New Giant Rat species found in Papua New Guinea (Video)
by Rich Bowden - Sep 11 2009, 04:59-3029826066_b764b378b1_1.jpg)
Img: Mount Bosavi volcano. Credit: panvorax/flickr.
In an amazing stroke of good fortune, a BBC expedition team has discovered a new species of giant rat in a volcano in the jungle of Papua New Guinea.
The team, from the BBC's Natural History Unit were filming a documentary called the Lost Land of the Volcano when the discovery was made.
The rat, which is believed to be endemic to the Mount Bosavi crater, is described as one of the world's largest species of rat.
"This is one of the world's largest rats. It is a true rat, the same kind you find in the city sewers," says Dr Kristofer Helgen, a mammalogist based at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History who accompanied the BBC expedition team.
The rat is estimated to be 32 inches from nose to tail and weighs 3.3 pounds. It was first captured by the BBC film crew on infrared camera and it appears to have no fear of humans.
Though the giant rat was the most prized find, the team also discovered 16 new frog species, one new bat species and three new fish.
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