Purple Frog
The Purple Frog is probably the second ugliest creature on this list (sorry Goblin Shark) and it was once considered to be completely extinct. However, the Purple Frog looks more like a blob of purple slime than it does an actual animal. Still, the species was thought to have been extinct until being discovered back in 2003 by scientists in Palode, India. The Purple Frog lives the majority of its life underground and only comes out for mating. Furthermore, the primary food source of the Purple Frog are the termites located in their muddy habitat.
Purple Frog
Monito Del Monte
This adorable little rodent was once thought to be extinct as of millions of years ago. However, a scientist rediscovered the species in Chile around the bamboo forests located near the Andes mountains. The Monto Del Monte is also known as the mountain monkey and it is considered a living fossil. Right now the Montio Del Monte is flourishing and there seems to be very little concern of the creature going extinct again.
Monito Del Monte
Arakan Forest Turtle
Here is a reptile that looks just a little bit more cuddly than the crocodile. The Arakan Forest Turtle is one of the rarest species of turtle on the planet and they can only be found in captivity or in Western Myanmar. Scientists believed the Arakan Forest Turtle to be extinct back in the early 1900s but had to change their tune when one was found in 1994.
Arakan Forest Turtle
Gracilidris
If you find yourself flocking to any kind of insect like a no interest credit card then we have just the critter for you. The Gracilidris is an ant that was thought to have gone extinct over 20 million years ago. You would think that after 20 million years we could confidently call this nocturnal ant extinct. However, we would have been wrong. The Gracilidris popped back up after being found throughout Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay back in 2006. Rediscovering a lost form of life is even better than a low interest credit card, we’d say.
Gracilidris
Giant Palouse Earthworm
To further press our insect and cash back credit cards analogy above we’ll talk about the Giant Palouse Earthworm. If you absolutely adore insects then you’ll be glad to know that the Giant Palouse Earthworm has been rediscovered. Scientists thought that the bug was extinct back in the 1980’s but it was rediscovered in 2010 by scientists from the university of Idaho. What makes these worms special is that they can grow up to 3 feet in length and they are completely white, albino.
Giant Palouse Earthworm
Coelacanth
As a living fossil, the Coelacanth is probably the most well known ‘rediscovered’ animal in the world – as this fish was supposed to have roamed the waters of the world over 400 million years in the past. Scientists originally hypothesized that the fish had gone extinct around 60 million years ago, but this wasn’t the case. A Coelacanth was found off the shores of South Africa back in 1938 and since then more and more have been found.
Coelacanth
Goblin Shark
If we made animals extinct based on how ugly they were then the Goblin Shark would never have made it to today. The Goblin Shark is considered a living fossil with roots going back over 120 million years. Well known and reviled for its protruding snout and long horn like beak, this shark looks like something drawn up by Guillermo Del Toro. Furthermore, Goblin Sharks live too deep in the ocean to be a threat to humans.
Goblin Shark
Dwarf Cloud Rats
Most people wouldn’t weep over the supposed extinction of rats, but we love all animals equally. The Dwarf Cloud Rat was supposed to have gone extinct over 115 years ago but the furry little mammal was rediscovered back in 2012. These animals are still considered critically endangered and they are typically found throughout tropical forests which are always being threatened with destruction.
Dwarf Cloud Rats
Crocodiles
Is there any creature on the planet more naturally terrifying than the crocodile? The crocodile is the largest living apex predator in the world and also one of the most dangerous. Crocodiles are found in waters throughout the planet and they can survive in both fresh and salt water. Most importantly, crocodiles are the closest things to cliche looking dinosaurs on the planet and they have been around for 100s of millions of years.
Crocodiles
Narwhal
The Narwhal is one of the most beautiful and mythical creatures on the planet and for good reason. Narwhals were considered a myth for a long time before they were officially found throughout the Arctic. They were found in 1555 by a historian, Olaus Magnus, and now have faded almost the point of extinction with the primary culprit being Global Warming.
Narwhal
Takahe
The Takahe is a flightless bird that was thought to have been extinct back in the late 1800s. However, with a well tuned search scientists were able to locate a Takahe in 1948 in the Murchison Mountains. In our opinion, the Takahe looks like something pulled straight from a Pokemon game. Short and squat, the Takahe is a plump little bird considered to be endangered.
Takahe
Sea Sponge
While Sea Sponges are a staple in ocean photography and aquariums throughout the world, these small forms of life were once brought close to extinction. Sponge fishing and human intervention in reefs has brought the attention to how important protecting these beautiful creatures really is.
Sea Sponge
Giant Squid
Once thought to be a creature pulled straight from legends, the Giant Squid has moved more into the realm of science since its discovery back in 1878. Appearances were so rare that scientists thought these squids were extinct. However, Japanese scientists managed to find another Giant Squid back in 2005 and now research is fully underway. Giant Squids are considered to be hugely intelligent and dangerous to a host of other large creatures in the ocean.
Giant Squid
Ivory Billed Woodpecker
Bird spotting can be a sport that anyone can enjoy, but you’d have to get pretty intensely into the hobby to catch yourself sight of an Ivory Billed Woodpecker. The ivory Billed Woodpecker is a gorgeous bird that can be found throughout the Southeastern portion of the United States, namely in the forests. With this birds habitat constantly being destroyed by human intervention the bird was once thought to have become extinct back in the ’40s. However, a team of researchers managed to document the bird back in 2009.
Ivory Billed Woodpecker
Sharks
Now we’re talking about the ocean’s fiercest creatures: sharks. Sharks come in all shapes and sizes but the one constant throughout them all is that they are truly survivors. Come on, it’s a given, sharks are holdovers from millions of years ago and they’ve survived various periods of extinction. Perhaps that is why we considered them some of the toughest and scariest animals on the planet. Among some of the oldest living survivors, and rediscovered animals, is the Whale Shark. The Whale Shark was originally discovered in 1828 though they date back for over 60 million years.
Sharks
Pinocchio Lizard
The Pinocchio Lizard is renowned for its distinctive nose, as you can see below. It was believed to be extinct for 50 years, until it was rediscovered in 2005 deep in the cloud forests of Ecuador by a birder who saw it crossing a road.
Pinocchio Lizard
Eastern Quoll
This rather elusive marsupial, which was believed to have become extinct from mainland Australian over 50 years ago, was recently rediscovered in New South Wales, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. They are widespread in Tasmania, but were eradicated from larger Australia by the introduction of red foxes, and the last confirmed mainland spotting of the animal happened around Sydney in 1963. However in 2016, someone had discovered one in 1989 and had it stuffed, giving hope that they weren’t completely eliminated from the mainland.
Eastern Quoll
Jerdon’s Tree Frog
Jerdon’s tree frog was last seen in the wild way back in 1870 and has long believed to be extinct. Coincidentally, it actually resurfaced in India following a “three-year search that began in 2007” by a team led by biologist Sathyabhama Das Biju. Experts are under the assumption that it went unseen for so long due to “the regions where it lives now are poorly surveyed by biologists.”
Jerdon’s Tree Frog (Frankixalus Jerdonii)
Myanmar’s Jerdon’s Babbler
Rare? Check. Unseen for more than 70 years? Check. In fact, the last official observation was in July 1941. Scientific American said that after the species’s long absence, the animal was declared extinct and “written out of the birding books.” Furthermore, a team of researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society were rather shocked to find several of them living in Myanmar in May 2014. Looks like the books need rewriting.
Myanmar’s Jerdon’s Babbler
Kashmir Musk Deer
The Decimated was destroyed by Afghanistan’s unregulated hunting and deforestation, as such the Kasmir Musk Deer went unseen from 1948 until 2009. After surveying the country’s last remaining forests, a team of researchers made several sightings of the elusive animal and thus announced their findings in the scientific journal, Onyx.
Kashmir Musk Deer
Pygmy Tarsier
The little cutie with large eyes had not been observed for nearly 85 year years and was believed to be extinct until of course a team of researchers, guided by a Texas A&M University professor, caught one in a remote park in Indonesia in 2008.
Pygmy Tarsier
Black-Footed Ferret
These adorable ferrets are known as North America’s rarest mammal by the National Wildlife Federation. They are a member of the weasel family, which were hurt by habitat loss and disease, and eventually declared extinct in 1979. Miraculously just a mere two years later, a ranch dog brought a dead one home to his owners, John and Lucille Hogg, The Los Angeles Times reported that this gave conservationists hope. Three decades later, the animal has successfully rebounded. Welcome back!
Black Footed Ferret
Omura’s Whale
At first, Omura’s Whale was described as a distinct species in 2003, after years of eluding researchers, it was feared to be extinct. Then in October 2015, Salvatore Cerchio and a group of scientists captured photos of the whale off the coast of northwest Madagascar, marking that the first time the species had ever been filmed during field observations.
Omura’s Whale
Crested Gecko
1866 was the year the Crested Gecko was discovered, sadly for many decades it was believed to be extinct until it was eventually found in 1994 on the Isle of Pines in New Caledonia by German herpetologists.
Crested Gecko
Black Kokanee
This particular Japanese salmon was declared extinct back in 1940, after it was believed a hydroelectric plant made its native habitat “more acidic.” But a science professor named Tetsuji Nakabo and a team of researchers rediscovered the species yet again in 2010, living in a lake near Mount Fuji.
Black Kokanee
New Guinea big-eared bat
In 2012, scientists were working in the forests of Papa New Guinea and they happened to spot a small, strange bat, which didn’t match any of the current records of “microbats” living in the area. Then in May, a bat expert confirmed that the animal was, in fact, a type of bitty bat that was last seen in 1890. Although the bat is quite rare, it is no longer “possibly extinct,” and that’s great news!
New Guinea Big Eared Bat
Cuban solenodon
The Cuban solenodon has been spotted only 37 times since its discovery in Cuba in 1861 but by 1970, it was believed to be extinct. Jump back to 2003 and zoologists successfully captured and released a solenodon named “Alejandrito.”
Cuban Solenodon
Bermuda petrel
The rather dramatic rediscovery of the Bermuda petrel has become one of the most inspiring stories in the history of nature conservation. Why? Because they were believed to be extinct for over 330 years, as the birds had not been seen since the 1620s. Then, back in 1951, 18 nesting pairs were found on remote rocky islets in Castle Harbor. However, to this day, they are still battling extinction with a global population of just more than 250 individuals.
Bermuda Petrel
The Lord Howe Stick Insect
These insects grow so large, that they were once known as “tree lobsters.” However even a giant size couldn’t save the tropical bugs from hungry rats, which were introduced by humans in the early 1900s. For almost 50 years, everyone assumed they were extinct, then a handful of survivors remained living under a single bush, clinging to life of a 225-foot-tall rocky outcropping that juts out of the sea. Such troopers.
The Lord Howe Stick Insect
Chacoan peccary
By size, the Chacoan is the largest species of peccary, which is primarily a beast that resembles a pig but hails from a different continent and cannot be domesticated. They were first described in 1930 based only on fossil records, therefore they were believed to be extinct. Then in 1975, a few rather surprised researchers discovered there was one alive in the Chaco region of Paraguay. Currently, there are around 3,000 known Chacoan peccary.
Chacoan Peccary
The Nelson
Discovered in 1894, it wasn’t until 109 years later that the Nelson was rediscovered. Kind of sounds like a John Hughes movie but anyways. This fella was found on the slopes of the rather firey, pun intende, San Martín Tuxtla volcano in Mexico.
The Nelson
Javan Elephant
Shortly after the Europeans came to settle in southeast Asia did scientists believe the Javan elephant went extinct. However, it seems that a ceremonial elephant trade centuries ago indeed saved the Javan elephant from a rather unpleasant fate. Back in 2003, a study revealed the Borneo pygmy elephant is genetically distinct from any other Asian elephants and is likely to have originated on Java.
Javan Elephant
Terror Skink
Up until 2003, this rather rare reptile (whoa, tongue twister) was believed to be extinct. Maybe that’s because it can only be found in the lovely Isle of Pines. When the skink was released by specialists at the French National Museum of Natural History, it was only known by one specimen.
Terror Skink
The Clarion Nightsnake
For 80 years, the Clarion nightsnake hid from the public eye and it did so well at hiding biologists erased it from any scientific record. Until it was found again on a remote island off the coast of Mexico.
The Clarion Nightsnake
Mountain Gorilla
Once upon a time, the Mountain Gorilla was believed to just be a mythical creature. It wasn’t until explorers found them in Africa that myth became reality. Currently, there are only around 800 in existence and sadly their number is going drastically down.
Mountain Gorilla
Okapi
Is it a Zebra? Is it a Giraffe? Nope, well actually, it’a kind of a mixture of both! It wasn’t until 1887 when the Okapi was discovered by Sir Henry Morton that this creature was proven to be real and not mythical.
Okapi
Caspian Horse
Considered to be gone by 700 AD however in 1965, they were rediscovered deep in the Elbruz Mountains. These gorgeous creatures can stand to 40 inches high, which is you, pretty all. Currently, Caspian Horses can be found all over certain parts of England and the United States.
Caspian Horse
Gilbert’s potoroo
Initially discovered back in 1841, thought extinct by 1909, and then rediscovered in 1994. There are only around 100 of these little guys left right now.
Gilberts Potoroo
La Gomera giant lizard
Rediscovered in 1999, although there are only about 200 of them alive today. As they are quite intelligent lizards, they have the ability to avoid detection for decades so fear not, really.
La Gomera Giant Lizard
Madagascar Serpent Eagles
Believed extinct as they were unseen for over 60 years. However it was back in 1993 that Russell Thorstrom rediscovered them. currently, there are only less than 1,000 Madagascar Serpent Eagles which exist today.
Madagascar Serpent Eagles
