Hog-nosed rat discovered in Indonesia has unique features including big ears, tiny mouth and long pubic hair believed to assist with mating, scientists say
By Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney
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| Photo: Victoria Museum/EPA |
10:12AM BST 06 Oct 2015
Scientists have discovered a new species of rat in Indonesia with a strange mix of features never seen before, including a hog-like snout, big ears, a tiny mouth and "curiously" long pubic hair.
The rat, first discovered by scientists in 2013 in the remote mountain jungles on the island of Sulawesi, has been named Hyorhinomys stuempkei, or hog-nosed rat.
Scientists said the creature was so unique it has been listed as an entirely new genus.
"I am still amazed that we can walk into a forest and find a new species of mammal that is so obviously different from any species, or even genus, that has ever been documented by science," said Dr Kevin Rowe, a researcher from Museum Victoria in Australia.
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