Papa New Guinea has one of the world’s richest ecosystems. It is believed to contain seven percent of the Earth’s biological diversity. Every year new species are discovered there however, a lack of documentation makes it difficult to know much about the health or size of the population of those species.

A particular bat species that resides there, the New Guinea big-eared bat (Pharotis imogene) is listed as “critically endangered” and possibly extinct on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List. It has that listing because it has only been found once, by an Italian scientist in 1890. No specimens of the bat have been seen before or since until now.

University of Queensland School of Agriculture and Food Sciences students Catherine Hughes and Julie Broken-Brow were on a field expedition in July, 2012 in the coastal region of Abau when they came across one of the animals. The students delivered the specimen to the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery where it remained for two years until it was requested for study by Australian Museum researcher Harry Parnaby.

“The species was presumed extinct. We captured one individual about 120km east of the only previous known locality at Kamali,” said Dr Luke Leung in a statement.

In order to verify the find, researchers had to consult with the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Genova, Italy where the specimens found in 1890 are housed.

The New Guinea big-eared bat is the only known member of the genus Pharotis. It is distinguished from other Papau New Guinea bat species by its large ears and by the nose-leaf located behind its nostrils.

“Further studies need to be done to establish whether the New Guinea big-eared bat is one of a small number of mammal species endemic to the south-eastern peninsula region, or if it occurs more widely. Many of the coastal lowland habitats throughout Papua New Guinea are among the most threatened in the country due to clearing for logging and agriculture, and more field surveys of local bat populations could assess the conservation status of the species and inform future strategies to ensure their preservation,” said Dr Leung.

Additional information about the new find  can be found in the May 28 issue of Records of the Australian Museum.