Rodents of unusual size.
Posted on 09/07/2009 5:35:41 AM PDT by Wardenclyffe
Rats as big as cats, fanged frogs and grunting fish - they sound like something from a horror movie.
But, incredibly, there is a 'lost world' on a distant island where these nightmarish creatures really exist.
A team of scientists discovered the bizarre animals - and dozens of others - at a remote volcano in Papua New Guinea.
In the kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosavi, they found a habitat teeming with life which has evolved in isolation since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago.
Among the new species was the the Bosavi Woolly Rat.
One of the biggest rats in the world, it measures just over 32 inches from nose to tail and weighs 3lb.
The silvery grey mammal has dense fur and its teeth suggest it has a largely vegetarian diet and probably builds nests in tree hollows or underground.
Mr Buchanan and Smithsonian biologist Dr Kristofer Helgen were first on the scene when the rat was found by a tracker from the local Kasua tribe. Dr Helgen said:
'This is one of the world's largest rats. It is a true rat, related to the same kind you find in the city sewers, but a heck of a lot bigger.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
The biggest rat I’ve ever seen is now in the White House and his name is BaRAT.
Rodents of unusual size.
A team of scientists discovered the bizarre animals - and dozens of others - at a remote volcano in Papua New Guinea... the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago.
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I saw wharf rats as big as cats (bodies only) in a dark building where you wait for the ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island.
Heard noises and turned on the headlights. Viola’
I think they were feeding on the scraps that tourists threw out their windows.
I'll be moving to New Guinea soon
Gonna be a rat wool tycoon.
Ha Ha -— Didn’t know there was a Dem chapter in New Guinea...
ping
THANKS.
No problem.
I thought the story was kinda interesting.
Vancouverats.
INTERESTING, INDEED.
THX.
oh NO! No wonder Whiskey growls.
Beautiful. I really like spiders.
The first time I saw a possum in the back yard very, very long ago, I thought it was a giant rat.
If it turned out to be a giant possum, show him this 127 Pound Cabbage and make your getaway:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2332846/posts
Do they like pumpkins? The county fair is on right now, and I might be able to get a nice, big one.
And the two folks in the picture represent a state with a reputation for having beautiful people. How did that happen?
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