Weird-Looking Marsupial Found Alive After 6,000 Years

Researchers report the pygmy long-fingered possum (Dactylonax kambuayai) was observed alive in Indonesia’s Vogelkop Peninsula, and the team also identified a previously unknown genus of gliders called Tous with help from local elders.

Researchers from the Australian Museum and the University of Papua recorded living examples of a marsupial once known only from ancient fossils and museum specimens. The animal identified is the pygmy long-fingered possum (Dactylonax kambuayai), seen in the remote rainforests of the Vogelkop Peninsula on New Guinea. The same fieldwork also revealed a previously undescribed genus of marsupial gliders, locally named Tous, including a new ring-tailed glider species. Local Tambrauw and Maybrat elders assisted with identification and naming, and the team placed the findings in a paper published in Records of the Australian Museum. Known details: - The rediscovered species is the pygmy long-fingered possum, Dactylonax kambuayai, previously known from fossil fragments and misidentified museum specimens. - Fossil jaw fragments of the possum from Kria Cave were dated between about 7,500 and 6,000 years old and were linked to a post-Misox cooling interval roughly 8,200 years ago. - Researchers identified a new genus of gliders called Tous, and described a ring-tailed glider species named Tous ayamaruensis. - The pygmy long-fingered possum is small and has a notably long digit on each hand believed to help probe for wood-boring insect larvae. - The Tous gliders are about 300 grams and are reported to feed on sap and some leaves, with traditional knowledge placing them in hollows of tall rainforest trees. - The Australian Museum reports the Global Wildlife Fund is working with local communities to protect forests in the Vogelkop peninsula, where these species were found. Summary: The discoveries extend evidence that relic lineages from an ancient Australian landmass persist in Vogelkop rainforests and that local knowledge contributed to identification and naming. The research was published in a scientific journal, and conservation work with local communities and the Global Wildlife Fund is reported as taking place to protect the forests where these species occur.