"Speaking for the world, I'm intrigued."
Posted on 05/12/2005 6:36:44 AM PDT by pissant
They live in the forests and limestone outcrops of Laos. With long whiskers, stubby legs and a long, furry tail, they are rodents but unlike any seen before by wildlife scientists.
They are definitely not rats or squirrels, only vaguely like a guinea pig or a chinchilla. And they often show up in Laotian outdoor markets being sold for food. There, visiting scientists came upon the animals and determined that they represented a rare find: an entire new family of wildlife.
The discovery was announced Wednesday by the Wildlife Conservation Society and described in a report in the journal Systematics and Biodiversity.
The new species in this previously unknown family is called kha-nyou (pronounced ga-nyou) by local people.
Scientists found that differences in the skull and bone structure and in the animal's DNA revealed this to be a member of a distinct family that diverged from others of the rodent order millions of years ago.
"To find something so distinct in this day and age is just extraordinary," said Robert Timmins of the Wildlife Conservation Society, one of the discoverers. "For all we know, this could be the last remaining mammal family left to be discovered."
Naturalists had trouble recalling when a new family of mammals was last identified. It may have been when, in the 1970s, a new family of bats was found in Thailand. The most active period of finding and classifying new species and families was in the 19th century, when explorers and settlers moved into remote interiors of the continents.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
"Speaking for the world, I'm intrigued."
ROFLMAO!
LOL...
WCS is a wonderful conservation society and, though I don't agree with every position they take, they are by far one of the most widereaching and politically balanced environmental groups out there.....their board is amazingly not an encampment of tree hugging loonies...if you are looking for a good environmental group to support, this is the one...
...tastes like...chicken...
thanks
Apparently the laotians like 'em. I wonder if Khan has fed any to Hank Hill...
I do not know what it is but I am sure a cajun has a recipe for it.
Yummy. Deep fry it on a stick!
Goes good with a pot o' rice!
That's actually not a picture of this animal. That's a mole rat, another wierd species, but not the one described in this article.
I can't find a photo of the new rat.
Yeah buddy!!
The perfect name.....for a rat from Laos that lives in the rocks!
Fact: Scientists examined the skull and bone structure and the animal's DNA
Theory: "revealed this to be a member of a distinct family that diverged from others of the rodent order millions of years ago."
There's a big gap in between.
Good Point. Regardless of the origin & lineage, still tastes like chicken!
Gay-new? Befitting the times.
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