Biologist and study co-author Rob Felix said he stumbled across a grasshopper during a night walk on the island. (Photo by Rob Felix for The Washington Post)
A grasshopper thought to be extinct for four decades has been rediscovered, scientists recently announced in the Journal of Orthoptera Research.
Now known as the Monte Gordo grasshopper, was first discovered in 1980 on São Nicolau, Cape Verde, an archipelago off Africa. Scientists uncovered only one male specimen from 1979 to 1982, though, and they soon declared the species extinct.
But on a 2023 research trip, researchers say, they rediscovered the species and even found some elusive females. The researchers say they believe the species occupies an area just 12 kilometers square.
That belies the grasshoppers’ importance: The researchers write that the rediscovery provides "significant insight into the island’s ecological and evolutionary history,” acting as a "living fossil” that is unique because of its long isolation.
The bugs’ tough exoskeletons may indicate the species adapted to arid conditions like water loss or environmental stress, they write.
The find was a joyful one for the researchers, who say in a news release that they dreamed of finding another Monte Gordo grasshopper one day. Biologist and study co-author Rob Felix said he stumbled across a grasshopper during a night walk on the island.
"I immediately [recognized] its unique appearance,” he said in a news release."I shouted out loud: it’s Eyprepocprifas!”
Now that they know it still exists, the researchers hope the grasshopper can be protected with conservation measures like reforestation and grazing control to prevent an eventual extinction.
