Tag: Africa

blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons)
First rediscovered in 1983 and now critically endangered (CR): the blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons). Its habitat has almost completely disappeared, and targeted hunting is placing additional pressure on this rare species. (© Mathias Appel, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Lemurs on the brink of extinction: why 95% of species are threatened – and how the meat trade is accelerating their decline

For more than 50 million years, lemurs have lived exclusively on Madagascar, where they evolved in complete isolation into more than 100 species known today – from the tiny mouse lemur to the imposing indri. Nowhere else on any continent or island do they exist in the wild. Yet in

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Genom des Nördlichen Breitmaulnashorns entschlüsselt
Angalifu, the bull that died in 2014, lives on in research: in 2025, the first complete genome of the northern white rhino was decoded from his skin cells. Is this the key to saving the subspecies? (© Sheep81, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Hope from the Lab: Genome of the Northern White Rhino Decoded

The northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) is functionally extinct. Since the death of the last known male, Sudan, in 2018, only two females remain worldwide: Najin and Fatu, both at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Neither can carry a calf to term anymore. But an international research group has

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Lipochromis (Haplochromis) microdon Wiederentdeckung
Haplochromis microdon, an endemic cichlid from Lake Victoria, was considered lost for decades. The species can reach a length of up to 14.8 cm and is one of the specialized fish fry predators in the lake's ecosystem. (© Dr. Anna Mahulu, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern)

Lost in Lake Victoria: Cichlid Haplochromis microdon rediscovered after 40 years

For decades, it was considered lost—perhaps even extinct. But now there is new hope for Haplochromis microdon, an endemic cichlid species from Lake Victoria: As reported by the organization SHOAL in an article by Anna Mahulu, the species was detected for the first time since 1985 during targeted research expeditions

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Eyprepocprifas insularis Monte Gordo grasshopper
A male Monte Gordo grasshopper, photographed in January 2023. The rare species was last recorded in 1980 and was considered extinct thereafter. Males reach a body length of around two centimetres, while females can grow to over three centimetres. (© Rob Felix, from: Felix et al. (2025), Journal of Orthoptera Research, CC BY 4.0)

Rediscovery on São Nicolau: the Monte Gordo grasshopper is no longer considered extinct

After more than four decades without a single confirmed record, it was considered extinct. But in January 2023, Dutch entomologists Rob Felix and Annelies Jacobs made a surprising discovery in Monte Gordo Natural Park on the Cape Verde island of São Nicolau: in the beam of their flashlight, a grasshopper

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Sudan: Das letzte Nördliche-Spitzmaulnashorn-Männchen, das 2018 verstarb
The animal in the photo is Sudan, the last male northern white rhino. He died in March 2018. He had no horns, as they had deliberately been removed to protect him from poachers. (© Lengai101, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Can We Still Save the Northern White Rhino?

Deep in the African savanna of Kenya, in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy wildlife reserve, live the last known representatives of their subspecies: 24-year-old Fatu and her 35-year-old mother Najin. The northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), a subspecies, stands on the brink of final extinction. Yet international research teams are

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Quagga
The extinct quagga was about 257 centimeters long and reached a shoulder height of 125 to 135 centimeters. Unlike other zebras, its brown and white stripes were located on the front part of its body, while the rear part of the body was unstriped. (© Nicolas Marechal, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Quagga

Half zebra, half horse The British naturalist William Burchell is often regarded as the discoverer of the animal that travelers described as “half zebra, half horse” or “unfinished zebra“—the quagga. However, the species had already been mentioned earlier by explorers. Even before Burchell’s “discovery” in 1812, the English naturalist George

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das einzig bekannte Foto vom Kaplöwen
The only known photograph of the Cape lion, which went extinct in the mid-19th century. (© See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Study Questions the Myth of the Extinct Cape Lion as a Distinct Subspecies

A study published yesterday in Scientific Reports questions the taxonomic status of the Cape lion (Panthera leo melanochaita), which was driven to extinction around 1860. For a long time, this large cat was considered a distinct subspecies, characterized by its striking black mane that extended over its shoulders and belly,

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Im Makira-Wald wiederentdeckt: Tausenfüßler Spirostreptus sculptus
An expedition to the Makira Forest in Madagascar rediscovered the millipede Spirostreptus sculptus, which had been missing for more than 125 years. (© Dmitry Telnov)

Madagascar: Expedition Rediscovers 21 Lost Species in the Makira Forest

A scientific expedition to the Makira Forest, the largest and best-preserved forest area in Madagascar, has rediscovered 21 species long lost to science. Among the rediscovered species are three iridescent, nearly transparent fish species and a millipede last documented 126 years ago. The expedition was part of the Search for

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Haplochromis vonlinnei holotyp Buntbarsch Victoriasee
The brownish-gray cichlid Haplochromis vonlinnei reached a length of nearly 16 centimeters. Its snout was relatively pointed and its teeth strongly curved. It is assumed that the species was a specialized piscivore, as remains of smaller cichlid species were found in the intestines of collected specimens. (© Eelco Kruidenier, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Haplochromis vonlinnei (Cichlid)

One of 500 furu Haplochromis vonlinnei is a probably extinct cichlid species from Lake Victoria in East Africa. The original scientific description of the species was published in 2008 by Dutch ichthyologist Martien J. P. Van Oijen based on five specimens caught between 1978 and 1980 in the southern part

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Nördliches Breitmaulnashorn
The last two specimens of the northern white rhinoceros are living in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a protected area in Kenya. (© Karimi Ngore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Successful embryo transfer gives hope for the northern white rhino

The critically endangered northern white rhino subspecies (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), whose population has fallen to two female animals, could be saved thanks to a major success in reproductive medicine. Scientists have successfully carried out an embryo transfer in the southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum), even though the first attempt

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