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Changes in rat size reveal habitat of 'Hobbit' hominin
EurekAlert! ^ | March 13, 2019 | Emory Health Sciences

Posted on 03/17/2019 11:30:01 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

Murids, as the rat family is known, are more taxonomically diverse than any other mammal group and are found in nearly every part of the world... The study was based on remains recovered from the limestone cave known as Liang Bua, where partial skeletons of H. floresiensis have been found, along with stone tools and the remains of animals -- most of them rats. In fact, out of the 275,000 animal bones identified in the cave so far, 80 percent of them are from rodents... The study encompassed about 10,000 of the Liang Bua rat bones. The remains spanned five species with distinct sizes, from the mouse-sized Rattus hainaldi up to the housecat-sized Papagomys armandvillei -- commonly known as the Flores giant rat. After categorizing the bones, the researchers could then directly link them to both species and environmental types. While rats can adjust to new environments, the morphologies of different species tend to be adaptive to their preferred environment. For example, the habitat of the medium-sized Komodomys rintjanus, included in the study, is primarily open grasslands intermittent with patches of forest. In contrast, the tiny R. hainaldi and the giant P. armandvillei both prefer more closed or semi-closed forested habitats. Tracking the relative abundances of the different rat species over time indicated that the local ecology was mostly open grassland 100,000 years ago, transitioning to a more-closed, forested habitat around 60,000 years ago. That is around the same time that skeletal elements belonging to Homo floresiensis, the pygmy Stegodon, giant storks, vulture and Komodo dragons disappear from Liang Bua.

(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientnavigation; dietandcuisine; flores; floresisland; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; hobbit; homofloresiensis; komododragons; liangbua; liangbuacave; multiregionalism; navigation; rats; stegodon
This is a graphic image of the Liang Bua rat species used in the study. [Credit: Image from the research paper]

This is a graphic image of the Liang Bua rat species used in the study. [Credit: Image from the research paper]

1 posted on 03/17/2019 11:30:01 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

2 posted on 03/17/2019 11:31:26 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (this tagline space is now available)
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To: SunkenCiv

Humans are more closely related to rats than cats and dogs.


3 posted on 03/18/2019 2:55:25 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Facts are racist.)
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To: Moonman62
Humans are more closely related to rats than cats and dogs.

After Cohen's testimony show before congress, that' is most evident.

4 posted on 03/18/2019 3:09:39 AM PDT by Sirius Lee (In God We Trust, In Trump We MAGA)
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To: Sirius Lee

What message do the sheep sized rats in NYC say?


5 posted on 03/18/2019 4:06:09 AM PDT by oldasrocks (Heavily Medicated for your Protection.)
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To: SunkenCiv

The Tale Of The Giant Rat Of Sumatra.


6 posted on 03/18/2019 4:07:53 AM PDT by jmacusa ("The more numerous the laws the more corrupt the government''.)
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To: SunkenCiv
"Once they got large enough to vote democrat..."

Hence, no more hobbits.

7 posted on 03/18/2019 4:28:29 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists...Socialists...Fascists & AntiFa...Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: jmacusa
R.O.U.S.

Rodents Of Unusual Size


8 posted on 03/18/2019 6:17:28 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (The media is after us. Trump's just in the way.)
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To: Moonman62
Rodent you know.

9 posted on 03/18/2019 9:15:34 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (this tagline space is now available)
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To: SunkenCiv

Pet rats are intelligent, loyal, affectionate and clean. People like having the critters around them.


10 posted on 03/18/2019 10:07:32 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: goldstategop
Same is said about tarantulas.

11 posted on 03/18/2019 10:56:23 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (this tagline space is now available)
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To: SunkenCiv

The hairy spiders are cute. People choose their own pocket pets.


12 posted on 03/18/2019 11:46:16 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: goldstategop
Eensy-beensy spider crawled up the birthday cake
Eensy quickly learned he'd made a big mistake
crawling up a candle as the cake was cut
Eensy-beensy spider, he burned his little butt.

13 posted on 03/18/2019 9:12:05 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (this tagline space is now available)
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