Leonardo DiCaprio Instagram – FOUND: The Pernambuco Holly (Ilex Sapiiformis), one of the world’s top 25 most wanted lost species, has been rediscovered in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. It’s the 9th lost species to be rediscovered on @rewild’s Search for Lost Species most wanted list. It had not had a documented sighting in 186 years. Ecologist Gustavo Martinelli led an expedition team that scoured the collections of botanical gardens and universities throughout Brazil, hoping to find any overlooked or unidentified specimens tucked away that could help a field search. They discovered two plants collected 45 years apart and one of the plants pointed them to the metropolitan region of Recife. In a small patch of forest the expedition team found four individual trees. The area was once dense Atlantic tropical forest, but is now mostly urban areas interspersed with sugarcane plantations. Much of Brazil’s southeastern Atlantic forest has been destroyed and less than 5% remains intact. The forest that does remain is very fragmented. The search for more Pernambuco Holly trees isn’t over. Working with Jardim Botânico de Recife and other local partners the expedition team is hoping to find more trees, collect their seeds and germinate them. #LostSpecies