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Bishop Museum helps rediscover 2 species thought to be extinct

Hawaiʻi Public Radio | By Catherine Cruz
Published March 10, 2026 at 4:25 PM HST
The pygmy long-tailed fingered possum, Dactylonax kambuayai, in the wild.
Jonathan Dashper/iNaturalist
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Bishop Museum
The pygmy long-fingered possum, Dactylonax kambuayai, in the wild.

Hawaiʻi's Bishop Museum has played a key part in identifying two mammals in a New Guinea rainforest that were previously thought to have been extinct for 6,000 years.

Bishop Museum CEO Kristofer Heglen co-authored the new research behind this discovery, and he spoke with HPR about the two marsupial species that beat extinction: the pygmy long-fingered possum and the ring-tailed glider.

The ring-tailed glider, Tous ayamaruensis, was thought to be extinct for thousands of years before a recent rediscovery in New Guinea.
Bishop Museum
The ring-tailed glider, Tous ayamaruensis, was thought to be extinct for thousands of years before a recent rediscovery in New Guinea.

More information about the rediscovery of these two species can be found on the Bishop Museum website.

Editor's note: Bishop Museum is an underwriter of HPR.

This story aired on The Conversation on March 10, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
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The Conversation Bishop MuseumScienceAnimals
Catherine Cruz
Catherine Cruz is the host of The Conversation. Contact her at ccruz@hawaiipublicradio.org.
See stories by Catherine Cruz
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