Five ‘lost' species that have been recovered in SA

News24

2 days ago

In recent years, South African researchers have rediscovered several lost animal species, some of which had not been seen for decades.
Some of these species include the Blyde River flat gecko, Branch's rain frog, orange-tailed sandveld lizard, Pennington's blue butterfly and De Winton's golden mole.
Rediscovering these species is essential for their conservation.
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In recent years, South African organisations have rediscovered 'lost' animal species in the country, many of which occur nowhere else.
According to the Endangered Wildlife Trust's (EWT) conservation and data scientist Oliver Cowan, South Africa is vast, and the environment is changing. As a result, species may remain undetected either because they have gone extinct or because no one has found them in recent years.
He said rediscovering them was an essential first step in their conservation.
Learn more about the five species recovered recently in SA:
Blyde River flat gecko
In April 2025, two researchers from EWT, Darren Pietersen and John Davies, rediscovered the Blyde River flat gecko that had last been seen 34 years previously by scientist Niels Jacobsen.
According to Cowan, the Blyde River flat gecko is less than 10cm long and flat, allowing it to access rock crevices. Its large eyes, excellent night vision, and colour enable it to blend into the rock surfaces upon which it moves.
'Flat geckos do not have eyelids but a permanent transparent membrane protecting their eye. To keep this membrane clear, geckos are often observed using their tongue to clean their eyes,' Cowan said.
The Blyde River flat gecko feeds on insects.
According to the EWT report, Jacobsen collected two males in 1991 from a nearly unreachable, isolated hill in the Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga, but the gecko was not observed again until early 2025.
As the species had not been recorded for more than 10 years, Re:Wild, an international organisation that supports conservation, classified it as a 'lost' species.
In April 2025, Pietersen and Davies visited the Blyde River Canyon area to determine whether the gecko still inhabited the same isolated hill.
After securing the required permits to visit the site, which took two years, the researchers were able to access the area with a helicopter and found the species.
Branch's rain frog
Branch's rain frogs are different from most species of frogs as they do not have a tadpole phase, said Cowan. Instead, they emerge from eggs fully formed, even though tiny.
The species has a 'grumpy' face. It feeds on moths, beetles, and insect larvae.
A single specimen of the rain frog was originally found before 2008 in Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape.
The species was officially identified by scientist Alan Channing in 2012.
It was rediscovered in 2023 through a survey led by EWT.
Its habitat is subject to alluvial diamond mining and extreme weather events, and gathering more information on its distribution will help us protect its natural habitat.
Oliver Cowan
Orange-tailed sandveld lizard
Chad Keates/Supplied
The orange-tailed sandveld lizard is about the size of a ruler, characterised by its long orange tail.
They eat invertebrates such as termites, grasshoppers, and beetles.
Cowan stated that the lizard was captured once in 2005 near Lambert's Bay and again was coincidentally photographed on a camera trap in 2011.
He said the habitat where the species occurs has undergone substantial historical transformations, primarily due to agriculture.
'In more recent years, a slew of mining developments has occurred along the West Coast,' Cowan stated.
A two-week targeted survey by a team of herpetological (reptile and amphibian) experts rediscovered this species in 2022.
'The species will be uplisted to an endangered threat category as a result of the information gathered, which will ensure it is accounted for during future proposed developments within its habitat,' Cowan said.
Pennington's blue butterfly
Andrew Morton/Supplied
Pennington's blue butterfly is scientifically known as Lepidochrysops penningtoni. Its wingspan is between 3cm and 5cm.
'The upper parts of the Lepidochrysop males have a slightly pale, pearlescent, blue or blue-violet sheen, [while] the females are a duller brown,' Cowan explained.
He said this butterfly species was rediscovered in 2021 by the Lepidopterists' Society of Africa in the Northern Cape and was last recorded in 1968.
They have a fascinating relationship with ants.
Some live in ant nests, where the ants tend to them.
Others have evolved to exploit ants, using them for shelter, food, or both.
They feed on the flower buds or developing seed ovules of their host plants.
De Winton's golden mole
JP le Roux/Supplied
The De Winton's golden mole got its name from its shiny coat.
Unlike mole rats, which eat plant roots and make large mole hills, they are not destructive.
Cowan said an interesting fact about the golden mole is that it is more closely related to elephants than normal garden moles, and it is blind.
De Winton's Golden Mole is listed as critically endangered as its habitat has been significantly transformed, predominantly due to mining activities.
Oliver Cowan
The De Winton's golden mole was rediscovered in 2023 by researchers from the EWT who employed thermal detection, a sniffer dog, and eDNA analysis in targeted surveys after it had last been spotted 86 years ago.
eDNA is genetic material that organisms shed and leave in their environment, such as skin cells, hair, or excretions.
Soil samples from underground tunnels were tested to detect the golden mole's DNA successfully.