# What is the largest re-discovered animal that was believed extinct? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 25, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212 "2024-10-25T17:58:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/1 "2024-10-25T17:58:36Z")
The thread about the possibility that the Tasmanian Tiger may still be alive somewhere isn’t getting much movement. The premise of the query begs the question? How big does an animal declared extinct have to be before re-discovering it becomes a mirage and not anywhere near a likely prospect? The thing is, there are various species that were thought extinct, and then were re-discovered somewhere. However, to my recollection, most of these are small life forms (I can’t tell you exactly now, but as far as I remember, typically, insects, songbirds, mice. What, then, is the biggest animal species that was ever rediscovered after being declared extinct? And would it have been a land animal or an aquatic one? I imagine there could be a lot of species still lurking in the oceans that have not been discovered yet. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/2 "2024-10-25T18:00:52Z")
> [@themapleleaf](#): > > What, then, is the biggest animal species that was ever rediscovered after being declared extinct? The largest animal species that was rediscovered after being considered extinct is the [Chacoan peccary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chacoan_peccary); a pig-like mammal that was thought to only exist in fossil records until a living population was found in the Chaco region of Paraguay, making it the largest rediscovered species by size. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/3 "2024-10-25T18:22:15Z")
I realise it’s not a land animal but what about the coelacanth > **[Coelacanths: the fish that 'outdid' the Loch Ness Monster](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/coelacanths-the-fish-that-outdid-the-loch-ness-monster.html)** > > Meet the remarkable fish that turned up alive in 1938, despite having been presumed extinct for 70 million years. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/4 "2024-10-25T18:22:31Z")
Beat me by seconds j ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/5 "2024-10-25T18:28:19Z")
There was a thought to be extinct Monkey in Borneo, rediscovered. I want to believe there’s been a couple of these. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/6 "2024-10-25T18:54:10Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I realise it’s not a land animal but what about the coelacanth Does the coelacanth count, though? It is a primitive fish belonging to a higher taxon that was once considered extinct, but isn’t it true that the on the species level, it’s a “modern” species and not one known from the fossil record? Maybe I should have been more specific. I meant to ask what _species_ believed to be extinct was re-discovered. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/7 "2024-10-25T20:05:45Z")
The [Wondiwoi Tree Kangaroo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wondiwoi_tree-kangaroo), known from a single specimen found in 1928 and believed by biologists to be extinct was rediscovered a few years back. Smaller than your peccary, but size isn’t everything. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/8 "2024-10-25T20:28:32Z")
The term is _lazarus species._ Most arent very big- > **[Back from the dead: meet 10 animals once presumed extinct](https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/animals-once-presumed-extinct)** ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/9 "2024-10-25T20:45:09Z")
I think with this qualification, you have to be looking at species whose extinction happened in recorded history, simply because pretty much anything that exists as a fossil species is not likely to be the same as any extant living species - because nature doesn’t stand still. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/10 "2024-10-25T20:49:04Z")
Sure. I didn’t set as a condition that the species be prehistoric. Indeed, the Thyalacine / Tasmanian Tiger / Tasmanian Wolf of the other discussion only went extinct in the 20th century. Or did it? Could it end up being a “Lazarus taxon”? An Australian former colleague was of the opinion that it was still kicking around somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/11 "2024-10-25T20:53:51Z")
The biggest lazarus species was not an animal, but a plant. The australian “dinosaur” tree, the Wollemi Pine Tree, _ **Wollemia nobilis** _, which is not actually a pine, but a _[Wollemia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollemia)_ conifer, probably is the best known recent example: > **[The top secret mission to preserve the 'botanical find of the century'](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-06/the-wollemi-pine-dinosaur-tree-was-long-thought-extinct/103292808)** > > The Wollemi Pine was thought to have gone extinct two million years ago, until an off-duty ranger stumbled across a grove. Now, experts are doing everything they can to give the tree a second chance.  ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/12 "2024-10-25T20:53:58Z")
For the coelocanth fans, here’s a great video of divers with re-breather equipment actually finding some! They’re bigger than I envisioned. Skip to around the 15 minute point: [Diving with coelocanths](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_ThemgWNiE) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/13 "2024-10-25T20:56:55Z")
How come nobody came up with the coelocanth? At 200 lb. it would be larger than a peccary. It may not be the specific species we found ancient fossils for, but all related species were considered extinct when it was found. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/14 "2024-10-25T21:02:21Z")
According to that article, there are no conclusive fossil records of this plant, so whilst people are calling it a ‘living fossil’, it seems there wasn’t any point at which people knew about it, but believed it extinct. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/15 "2024-10-25T21:48:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > How come nobody came up with the coelocanth? You’re right, only four out of 12 posts above yours were specifically about the coelocanth. 1/3 of a short thread is easy to miss! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/16 "2024-10-25T22:45:08Z")
If you want the largest extinct plant then consider the [Metasequoia AKA Dawn Redwood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasequoia). This cousin of our Giant Sequoia was only known from fossils until located in China in the 1940s. Growing to 165 ft. or more it is a massive tree. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/17 "2024-10-25T22:59:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > [Metasequoia AKA Dawn Redwood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasequoia) Those sure got disseminated quickly. I used to sell them at a nursery in central Indiana back in the late 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/18 "2024-10-25T23:09:37Z")
Again with the dawn redwood, the living species is not the same as the fossils - it’s placed in the same genus, but it’s not the same species. I suppose if someone had decided the entire genus was extinct, then it would maybe meet the OPs requirement by inclusion, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/19 "2024-10-26T00:06:55Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I suppose if someone had decided the entire genus was extinct That’s precisely what people thought until they found the extant species ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212/20 "2024-10-26T00:45:03Z")
I’ve got some lumber from one that was cut down when it was nearly 100 ft. tall. They can grow fast, nearly 2 ft. a year, so that might have only taken 50 years. I have one in my backyard now. 4 ft. tall when we got it, grown more than a foot since planted in late spring 2023. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-re-discovered-animal-that-was-believed-extinct/1009212.md?page=2)