It's a squirrel ... a rat ... a guinea pig ?


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BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Is it a squirrel, a rat, a guinea pig? Maybe a chinchilla?

The long-whiskered rodent with stubby legs and a tail covered with dense hair resembles them all but has turned out be a previously unknown species that actually represents an entire new family of wildlife, the Wildlife Conservation Society said.

The kha-nyou, as local people call it, was discovered by a team of scientists in a hunter's market in central Laos, according to a news release from the New York-based group.

"It was for sale on a table next to some vegetables. I knew immediately it was something I had never seen before," Robert Timmins, a WCS researcher, was quoted as saying of his find.

Another colleague, Mark Robinson, later discovered other specimens caught by hunters, and also identified bone fragments in an owl pellet. Based on morphological differences in the skull and bone structure, coupled with DNA analysis, it was estimated that the animal diverged from other rodents millions of years ago.

Little is known about the kha-nyou, other than it seems to prefer areas of limestone outcroppings and forest cover and appears to be a nocturnal vegetarian. It also gives birth to one offspring at a time, rather than a litter.

WCS is working in Laos, in southeast Asia, to stop an illegal wildlife trade that has devastated animal populations. While wild animals are hunted for food, the biggest toll has been taken by the smuggling of wildlife to China for traditional medicine and consumption. :x

more:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/05/12...s.ap/index.html

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Who would've thought that they'd discover something like that this late... I mean, different flowers etc. is understandable, but mammals (spelling?) ... hmm... interessting though :)

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Who would've thought that they'd discover something like that this late... I mean, different flowers etc. is understandable, but mammals (spelling?) ... hmm... interessting though :)

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i know. imagine all the fish and whatnot we haven't discovered yet. :wacko:
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umm.. why isn't there a picture picture of it? a drawing is so.. bleh

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