Overview
- Researchers verified the pygmy long-fingered possum (Dactylonax kambuayai) and a ring-tailed glider now placed in the new genus Tous (Tous ayamaruensis) after the species were long known only from Holocene fossils.
- The confirmations draw on reexamined specimens misidentified in the University of Papua New Guinea collections, field images posted by citizen scientists, and local expertise from Tambrauw and Maybrat elders.
- The studies, led by Tim Flannery and Kristofer Helgen, are published in Records of the Australian Museum with supporting statements from the Australian Museum and the Bishop Museum.
- Both animals were documented in the remote Vogelkop (Bird’s Head) Peninsula of West Papua, with exact sites withheld to deter wildlife trade and disturbance.
- Scientists warn of logging and land clearing pressures and call for targeted surveys to map ranges, assess protection within park systems, and guide urgent conservation action in the region.