Pioneering small-ship expedition cruise company Heritage Expeditions is proud to have played a crucial role in supporting legendary mammalogist, conservationist, author, scientist and longtime collaborator Professor Tim Flannery in the rediscovery of a marsupial previously thought to be extinct for the last 6 millennia.
Flannery, a regular special guest and guide with Heritage Expeditions said “it felt like I had travelled back in time” when he saw the first images of the Ring-tailed Glider (Tous ayamaruensis), a 'Lazarus taxa’ (species that appears to have come back from the dead) known as Tous.
Tous’ discovery was more than a decade in the making for Flannery, and made possible by piecing together evidence gathered across the globe, including multiple voyages on Heritage Expeditions Indonesian Explorer expedition visiting Indonesia’s Misool Island, and connecting with the elders at Tomolol Village along with guest lecturing at the University of Papua’s Manokwari Campus.
“Heritage Expeditions played a crucial role in our project, I was also able to scout the coast along the PNG-Indonesian border, where fossils of Tous were found, and plan fieldwork there,” said Flannery.
“Given the remoteness of these regions, the cost involved in getting to them, and the other difficulties involved, I simply could not have undertaken this project without Heritage Expeditions.”
“Heritage Expeditions and their guests were foundation partners in a real scientific adventure, and I enjoyed sharing our new discoveries with them so much, often in real time, it was just unforgettable!” said Flannery.
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He fondly recalls the moment he confirmed the rediscovered species, the nearest living relative of the Australian Greater Glider and first new genus of New Guinean marsupial described since 1937.
“I was on another Heritage Expeditions voyage at the time and gave a lecture that night that even had me excited,” he said.
Heritage Expeditions Commercial Director Aaron Russ, who was the Expedition Leader on all of Flannery’s voyages, said it was an honour and continuation of Heritage Expeditions own legacy of discovery, partnering with Flannery.
“Tim really is one of the world’s true explorers and it’s a real privilege to support and share these voyages of discovery with him and our guests,” said Aaron.
“This incredible rediscovery follows Tim and our guests discovering 11 new mammals species when we first visited Kofiau Island and my father Rodney’s work which included rediscovering the previously thought extinct Campbell Island Teal more than 50 years ago,” he said.
“This further highlights the value of expedition cruising and Heritage Expeditions’ commitment to exploring unknown regions in support of research and science,” said Aaron.
Flannery said Tous’ discovery suggests possible further scientific breakthroughs may lie in the dense jungles of Indonesia’s Vogelkop Peninsula, an ancient piece of the Australian continent.
“Its forests may shelter yet more hidden relics of a past Australia,” said Flannery.
About Heritage Exeditions
Heritage Expeditions are Australasia’s only family-owned and -operated (second-generation) authentic small ship expedition cruise company.
Operated by the Russ family, a family of conservationists, biologists and adventurers, Heritage Expeditions are pioneers in conservation-based sustainable tourism and the ‘luxury of experience’.
We have been sharing and exploring New Zealand’s wildest places for more than 40 years (and supporting its conservation for more than 50 years), are the world’s most experienced Southern Ocean operators pioneering expedition cruising to the Subantarctic Islands and down to the ‘heart of Antarctica’, the Ross Sea, more than 35 years ago.
Heritage Expeditions authentic voyages also include explorations of the Kimberley coast and remote islands and shores of Indonesia, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Philippines and Japan aboard our purpose-built expedition vessels.
Heritage Expeditions offers guests exclusive experiences and authentic citizen science opportunities including an incredible cultural exchange with the Kwaio People of Malaita and assisting leading penguin scientists with their research at the world’s oldest and largest Adelie Penguin colony.
Heritage Expeditions has partnered with New Zealand iwi Ngāi Tahu on the Murihiku ki te Tonga programme – the world’s first indigenous-let Antarctic research programme, with New Zealand Nature Fund, Murihiku Regeneration and the Department of Conservation to launch the Maukahuka/Auckland Island Restoration Project, a NZ$80m project to rid wild pigs, feral cats and mice from New Zealand’s Subantarctic Auckland Island, and is a founding partner of NFP Learning Resources for Villages and has been raising funds for and delivering school supplies to remote villages in the South Pacific and in Asia with our guests since 2016.
Our voyages were included in influential travel bible Condé Nast Traveler's 'The 25 Best Places to Go in 2025' list, featured in television shows Luxury Escapesand Travel Oz, documentaries Antarctica from Above, Go Further South, and Nigel Marven’s Penultimate Penguin.