muntjac, it was re-discovered in Xuan Lien Nature Reserve in Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province in 2014.
• San Quintin kangaroo rat, previously seen in 1986, feared extinct until rediscovery in 2017.
• Santiago Galápagos mouse, thought extinct and last recorded in 1906, but was rediscovered in 1997.
• Short-footed Luzon tree rat, believed extinct since 1896, but rediscovered in 2008 on Mount Pulag in northern Luzon.
• Tammar wallaby, the mainland Australian subspecies was presumed extinct from 1925 until genetically matched with invasive wallabies in New Zealand in 1998.
• Vietnam mouse-deer, last known from a specimen acquired from hunters in 1990, not seen again for nearly 30 years until multiple individuals were sighted with camera-trap photographs in a 2019 survey of prospective habitat.
• Woolly flying squirrel, known only from pelts collected in Pakistan in the late 19th century, until live specimens were collected in the 1990s.
• Wimmer's shrew, believed extinct since 1976, but rediscovered in 2012 in Côte d'Ivoire.
• Yellow-tailed woolly monkey, first described from furs in 1812, live specimens not discovered until 1926.
• Zanzibar leopard, By 2002, it was considered extinct due to persecution by local hunters but in 2018, a camera trap placed for the Animal Planet show Extinct or Alive caught apparent footage of a leopard on Unguja Island.

  Reptiles

• Albany adder, rediscovered in 2016.
• Arakan forest turtle, last seen in 1908 but found again in 1994.
• Cropan's boa, endemic to the endangered Atlantic forest ecosystem of Brazil, rediscovered in 2017.
• El Hierro giant lizard, rediscovered in 1974.
• Gray's monitor, described in 1845, and not seen again by scientists for 130 years.
• La Gomera giant lizard, rediscovered in 1999.
• La Palma giant lizard, thought to have been extinct since 1500, but rediscovered in 2007.
• New Caledonian crested gecko rediscovered in 1994.
• Short-nosed sea snake, rediscovered in 2015, after parting with their original habitat of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands for unknown reasons.
• Terror skink, a 50-cm-long lizard, was previously known from a single specimen captured around 1870 and was long presumed extinct. In 2003, on a tiny islet, it was rediscovered.
• Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise, only known from a single male specimen in 1906 and putative droppings and bite marks throughout the 20th century up to the 2010s. A female individual was rediscovered on the island on an expedition in 2019.

  Birds

• Antioquia brush-finch
• Bahia tapaculo
• Banggai crow, not recorded since 1884/1885, confirmed with a photograph in 2008.
• Beck's petrel, not seen between 1929 and 2007.
• Berlepsch's parotia
• Bermuda petrel or "cahow", thought extinct since 1620 until 18 nesting pairs were found in 1951 on an uninhabited rock outcropping in Bermuda. Bermudian David B. Wingate has devoted his life to bringing the birds back, and in the 2011-12 breeding season they passed 100-pairs.
• Grand Comoro scops-owl
• Blue-eyed ground dove
• Bruijn's brush-turkey
• Cebu flowerpecker
• Chinese crested tern, feared extinct in the mid-late 20th century for over 6 decades until a small breeding colony was found in 2000.
• Cone-billed tanager, undetected from 1938 to 2003, but rediscovered in gallery forest in Emas National Park.
• Cuban kite, confirmed with a photograph in 2009.
• Edwards's pheasant, a Vietnamese pheasant presumed extinct from 1928 until it was rediscovered in 1998.
• Fiji petrel, first rediscovered on land in 1983, and at sea in 2009.
• Forest owlet, assumed extinct in the 19th century, but rediscovered in central India in 1997.
• Golden-fronted bowerbird
• Ivory-billed woodpecker, the "Lord God Bird," thought extinct circa 1987 before unconfirmed sightings in 1999, 2004, and 2006 in Arkansas and Florida.
• Jerdon's courser, a wader from India, assumed extinct until 1986.
• Kaempfer's woodpecker, a Brazilian woodpecker feared extinct after no specimen had been found since its discovery in 1926. Rediscovered in 2006.
• Large-billed reed-warbler, a warbler rediscovered in Thailand in 2006, previous known only from a specimen collected in India in 1867.
• Long-legged warbler
• Madagascan serpent eagle, rediscovered in 1993, sixty years since the previous sighting.
• Madagascar pochard, thought extinct since 1991 until a small group were spotted in 2006.
• Myanmar Jerdon's babbler, last seen in 1941, rediscovered in 2015.
• New Zealand storm-petrel, believed extinct from 1850 but sighted again in 2003.
• Night parrot, extremely rare Australian bird presumed extinct from the 1880s until 1990.
• Noisy scrub-bird
• São Tomé fiscal
• São Tomé grosbeak
• Silvery pigeon, confirmed photographically in 2008.
• Stresemann's bristlefront
• Táchira antpitta, a Venezuelan antpitta feared extinct since its discovery in 1956, but rediscovered in 2017 in El Tamá National Park.
• Takahe, assumed extinct in 1898 but found again in 1948.
• Utila chachalaca, subspecies of the plain chachalaca from Honduras, not recorded between 1963 and 2000 and confirmed photographically in 2005.
• White-winged guan
• White-collared kite
• Worcester's Buttonquail
• Zapata rail

  Molluscs

• Discus guerinianus, a Madeiran land snail thought extinct in 1996 but found again in 1999.
• Greater Bermuda land snail, last recorded sighting made in the early 1970s, survey in 1988 and studies in 2000, 2002, and 2004 seemed to confirm extinction, rediscovered in City of Hamilton alleyway in 2014.
• Elliptio nigella

  Discussions

Communication and education