New Mammal Species Found in Borneo

lemonysam writes "The BBC is reporting that a new mammal species has been discovered in Borneo by a conservation group trying to document the local species, as part an effort to prevent the destruction of their habitat by logging and agriculture. The species, which has not been identified by local experts or the indigenous population, is roughly the size of a domestic cat and is believed to be carnivorous."

Comments

Whats left?

[Da3vid]

What is even more interesting is not only is it a mammal, but it is a carnivore. This means that is relatively high on the food chain, but it has gone unnoticed thus far. This begs the next question: has it really gone unnoticed for so long, or has the species only recently evolved? We discover new insects and bactera all the time, but discovering a new mammal kind of revives that scientific ambition in all of this that there really are some things out there that haven't been found.

Re:Whats left?

[1u3hr]

but it has gone unnoticed thus far. This [raises] the next question: has it really gone unnoticed for so long, or has the species only recently evolved?

TFA says that considering the long muscular tail, it may well be arboreal, not on the ground much, and is also probably nocturnal. So not that likely to bump into.

Re:Whats left?

[Darkman, Walkin Dude]

there really are some things out there that haven't been found.

Oh you better believe there are things out there which haven't been found. From the recently confirmed giant squid to a thing my girlfriend in the Philippines found crawling in her house ("many legs" was the best description she could offer, and they had to get the neighbours in to corral and nail the bugger, which was as long as her arm) there are a whole lot of critturs that western science has never even heard of out there. Particularily in south east asia where a good deal of the small islands haven't even been accurately charted, never mind subjected to a full eco-survey.

There probably aren't any dinosaur islands hiding out there, but to think that we have a comprehensive catalogue of even the land based animals on earth is just optimism at this stage.

Re:But

[core plexus]

If it's a carnivore as the article speculates, then almost certainly not very good.

I disagree. I've eated bear more than once, and it was pretty good. I've also eaten whale, seal, and walrus (But I never had Walrus Penis served to me in a restaurant). They have a strong fishy taste, but I'm OK with that. Not sure if they qualify as a carnivore, however. If so, then I could include some of the bug-eating birds and bug-eating bugs I've eaten.

I like to try different things. I once was stranded in the Bush (Alaska), and had a diet of ground squirrels. One day, I noticed some ground squirrels eating the remains (uncooked) of some of my previous ground squirrel kills. I ate a lot of them that month.

Re:But

[turtledawn]

i know, i know, responding to someone openly going by the name trollable. My biologist's background won't let me leave this be, though.

If the grandparent was living in the bush in Alaska and ate his bear there, it may well have been living entirely off of salmon runs, in which case it would have been carnivorous when he ate it. As for whales, that depends upon the species of whale; the baleen whales eat krill, which is composed of small shrimp-like creatures while orcas- killer whales? you've heard of them -are most certainly carnivorous. Dogs on the other hand will eat just about anything if they have to- rabbit droppings (good source of fiber, those) come to mind. They prefer meat but don't require it in the way that cats do. Tyranosaurus probably tasted at least a little bit like chicken, and quite possibly modern factory farm chicken at that... Do you know what your food's been eating?