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Giant Rat Species Found

by Evan Shamoon on December 19, 2007 at 09:07 AM

art.giant.rat.jpg

Score one for the punching bags of the animal kingdom: Deep in the jungles of Indonesia, scientists have discovered a giant rat and a tiny possum that are apparently new to the world of science. The rat? Huge. The possum? Tiny. The duo? Awesome.

The rat is "about five times the size of a typical city rat," according to Kristofer Helgen, a scientist with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Helgen also described the possum as "one of the world's smallest marsupials." The animals were found in the Foja mountains rainforest in eastern Papua province -- the Conservation International calls the area a "Lost World," because humans have so rarely explored it.

"It's comforting to know that there is a place on Earth so isolated that it remains the absolute realm of wild nature," said the leader of the expedition, Bruce Beehler. "We were pleased to see that this little piece of Eden remains as pristine and enchanting as it was when we first visited."

They're no dinosaurs, but cute rats and possums are pretty mind-boggling nonetheless.

From CNN

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Tags: Weird

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