Critically endangered hare spotted in surprising location for the first time in 40 years — but it was already dead

A close up of a brown hare sitting in dark green grass. The hare's eyes glow red in the flash from the camera.

For the first time in four decades, scientists have announced a confirmed sighting of a critically endangered hare in part of its native range, after spotting its completely flattened carcass on a roadside.

Researchers were traveling for fieldwork on Hainan, an island in southern China, when one member spotted the roadkill by chance. Despite the carcass's severely damaged condition, they immediately recognized it as the little-known Hainan hare (Lepus hainanus). The species, which is found only on Hainan, is among the world's most understudied lagomorphs, the mammal group that includes rabbits, hares and pikas.