species-rediscovered-this-century
Banggai Crow Corvus unicolor
Not recorded since 1885
Rediscovered: 2007 (confirmed 2009)
Current status: Critically Endangered
Rediscovered: 2007 (confirmed 2009)
Current status: Critically Endangered
Once again, this creature was known to scientists only by a couple of specimens taken from an unknown island in the Banggai archipelago of Indonesia, sometime in the 1880s. There was no proof that the birds had continued to survive after this time. Unconfirmed sightings, in 1991, did not lead to anything more conclusive, though reports that the birds were spotted on Peleng Island continued. During a survey there in 2007/8, Indonesian ornithologist Mochamad Indrawan captured and photographed the bird, but confirmation that this was a Banggai Crow only came in 2009, when Pamela C Rasmussen of the American Museum of Natural History analyzed the recent discoveries and compared them with the museum specimens. Its current population is thought to be around 500 individuals, and Mochamad Indrawan is now involved with pressuring and protecting the species, which are hunted and eaten by the local population.
The Coelacanth is the most famous of all “living fossils” and deserves to be #1 in this list, because it is the best example of a “Lazarus taxon”, this is, animals that were supposed to be long extinct and are unexpectedly found to be alive. Coelacanths were supposed to have become extinct in the Cretaceous period, along with the dinosaurs, but in 1938, a live specimen was caught in South Africa. Since then, more specimens have been seen and photographed, and a second coelacanth species was even found in Indonesia in 1999. Coelacanths are large predators, up to 2 meters (6′ 6″) long; they feed on smaller fish, including small sharks, and are usually found in deep, dark waters. Although rarely captured and consumed due to their horrible taste, coelacanths are critically endangered nowadays.
Arowana
Belonging to the ancient group of the Osteoglossids, these fish already existed in the Jurassic period. Today, they are found in the Amazon, and in parts of Africa, Asia and Australia. Sometimes kept as exotic pets, arowanas are voracious predators that feed on any small animal they can catch, including birds and bats which they catch in mid flight (they are able to leap up to 2 meters (6′ 6″) into the air). In China, arowanas are known as “dragon-fish” due to their appearance, and they are thought to be harbingers of good luck.
This spider has one of the most effective camouflages of all animals; its body is covered on blobs and warts that give it the appearance of a fresh piece of bird excrement; it often produces a small thread of white silk and sits on it so that it looks like the white stains caused by bird droppings falling onto leaves. And as if this was not amazing enough, it also smells like poop. This camouflage has a double function; it makes the spider a rather unappetizing prey for most animals (especially birds themselves), and it serves as a lure for the small, excrement-loving insects which are the spider’s favorite prey. These spiders are found in Asia, from Indonesia to Japan.
Most Venomous Snakes
Blue Krait
The Malayan or Blue Krait is, by far, the most deadly of this species. Found throughout South East Asia and Indonesia, 50% of bites from the deadly Blue Krait are fatal, even with the administration of antivenin. Kraits hunt and kill other snakes, even cannibalizing other Kraits. They are a nocturnal breed, and are more aggressive under the cover of darkness. However, overall they are quite timid and will often attempt to hide rather than fight. The venom is a neurotoxin, 16 times more potent than that of a Cobra. It quickly induces muscle paralysis by preventing the ability of nerve endings to properly release the chemical that sends the message to the next nerve. This is followed by a period of massive over excitation (cramps, tremors, spasms), which finally tails off to paralysis. Fortunately, bites from Kraits are rare due to their nocturnal nature. Before the development of antivenin, the fatality rate was a whopping 85%. Even if antivenin is administered in time, you are far from assured survival. Death usually occurs within 6-12 hours of a Krait bite. Even if patients make it to a hospital, permanent coma and even brain death from hypoxia may occur, given potentially long transport times to get medical care.
Elephant trunk snake
This weird snake is found mostly in Indonesia, although some close relatives are also found in Australia. It gets its name from its unusual skin, which is wrinkled and baggy, and gives the impression of being several sizes too large for the snake. The scales are also unusual; they are large and knobby, hence the snake’s alternate common name, ”warty snake”. They can grow up to 2.5 meters long. Elephant trunk snakes are completely aquatic, and are practically helpless on land; they can’t slither because they lack the broad scales in the belly that are common to most snakes, and an important aid when moving on land. Elephant trunk snakes feed on fish, including catfish and eels; they lack venom, so they use constriction to kill prey; their big knobby scales are an adaptation to hold slippery fish and constrict them underwater.
Long nosed vine snake
Once again native to southeastern Asia, the long nosed vine snake is a highly advanced arboreal predator; unlike other snakes, it has excellent binocular vision, which allows it to strike at prey with great accuracy. Its eyes are also unusual in having horizontal, keyhole-shaped pupils. Its vine-like body hides the snake from both predators and prey (even the tongue is bright green!) and its light weight allows it to move quickly through the foliage and even reach from one branch to another with half of its body on the air! They feed mostly on lizards and frogs, and although they are venomous, they pose no serious threat to humans; pain and swelling are usually the only symptoms after being bitten by a vine snake, and the symptoms disappear within a few days.
Komodo Dragon
It is said sometimes that Komodo dragons were discovered by a downed pilot from WWI who swam to a remote island in Indonesia and reported seeing giant reptiles in the island’s coasts. Unfortunately, no one believed him. Other versions say that the dragons had already been reported before, and that eventually, the rumors of “land crocodiles” and “prehistoric monsters” roaming Komodo and the nearby islands became too persistent to be ignored; in 1910, a Dutch lieutenant decided to go to the island and get evidence of the creature’s existence. He succeeded, and sent a photo and the skin of a gigantic lizard to Bogor, Java, where the director of the Zoological Museum described it formally for the first time.
Later, in 1926, a much publicized expedition to Komodo resulted in the capture of two live specimens; this expedition inspired one of the most famous movies of all times, King Kong, which was also about prehistoric animals found in a remote island. The movie’s director even wanted to have Komodo dragons in the movie! But this was ultimately not possible and he replaced them with animated dinosaurs. Komodo dragons are the world’s largest lizards. One modern day myth about them is that they lack venom, and that their victims die of blood poisoning thanks to the deadly bacteria in the dragon’s mouth. Although it is true that dragons have plenty of dangerous bacteria on their saliva, recent studies have suggested that they are also able to produce powerful, hemorrhage and paralysis-inducing venom, making them the largest venomous animals alive.
By the early twentieth century, Western science had determined that giant lizards were nothing more than a relic of the prehistoric past. Thus, when pearl fishermen returned from the Lesser Sunda Islands, in Indonesia, with tales of monstrous “land crocodiles”, their accounts were met with overwhelming skepticism. An expedition from the Buitenzorg Zoological Museum, in Java, produced a report of the creatures, but the legendary dragons of Komodo faded into obscurity as World War I took precedence.
Then, in 1926, an expedition from the American Museum of Natural History confirmed that the tales of giant lizards were true. W. Douglas Burden, the leader of the expedition, returned with twelve preserved specimens and two live ones. The world was introduced to the Komodo Dragon, a massive monitor lizard that grows up to ten feet, making it the largest lizard in the world. Komodo Dragons possess massive claws and fangs with which they can kill almost any creature on the island, including humans and water buffaloes. One particularly bizarre attribute of these creatures is their venomous bite, which has been attributed to bacteria-laden saliva or venom glands in the mouth.
The 1926 expedition to Komodo served as the inspiration for King Kong, in which a similar expedition to a foreign island reveals prehistoric megafauna.
Source:http://listverse.com
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