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New Rodent Species Found

Posted by Zonk on from the squeak-squeak dept.

IZ Reloaded writes "A new species of rodent has been discovered by World Conservation Society researcher Dr. Robert Timmins. He found this creature in a hunter's market in Central Laos. The creature known as Kha-Nyou to the locals is so unique it represents an entire new family of wildlife. Kha-Nyou diverged from other rodents millions of years ago."

6 of 293 comments (clear)

  1. No replacement for Nutria by Sean+Clifford · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Cool, I wonder how many other mammals we have running around out there waiting to be discovered? Well, maybe not waiting around to be on Leno...

    Since the Kha-Nyou only have one pup at a time there's no hope they can displace Louisiana's Nutria rat problem. Interesting that the Kha-Nyou are vegetarian rats; that's certainly an oddity. Rodents tend to eat pretty much everything (Cat5 cables, cardboard, styrofoam, cafeteria food).

    Nutria rats are a serious ecological problem around here (rural Louisiana). If you're bored on the weekend you can get $4 a tail.

  2. Re:Amazing... by 1u3hr · · Score: 2, Interesting
    And why are we exploring the stars if we can't even find rodent's on earth?

    We're exploring the stars? Unless you mean Janet Jackson; no, we're a long, long way from doing that. And do you really think a team of astronomers would be effective at seaching through Lao markets for new rodents?

  3. NY Times article by zaguar · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/science/12rodent .html

    The NY Times article about this.

    Local farmers and hunters trapped or snared the animals, which they also referred to as rock rats, slaughtered them and took them to market

    A species that no western scientist has ever seen, and the locals are trying as hard as they can to make them extinct. It seems to be a common theme in history. Is this the future of mankind on earth?

    --
    "Sure there's porn and piracy on the Web but there's probably a downside too."
  4. Re:discoveries, eh? by oneiron · · Score: 3, Interesting

    To discover is to reveal to the modern scientific pool of thought...

  5. Re:I don't understand... by shm · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well put.

    Many years ago I saw the following dialog in a cartoon:

    Teacher: "Who discovered the Niagara Falls?"
    Little Kid: "The people who lived there."

    I think the sequence ends with the little kid wearing dunce's hat.

  6. Re:Kha-Nyou translation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    White people here in America eat possum, squirrel, and other forms of rodent. So what's your point?