In a ‘lost city’ in the Honduran rainforest, researchers have discovered 3 animals thought to be extinct

Trond Larsen/Conservation International

• In a "lost city" in the Honduran rainforest, scientists have discovered creatures previously thought to be extinct.
• These rare animals, including a pale-faced bat and false tree coral snake, hadn’t been seen in Honduras for at least five decades.
• One fish species that they found had never been documented before.
• Many other plant and animal species in the region are endangered and at risk of extinction.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories. 

Deep in the Honduran jungle lies a "lost" city: La Cuidad Blanca, or the White City.

The ancient place remained untouched for more than half a millennium after ancestors of the indigenous Pech people quickly vacated the city. Archaeologists squabble over whether the city was ever actually lost, but they agree that its lush environment offers a mecca for diverse plant and animal species.

Recently, a team of researchers with the non-profit called Conservation International ventured into the protected, remote Mosquitia rainforest in Honduras to observe the myriad species in the White City.

In one particular area of the complex, called City of the Jaguar, they discovered at least three species previously thought to have been extinct. They also found one previously undocumented fish and many other amphibians and mammals that are threatened with extinction.

Read More: Frogs are dying off at record rates — an ominous sign the 6th mass extinction is hitting one group of creatures hardest

"Many of these species are uncommon or rare in other parts of their range due to habitat loss, degradation, hunting and other pressures," the Conservation International researchers wrote in a new report.

Here are nine of the incredible creatures they documented in the "City of the Jaguar."

The Cuidad Blanca site is so remote that the researchers had to be transported to and from the complex by helicopter. They brought an armed soldier escort for protection on the expedition, which took place in 2017.

Rodrigo Abd/AP

The newly released report describes their findings. One creature they observed was the false tree coral snake, which was thought to have been extinct in Honduras since 1965.

Trond Larsen/Conservation International

The tiger beetle had only previously been observed at a single site in Nicaragua, and was also thought to be extinct.

Trond Larsen/Conservation International

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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SEE ALSO: These 15 ocean species have already gone extinct. A dozen others will probably disappear in our lifetime.

Source: Business Insider – awoodward@businessinsider.com (Aylin Woodward)