Not Dead Animals - Weekly Recap

A quick wrap-up of the animals discovered not to be extinct this week:

Armoured mistfrog

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This Armoured Mistfrog, thought by many experts to be extinct due to the recent amphibian chytrid fungus epidemic, was rediscovered by my boss, enterprise search god, Chris Cleveland, while he should have been working, on CNN. And more specifically, in a remote tropical area in northern Australia.

Tadpole Shrimp

Heavy rains in Scotland have created perfect conditions for the reemergence of the tadpole shrimp, thought extinct in the UK until recently. The little critter resembles a tiny horseshoe crab and lays eggs which can lie dormant in dry pools for decades, making this discovery maybe not so unexpected. Also called triops, these crustaceans are most notable for appearing in this awesome YouTube video.

Okapi (not wiped out by civil war)

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While hoof prints and dung have been identified in the past, okapi in the wild have never been caught on film. Well the Zoological Society of London has finally done so, proving that the okapi does not actually possess the power of invisibility, the ZSL's previous working hypothesis. This close relative of the giraffe is a frequent target of poachers and publicity hungry ZSL cameramen.

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Thanks to JP Berkery for cluing us into this last one.

More like this

Um, I saw a pair of okapis in the San Diego zoo a few years back, so they were known to not be all that extinct. Or, I guess, all that elusive. Is the news here only that they were filmed in the wild?

I adored the Triops video. The music really made the video. And, I apparently like to watch the little critters do their thing. Thanks for sharing. The narration was a hoot, loved it all.

Pat

The okapi might just be my favorite animal ever! I'm so glad there are still wild ones out there!!!

By Melissa G (not verified) on 12 Sep 2008 #permalink

okapi is unknown for me . I am so much glad to see the pictures of it but i want to know more about it.

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brianna

A.H. Infosource

I have seen Triops in temporary waters in Texas and in Venezuela. I would guess, not having checked, that they are present on all continents except Antarctica.

By Jim Thomerson (not verified) on 14 Sep 2008 #permalink