Found Once, Twice, or Thrice - 5 species that were discovered and then lost to science

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In this video, we're looking at 5 species that are only known from Museum collections. They've all only been documented a maximum of three times, and in several cases, only one specimen is known in the whole world.
1. Spotted Green Pigeon (Caloenas maculata)
2. Bullneck Seahorse (Hippocampus minotaur)
3. Zug's Monitor (Varanus zugorum)
4. Mauke Starling (Aplonis mavornata)
5. Speckled Skink (Oligosoma infrapunctatum)

[@melvinshine9841]

There is something deeply disturbing to me about the prospect of a species going extinct within the last 200 years before we barely even knew what it was.

[@PhotoBombomb]

the entire fossil record on earth in the ground right now is estimated to only contain 2% of all species that have ever existed on this planet so far. There’s 98% of species we’ll never know about because it’s literally impossible to document 😢

[@thurston5173]

I wonder if the spotted green pigeon is both the bird the author described from her grandfathers writing, and not the "titi". Record keeping was not as good back then, and it either could have been an error in translation or just a regional name for the bird specific to where her grandfather lived.

[@EEsmalls]

It is very unsettling to be confronted with how much we DON'T know

[@davidec.4021]

Everything we know of their existence is a drawing… truly fucked up

[@Jogyot3260]

Who know animal like Godzilla used to roam this planet once and their existence is completely out of our awareness

[@PinkWytchBytch]

I’m a watercolor artist, and I have to wonder. That one bird we only have a painting of, those probably aren’t the actual colors those paints used to be. Pigments are kinda finicky, some of them aren’t “lightfast”. Lightfast means they can hold their color for many decades in light, but “fugitive” colors tend to fade very quickly when exposed to any kind of light but particularly natural sunlight. So, given how old that painting is, I have to question if they were using older recipes from more natural “fugitive” pigments. If that’s the case, that may not be the color that bird is at all! There’s shades of yellow that fade especially quick, like within 6 months the color turns pale and washed out if it’s exposed to sun, and several shades of blue and brown and red are also “fugitive”. I’m so curious and fascinated by the possibility that the painting itself isn’t presenting its original colors

[@finnmcginn9931]

You make a very interesting point. Cheers

[@rudebega1494]

This reminds me of “The Loneliest Spider,” pardosa danica. Only one specimen was ever found, and I saw it on display at the Copenhagen Zoological Museum. It felt very melancholy, looking at that specimen and knowing that it was very probably one of the last of its species; it’s been presumed extinct now for a century.

[@albtckl]

Thank GOD!! We have more than enough spiders on earth already.

[@thisisahumanlol8255]

Spiders are generally harmless unless youre in Australia spiders are important predators of human pests. This type of bias can bring a lot of harm to the ecosystem(spiders are also essential in Australia) (Spiders are NOT dangerous in Australia I shouldnt have tried to imply this common myth)

[@insectilluminatigetshrekt5574]

This is sadly the case with dozes if not many hundreds of arthropods. Not only are there many species in collections that were seen once and never again, there are thousands of specimens sitting in collections that arent even identified at all, which may or may not be unique species already extinct.

[@stevowilliams8279]

@@thisisahumanlol8255Australian here, it’s a huge misconception that we have dangerous animals, America has it far worse. If you actually want a good example of dangerous spiders, I would say somewhere in South America.

[@lilwolfygaming3313]

This story reminds me of the Kaua'i 'O'o. There were a bunch of them on Kaua'i, but eventually humans came along. They went extinct due to deforestation and unnatural predators (human pets.) However, the last Kaua'i 'O'o was filmed, and after several years or so the species was deemed extinct. The last Kaua'i 'O'o was male, and scientists think it may have been mating season for his species, since the calls he was making were supposedly mating calls. Something a scientist said about him that really broke my heart was "He was calling for a female. A female that would never come."

[@pidgeonlanding]

Three birds that qualify: Prigogine's Nightjar - Single specimen from 1955 from the Itombwe Mountains in Zaire. Nechisar Nightjar - Single wing from Ethiopia in 1990. Cayenne Nightjar - Male specimen in 1917 and potential female specimen in 1982, both from French Guiana.

[@Alexander711]

You made it into part 2, awesome.

[@sgtstr3am785]

Nightjars is not a lucky name it seems

[@Rayrard]

No doubt the seahorse is fairly common once their specific habitat and gorgonian host are sampled. They are sometimes very host specific and found in deeper water than the usual large seahorses. They have done ROV dives off Australia and found undescribed pygmy seahorses just by looking close as specific gorgonians. I highly doubt this is extinct like the others probably are.

[@k2ggers961]

additionally, unlike almost every other environment on earth, it is very difficult for marine animals (bar mammals) from going extinct, due to the enormous size of the ocean, meaning acute changes to the environment are less common, which is primarily responsible for the extinction of land species. afaik there is only a few marine fishes that have been recorded extinct (less than 10) which includes a species of handfish and the java stingaree)

[@ryangriffin5362]

That being said, pygmy seahorses may be one of the most at-risk group of marine fishes for the same reasons handfish are. They are terrible dispersing or relocating, many species have very small ranges, and many species are highly dependent on certain habitats like coral reefs or seagrass meadows. If this species is only found in one small area off the Australian coast, and that area has been bottom-trawled into oblivion, that may actually pose an extinction risk. @@k2ggers961

[@chewy99.]

I’m also pretty sure Zug’s monitor is alive because it’s from an area that is very densely forested and not researched.

[@CoreyAved]

I'm not gonna lie. I love nature content that is both educational and entertaining.

[@theallknowingsause8940]

9:23 I know it's kinda messed up to say this about a dead animal but that pose is really funny to me, that's like the pose I would have in the middle of the night looking for the perfect comfy position

[@user-kt8yp5ho2y]

1:26 Green Spotted Pigeon 4:56 Bullneck Seahorse 7:32 Zug’s Monitor Lizard 10:44 Mauke Starling 14:40 Specked Skink

[@somebodyandthem]

This mfer should learn how to use chapters

[@jasonhernandez619]

That "mysterious starling" is not the only one from Raiatea. Raiatea also once had a native parakeet, known only from two specimens collected during Captain Cook's expedition.

[@peterashby-saracen3681]

I sincerely hope that 3D scanning becomes the norm when looking for these incredibly rare species. If it is enough to confirm the identity of any creature on the verge of extinction then every effort must be used to utilise the technology rather than sacrifice even one individual. Nobody would dream of destroying the Mona Lisa to confirm its authenticity... How much more precious is a species than a painting. In my books, infinitely more.

[@m.nic.5080]

As good of an idea as that is, these species would probably die from being sedated/restrained long enough to run a 3D scan anyway. Capture myopathy and extreme sensitivity to anesthetics are common with birds, reptiles and aquatic animals

[@Eosinophyllis]

This doesn’t work for a decent amount of arthropods, sadly :( which is all more tragic because they’re often some of the most if not the most important species in any given ecosystem

[@kellybraun7048]

I want to learn/hear more about the technological innovations for studying animals in their natural habitats and especially how to study endangered species. Obviously, photography has improved in leaps and bounds. I wonder how 3D modeling from photography might fit in. This is the first I have heard of the scanner. Based on other comments, it’s too slow to use without sedating the animal? Is it scanning the exterior or interior (like an MRI or X-ray)?

[@pickles3128]

Please do more plants! It is crazy to go to the botanical garden and see a sign saying "only one of 4 still in existence" beside a rainforest tree...

[@mckatelynchristensen]

That was stupid to euthanize the monitor lizard. In 1980, they should have known better. They could have easily kelp in in captivity to find out what adult pattern looks like

[@samstarlight160]

They thought it was a previously known species. They just wanted to use it as an example of a juvenile of that species. They didn’t know it was an entirely new species of monitor lizard, so they didn't have any reason to do anything special with it.

[@kyuutatsu]

With it being misidentified, they probably wanted to preserve a juvenile figuring they knew what the adult looked like. They had no idea it was a unique species at the time, so I kinda get why they did it.

[@BresciGaetano]

​@@samstarlight160special mean leave it be? Damn i sometime get lost with the slangs

[@ii8283]

​@@BresciGaetanoGet over it, hippie.

[@BingBongFairy]

​@samstarlight160 even still, basic observation would tell you this is different from another. Further examination should have been done. We /still/ make these kinds of blunders.

[@Fede_99]

Loved this video, I didn't know about most of these species and yes I would live to see a part 2 and hopefully even a part 3 because I'm sure that there are many others examples (sadly). Also I spot the giant gecko for part 2 👀 that animal and the story that surrounds it are always so interesting to me

[@julescaru8591]

Definitely interested in a part two, I’m so hoping that with the new technologies available today we don’t fall into past mistakes. All the best Jules

[@denisrobillard5540]

Thanks for this very useful video. I was most struck by the segment on the green spotted pigeon discovered by Thomas Davies and now housed at Liverpool. I have been studying the life and work of Thomas Davies with the view of unravelling his interesting life. As you pointed out he knew many field collectors like Governor P.G.King , Hunter and White in New Holland, as it was then called, and received many birds from there between 1790 and 1800. It is a shame that Davies never kept any field notes or journals from that time period. There is one book of sketches in the Hastings Museum, UK, but alas no Liverpool pigeon. Thanks for doing these videos and I look forward to watching more. Congrats on the wonderful content!

[@fredskov3556]

Would love a part two - these are great inspirations for animals to draw in my growing collection animal illustrations!

[@gecko2738]

As long as your not drawing beastiality, I wish you success with your drawings. You should make a video about them

[@fredskov3556]

@@gecko2738 haha no no, it's scientific drawings (Neutral poses, isoated on white backgrounds) or used to be anyway - had some 720 animal drawings, but recently just started over to rediscover what i wanna do with them

[@Birdwing7676]

@@gecko2738why on earth did your mind jump straight to that? Sounds like you were the one thinking of it my friend

[@millenial8212]

​@@gecko2738pretty weird comment ngl 😅

[@dannybright8708]

“No one notices when we leave. I mean, the moment when we really choose to go. At most you’ll hear a whisper, or a wave of a whisper, of the wave of a whisper, undulating down.” - Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, “The Lovely Bones”, 2009.

[@zo6679]

I’m with James on this one that book sucks

[@romey2486]

I really liked this video, and it inspired me to do more research into the Mauke Starling. While doing this I noticed a mistake in the video. You mention in the video that Buller’s description of the bird occurred in 1825 (around the same time as that Bloxam encountered it) but that can’t be true. All sources I can find have Buller’s description occurring in 1887 in the second edition of his book “A history of the Birds of New Zealand.” Also Buller was born in 1838 so couldn’t have been around in 1825 for the date you proposed. Although I could be wrong because there aren’t many sources I have direct access to.

[@kellyharrison5184]

Please, oh please make more videos like this! Very interesting and quite educational. Thank you for all of the hard work involved in making them.

[@c-puff]

Your topics are always so fascinating and unique!

[@Dan55888]

"Help us find this Zug Monitor! But we will rarely show you a proper color picture"

[@Ralleee]

I absolutely love this channel and your content. Top quality stuff! Keep up the good work, and I hope you keep growing

[@corvid...]

So happy I found this channel.. thanks for the content 😊

[@CaptPolybius]

I just gotta say how much I love this channel. Such high quality information delivered from someone with an EXCELLENT speaking voice. It's great for all ages without feeling like it's pandering to children. I feel like I'm leaving a 5 star review but I just can't get over how great this channel is. 😂 Thank you!

[@all.about.nature1987]

I appreciate all of the feedback and encouragement. :)

[@musical6228]

​@@all.about.nature1987me too

[@kellybraun7048]

Agreed! I wonder if these presentations would do well as a podcast? I enjoy seeing the visuals, but I suspect I will be “rewatching” most of the videos in the background. It’s great to hear interesting stuff in a rhythmic way, rather than the high excitement patterns often used in educational content aimed at younger audiences. I enjoy those as well, but I’m not going to listen to them when I have a headache, lol.

[@CrowSkeleton]

A really well put-together video, love the visuals of people and places as well as the creatures under discussion. I will point out that the Minotaur was a singular mythical being, the cannibal son of king Mynos' wife (who was cursed to mate with a bull because Greek gods), not a mini-tour mythical species...in short, the Minotaur comes under the category "species only seen once" too. :D

[@tlsdiogo4616]

Great topic man always enjoy your videos ❤

[@richardk6196]

Fantastic Video-I totally appreciate that you don't do clickbait. I saw the pygmy seahorse on the preview still (I'm kind of obsessed by seahorses) and decided to watch the video. Really great job! Part 2-Yes Please!

[@WaterGaveMe]

Loved this so much and can’t wait for the other videos!

[@No1.OriginalTrilogyStarWarsFan]

Fantastic video as always. Roll on Part 2

[@bobfish223]

I would love to see a part 2 ! . Also maybe a video on the 25 most wanted rewild list ? Big fan keep up the awesome videos . Your gonna make it big soon I can feel it .

[@tayarts12]

Really interesting video! I never knew about these species before, interested to see a part 2 or even a part 3, 4 etc. (Just saw as I wrote this comment that you uploaded a part 2 about 14+ hours ago! Will definitely be watching it!)

[@Daniel-kx4sy]

Yes, part 2 please

[@lenidragovich1471]

I was very sleepy but this video stimulated my mind, im officially subscribing!

[@andrewgraves4026]

Definitely want part 2!

[@RacecarsAndRicefish]

I own a fish (hypoptopoma sp. (1) ) which has probably been identified less than 5 times. I'm not willing to get him taxidermized but it would be very cool if I could give him a real species name beyond just "(1)"

[@kiraduma2128]

I'm getting more interested in the topic thanks to your videos 🙏🏻

[@GamerThatExists]

How does it say the video was 27 minutes ago but your comment was 22 hours ago???

[@all.about.nature1987]

@@GamerThatExists Patrons get early access to videos (24 hours)

[@GamerThatExists]

oh thanks@@all.about.nature1987

[@MuertaRara]

oh how do i hope they all get found in nature one day again

[@cvmcmanus3763]

Very interesting! Part 2 please.

[@ovicephalus5938]

I am surprised the "Paradoxical Seahorse", Hippocampus paradoxus didn't get a meantion along with the "Bullneck Seahorse". If you found it interesting, this one is definitely worth to check out!

[@Uncle_Duck]

Another great video!

[@camharris7154]

Here I am requesting a newt and salamander video once again ,amazing work as always very informative and entertaining

[@randeenjones426]

You should do this by region or country like a series. Trust me that would be very interesting

[@ebonykitsune5031]

Would love a part 2 ❤

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

Yes, a part two would be great!

[@UnknowableThen]

This is the only channel I have notifications turned on for, and the only channel where I look forward to new releases, top-quality stuff.

[@Felipedisturbed]

Ah yes, the lost media of wild life.

[@matiaslipszyc5279]

Great video , make part 2 please !!

[@dodoxasaurus6904]

PART TWO BABY!!!

[@cinemaipswich4636]

Darwin sketched drawings and brought back specimens on his voyage on the Beagle. Years later there were none left. Indeed, the specimens may have been the last of their breed.

[@timjozwiak2293]

Yes. Part two, please😊

[@dahaliantongue]

Among those delicate animals that need specific habitats on the list, monitor lizards roam freely here in Indonesia even in living spaces. It is insteresting that one of the lizard species is so endangered that it made its way to the list.

[@acas.04]

can’t waitt for part 2 🫶🏻💗

[@Twapska]

Yes please more of this subject 🙏

[@PT5-Shorts]

Really well done video

[@damiendutrey8440]

I'd love to see some invertebrate species like Pseudoyersinia brevipennis, a very smal mantid found in Hyères peninsula, in the south of france some 200~ish years ago and never found again since

[@chandraathithan11]

Part 2 eagerly waiting

[@Cgraseck]

Great vid. Thanks!

[@user-uc7vm3wi3b]

Love your videos so much 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@ahoteinrun]

Yes please part two. Where are you finding your information? I have quite a few books on this subject and am always on the lookout for more. If you share yours with me i'll share mine with you :P Actually i'll just tell you. Doomsday Book of Animals, A Gap in Nature, No Turning Back and a laundry list of others that are smaller or more obscure! I look forward to more videos thank you so much! Liked and subscribed :)

[@thescoffe]

How do you always drop such good and high quality videos? like how

[@rickh3714]

Butterfingers?🤏 👋 📼

[@keerthivasannambiraju955]

The Mystery Bird Of Raiatea was once owned by Joeseph Banks, the same man who owned the second specimen of the so called Spotted Green Pigeon, But both these specimens went missing or possibly stolen. Plus, Buller described Aplonis Mavornata in 1887 in his description of the Striated Starling which still exists today in New Caledonia. He thought it was a juvenile of that species.

[@nako__pako4948]

FUCK YEAH I fucking love hearing about animals

[@m.nic.5080]

Is there genetic proof that Zug’s monitor is a distinct species and not a color morph of an already documented monitor species? It wasn’t talked about in the video.

[@sarahmoorcroft8826]

I’d love to see a part 2

[@aDaewooLanos]

Nice to see NZ animals mentioned. I'm sure our skinks are doing fine in secret locations somewhere since we have larger animals like the takahē and NZ storm petrel that were declared extinct at one point then rediscovered. We have a lot of areas that are harder to venture through cos of the terrain.

[@aliahope-wilson4449]

I hope the skinks are doing okay. I remember catching skinks in Tauranga as a kid (a very long time ago) and keeping them as pets. Eventually the skinks disappeared from the areas where all the kids would go to hunt for them. Gotta hope people don't let their children do this anymore 😕

[@aDaewooLanos]

@@aliahope-wilson4449 At my old house we had a lot of skinks in our gardens and the house was like in the middle of a suburban area. They're still there but just better at hiding lol.

[@aliahope-wilson4449]

@@aDaewooLanos Yeah I don't see them now but if I'm on a hike I do occasionally hear rustling in the grass when they run away.

[@aDaewooLanos]

@@aliahope-wilson4449 If you look near places with lots of rocks during summer about morning to noon when the rocks are heating up you should see some :) Places near like murky water spots help too cos of the insects. They used to sit on the rocks and plants near my old pond in my yard around lunchtime in great numbers. Easily between 20 and 40 individuals ranging from 2cm to about 10cm..

[@liamgross7217]

@@aliahope-wilson4449that would be another good thing about NZ, you hear that sound in Australia and it’s a snake ready to kill you. 😬

[@windbringer9890]

yes i would like a part 2 please

[@jimc.goodfellas226]

I dont know why but i love these video topics

[@microwavedcheetos]

Maybe you can include Klemmer's Blind Snake (Argyrophis klemmeri) known from a single specimen caught in kuala lumpur malaysia in 1959

[@vidviewer100]

yes this was interesting thank you . pls do another one if you want

[@buntyjoy1800]

“ Many were collecting” no wonder they were never seen again tsk.

[@Nylak-Otter]

Seriously. Hearing about all the specimens they collected back in the day makes me a bit nauseous. "Look at this wonderfully elusive and rare creature! *QUCK KILL IT"*

[@DonkeysYears16]

Part 2 please!

[@randomusername3873]

Commenting for the algorithm.. Great channel

[@Janmayjai]

yes, please tell us more!!!

[@lo8932]

So what you’re saying is they discovered something, 1/1 of a kind, and decided to not let it reproduce and grow the newest species of its variation. And people are confused why they never saw it again ?

[@victorevaristo8494]

Here in Brazil, specificaly in Rio de janeiro state, we have the misterious Myrmotherula fluminensis. Collected in 1995(?), ALL we know about this tiny BIRD come from only one male collected in a city near to my, Magé city.

[@JcoleMc]

Could you do a part 2 on beebe's untouchable fish ?

[@stacierosario]

Part 2 please!!!!

[@FriendChicken]

Just like Gotye, he dropped one song then dipped.

[@GrandDawggy]

I get it

[@nazynntaintedveil3087]

This is the first video I've seen from your channel. Well done! Such an interesting topic - concisely and pleasingly presented.

[@annalucia4932]

Part two!! Or maybe a video on the list by re:wild about 25 most wanted species?

[@all.about.nature1987]

Hey. I actually have done a part 2 and a video on the 25 most rated species this month. Check them out on my channel

[@annalucia4932]

@@all.about.nature1987 oops! awesome, thanks for the neat videos !

[@bicyclingbum1551]

There's a rule us teenagers had at the skatepark .. gotta land the trick at least 3 times or it was a fluke ! Science could learn a thing or two from the kids at the skatepark.

[@insectilluminatigetshrekt5574]

The few vertebrate examples are notable, but it should be known that this phenomenon is very common with small invertebrates.

[@lillygames6117]

Before video question: How can they tell it’s a new species and not just a current one with a strange birth defect

[@ratticusmaximus3710]

My aunt once saw a weird fish in a lake, looked a bass but had longer pectoral fins and the colours of a crappie (both of which we have in our lake) we have a picture of it, could it be some new species?

[@avariceithink2280]

Probably not but if u ever see it again, take a picture of it and try to get in contact with someone

[@connorperrett9559]

It wouldn't hurt to contact an icthyologist and ask their opinion.

[@EnyawYorlig]

Don't need the background drone. (Music). It is a distraction.

[@connorperrett9559]

Mankind when they find the last member of a branch of the tree of life: So anyway, I started blasting!

[@user-fv7xq7rz3p]

Part two please

[@oliviarose6590]

Part 2 🙌

[@NaniFatimana]

Subscribed

[@PEPcessna]

More please

[@YusufGinnah]

That's why the aliens don't want to be discovered, any time they visit Earth...

[@keerthivasannambiraju955]

May I please know where the freaking hell you get the line drawings on the thumbnail from?

[@jackowilson6747]

Crazy. I live close to Eden and never knew about the Seahorse

[@boogiman007]

YES PLEASE!

[@madurathenuwara7760]

Need a video of channa barca ( barca snakehead ) .this is a another species only one specimen found and never seen again. Barca snakehead ,

[@whyyousotriggered6050]

Actually there are a lot of them.

[@ShOrt_RoUnD]

Part 2 pls

[@OldsReporter]

Are there such examples of plant species? I'm very curious.

[@moonlightautie474]

I'm curious as well

[@shawndickmann8215]

Euthanized for a collection, i have an issue with that. Science can be distructive. Theyre are never efforts to repopulate populations after a study, or efforts to restore the terrain after excavations.

[@grahamschmidt444]

There are certainly efforts to restore the land and species after collecting them. And the animals aren't just collected for a collection. It's for science and for a better understanding of the natural world.

[@shawndickmann8215]

@grahamschmidt444 I respectfully disagree, I've never been on a college biological study, where animals are taken for a study, euthanized for the study, then individuals are are bred to repoplulate what was taken and released!? No sir, never is done.

[@NecromancyForKids]

Considering pretty much all of these specimens were kept in private collections and some of them didn't even get released, doesn't sound like it's quite as helpful to science as one might imagine. @@grahamschmidt444

[@adsventuresome7511]

​@@grahamschmidt444yes! But I also want to point out, scientist did not use to do this until more recently. Even Charles Darwin did questionable things, including eating some of the specimens of tortoise he documented. It's important to note that we are trying our best to save the world's species and we can't always accout for the sins of the past.

[@grahamschmidt444]

​@@adsventuresome7511 I agree completely with this.

[@rebecculousrk]

The collections of museums, particularly that of the Smithsonian, are apalling in size and scope; especially in light of the planet's current massive loss of life. I think it was an article in Harper's that referred to it as "Loving animals to death".

[@goldenantsproductions4707]

Edna has already been used, in Colombia they are using it right now to find a especies of catfish