New Type of Mouse Discovered in Cyprus (AP) [View All]

[Eugene]

New Type of Mouse Discovered in Cyprus
Cypriot mouse could be first new European terrestrial mammal found in decades

LONDON, Oct. 12, 2006
By THOMAS WAGNER Associated Press Writer
(AP) A previously unknown type of mouse has been discovered on the island
of Cyprus, apparently the first new terrestrial mammal species discovered
in Europe in decades.

The "living fossil" mouse has a bigger head, ears, eyes and teeth than other
European mice and is found only on Cyprus, Thomas Cucchi, a research fellow
at Durham University in northeast England, said Thursday. Genetic tests
confirmed that the new mouse was a new species and it was named Mus cypriacus,
or the Cypriot mouse, he said.

His findings appeared in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa, an international
journal for animal taxonomists.

-snip-

"New mammal species are mainly discovered in hot spots of biodiversity like
Southeast Asia, and it was generally believed that every species of mammal
in Europe had been identified," Cucchi said. "This is why the discovery of a
new species of mouse on Cyprus was so unexpected and exciting."

-snip-

Full article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/12/ap/tech/mainD8KN0EQ80.shtml