The missing remains of an animal which has been extinct for more than 200 years have been found – in a cupboard.
Researchers from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, spent years trying to track down the long-lost remains of the final Tasmanian Tiger to ever grace Australia's landscape.
It was tracked to a dodgy deal in the 1930s, and stuffed in a cupboard at the museum, but was forgotten about and lost.
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It had been thought the remains, which comprises of a full skeleton and skin, had been discarded as the deal made to buy it was kept off the books due to laws at the time.
But it was found once again in a cupboard at the site.
Researcher Robert Paddle said: “The sale was not recorded or publicised by the zoo because, at the time, ground-based snaring was illegal and Churchill could have been fined.
“The thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) only lived for a few months and, when it died, its body was transferred to TMAG.
“For years, many museum curators and researchers searched for its remains without success, as no thylacine material dating from 1936 had been recorded in the zoological collection, and so it was assumed its body had been discarded.”
The remains were found after an unpublished list taxidermist's report from 1396/39 was recently found, and it mentioned the remains in it.
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This prompted a search – and it was found.
Kathryn Medlock, Honorary Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at TMAG, explained about the condition it was in when found.
She said: “The thylacine body had been skinned, and the disarticulated skeleton was positioned on a series of five cards to be included in the newly formed education collection overseen by museum science teacher Mr A W G Powell (from 1936).
“The arrangement of the skeleton on the cards allowed museum teachers to explain thylacine anatomy to students.
“The skin was carefully tanned as a flat skin by the museum’s taxidermist, William Cunningham, which meant it could be easily transported and used as a demonstration specimen for school classes learning about Tasmanian marsupials.”
The newly-found skeleton has been placed into the museum's collection.
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