New giant rat species discovered!

[undeterred]

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Scientists have discovered a new species of giant rat in a remote rainforest in Papua New Guinea. Measuring 82 centimeters (32.2 inches) from nose to tail and weighing around 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds), the species is thought to be one of the largest rats ever to be found.

The discovery was made by a team from the BBC Natural History Unit inside the crater of Mount Bosavi -- an extinct volcano in the Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea.

"This is one of the world's largest rats. It's a true rat, the same kind you find in the city sewers," said Kristofer Helgen, a biologist from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, who was part of the expedition team.

Initial examinations of the rat -- provisionally named the Bosavi woolly rat -- suggest that it belongs to the Mallomys -- a genus of rodents in the muridae family which are the largest living species of rodent.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/07/giant.rat.papua/index.html

[MineralMan]

1. Oh...I though you were talking about wingnuts as a new species...

Never mind.

[Voice for Peace]

4. I thought the same

this is a great opportunity for some funny posts.
:popcorn:

[Buzz Clik]

14. ..

[mecherosegarden]

7. +1

For a moment, I though he was referring to someone from the Faux ...

Never Mind!

[my2sense]

Me too. LOL

[ddeclue]

16. RUN KITTEH! RUN!!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_i9L2bPRWJXQ/Sf1mucIkLUI/AAAAAAAAAfo/dn4-PR1OAUk/s400/Kitteh+Sad.jpg

[my2sense]

9. Me too. LOL

[Old Studentka]

29. Me too!

I was gonna suggest they name it beckus rodentis!

[Louisiana1976]

2. Wow--looks almost as big as my cat!

[Buzz Clik]

15. It's very long but doesn't weigh much.

That rat's body (excluding tail) is roughly 18 inches long, but at 3.3 pounds, it is very slender. My cat thinks it can eat anything that moves, but I'm thinking he'd pass on this monster.

[HopeHoops]

3. Limbaugh gave birth?

What ELSE could explain it?

[Horse with no Name]

5. Looks like it was mated with a ferret!n/t

[ddeclue]

6. That's the WRONG PICTURE!

:rofl:

[NYC_SKP]

10. That's what I was expecting...

Or Rush...

:P

[madmax]

8. And I thought it was

Max Baucus! :evilgrin:

[Vinca]

11. I thought Tom Delay was appearing on "Dancing With the Stars."

(My apologies to the great big, giant rat for comparing him to Delay.)

[Mabus]

12. Yeah, I caught Grassley on CSPAN this morning.

:P

[OnyxCollie]

13. The vermin formerly known as Blue Dogs.

[undeterred]

27. Now known as Blue Dog Rats.

[Autumn]

17. Clyburn ? n/t

[Romulox]

18. Wot? No "Princess Bride" reference? Disappointing. nt

[SidDithers]

21. ROUS'? I don't think they exist....nt

:hi:

Sid

[Solly Mack]

19. Neat!

in a that's really neat but I wouldn't want to meet it in a dark alley kind of way

[DainBramaged]

20. is it low fat?

http://instantrimshot.com "> Rimshot

[undeterred]

23. No, it belongs to the mallomys genus

which only eats mallomars.

[DainBramaged]

24. AH HA I knew it, a mallomar rat

:rofl:

[1Hippiechick]

22. The people of Togo would be excited - link to NatGeo video of rat hunters/eaters

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/places/regions-places/africa-northwestern/togo_eatingrat.html

[dixiegrrrrl]

25. name suggestion

Republicus fukus

[DailyGrind51]

26. "Rattis republicanis"?

[Octafish]

28. Papua? New Guinea? That's near Sumatra.

[undeterred]

30. A play about rats?