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

But

[LardBrattish]

What does it taste like?

Re:But

[tpgp]

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

Poodles for instance taste horrible

Re:But

[myheroBobHope]

My guess would be: Less delicious than Panda, Kangaroo, Koala Bear, or Tucan More delicious than a Komodo Dragon, Lion, Tiger Overall as delicious as a Ligre.

Re:But

[thelost]

please don't eat my son!

Re:But

[atari2600]

Funny, the mammal must be thinking the same thing ;)

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

[cerberusss]

I noticed some ground squirrels eating the remains

What I don't understand is how those ground squirrels could eat after you grounded them. Did you ground them so course that they came out in one piece after the grounding?

Re:But

[Blurredplacebo]

roo meat is very common in australia nearly every supermarket has it. from what i remember its like a strong beef

  were the only country in the world that eats its coat of arms

Re:But

[trollable]

Bear is not carnivorus, it is omnivorus like pig and human. Whale is not carnivorus, it eats plancton. Dogs are canivorus. Many fish are also eating other fish, I don't know if they qualify. Tyranosaurus are carnivorus too, never eat one of them.

Re:But

[core plexus]

What I don't understand is how those ground squirrels could eat after you grounded them. Did you ground them so course that they came out in one piece after the grounding?

Here are some pics and info of the ground squirrel.

Much meatier and tastier than the local tree squirrels. Besides, there weren't any trees there. Thus, they live in the ground, rather than in trees. Hence the name ground squirrels.

They were eating the brains and guts of their denmates.

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?

Re:But

[hdparm]

As it seems some fish like meat, too.

Re:But

[scott_karana]

I don't know, I've always had a taste for Dolphin in my tuna...

Re:But

[CinAlias]

Haha.

Re:But

[core plexus]

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.

I did indeed eat bears in the Bush in Alaska, and still do. Besides eating salmon, they also eat carrion, baby moose, ground squirrels (they spend a day digging for them), whale carcasses, etc. They only eat grass when there's nothing else to eat, or their too old, and they only eat berries before going to bed. Also, in the fall the baby Moose and Caribou are too fast and smart to catch.

Re:But

[Eightyford]

Orcas (killer whales) are actually dolphins.

Re:But

[olewis]

What does it taste like?

Chicken!

Re:But

[trollable]

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.

You probably can find a vegetarian too if you are looking hard for it.
"A bear is a large mammal of the order Carnivora" (Wikipedia)

that depends upon the species of whale

Translation mistake. I meant baleen whales

Dogs on the other hand will eat just about anything

"The dog is a canine mammal of the Order Carnivora" (Wikipedia)

Tyranosaurus probably tasted at least a little bit like chicken

I didn't tasted it so I can only believe you

possibly modern factory farm chicken at that... Do you know what your food's been eating?

Only 100%-vegetal feed chicken living outside.

Re:But

[deimtee]

...we're the only country in the world that eats its coat of arms

Yep.
Emu meat is pretty strong too. But it's better than the roo.

Re:But

[trollable]

But even if bears are classified in the carnivora order,
"Bears live in a variety of habitats from the tropics to the Arctic and from forests to snowfields. They are mainly omnivorous." (Wikipedia)

About dogs: "Presently, there is academic discussion as to whether domestic dogs are omnivores or carnivores. The classification in the Order Carnivora does not necessarily mean that a dog's diet must be restricted to meat. Unlike an obligate carnivore, such as a cat, a dog is not dependent on meat protein in order to fulfill its dietary requirements." (Wikipedia)

Re:But

[wisdom_brewing]

im sorry but i have to agree, there is no way that i would classify my dog a carnivore. hes more omnivorous than most humans, he will eat anything as long as its edible, with only 2 exceptions. the only dogs i know that are choosy are those that are excessively spoiled, or those that live in the street and are therefore more cautious than the trusting domestic kind. i have a golden retriever, and he will eat bread just as happily as dog food or beef filet, he loves fruit, apples, mango, anything really except for lemon (he likes grapefruit), he spits out lemon then picks it up again gradually wearing out the acidity, and even that i count as one of the exceptions. the other is garlic, wont touch the stuff raw, but doesnt mind it cooked. im not sure how this has affected him, but hes getting on in years and ageing bloody well for a golden retriever - i guess an well balanced diet does us all some good.

Re:But

[megrims]

Good batteries on your laptop, I guess.

Re:But

[quigonn]

And dolphins are actually Odontoceti (toothed _whales_). QED.

Re:But

[Woldry]

Tyranosaurus are carnivorus too, never eat one of them.

Present tense? And here I was thinking they had gone extinct ... :-)

Re:But

[trollable]

IMHO, only wild animals are relevant. Domestic animals will eat what you give them. Remember english cows have eaten bones for years. Since any wild canideus is eating mainly meat, it seems reasonable to assume dogs are carnivorus.

Re:But

[WormholeFiend]

Ah ha, but did you ever see THIS on your menu

(I took this photo at an "exotic meat" restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Re:But

[Cl1mh4224rd]

One day, I noticed some ground squirrels eating the remains (uncooked) of some of my previous ground squirrel kills.

Sounds like you need to do a better job of grinding them up next time. ;o)

Re:But

[Per Wigren]

They prefer meat but don't require it in the way that cats do.

Tell that to my cat! He loves black olives, field mushrooms, broccoli, potatoes and many other vegetarian things.
I have a friend who has a cat who is really crazy about feferoni. I you give her some ham and some feferoni she will eat the feferoni then only eat the ham if she is hungry...

Re:But

[JerkBoB]

They were eating the brains and guts of their denmates.

Were they also shambling around and moaning "BRRRRRAAAAAAAIIIIIIINNNNNNNSSSSSS..." in little, high-pitched voices?

Re:But

[Liam Slider]

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.

A meat-eating predator perhaps, but still not carnivorous. Not any more than human vegitarians (who I will never understand) are herbavores. A bear living off meat is still an omnivore, as is a human living off plants.

Re:But

[wisdom_brewing]

good point. well made.

Re:But

[VAXcat]

I've never tasted dog, but I figure if they taste anything like they smell, then I'm pretty sure they wouldn't taste good...

Re:But

[StalinsNotDead]

You're also the only country who uses an agricultural pest as a national symbol.

Re:But

[Blurredplacebo]

well it wasnt a pest until europeans introduced grazing livestock when forrests were cleared for them which also just happened to suit the roos brilliantly

Re:But

[swv3752]

Well, crodile tastes a bit like chicken and is about as old as T. rex. And crodile is most definately a carnivore.

Re:But

[Dread_ed]

You know, there are only a few of these things left.

It's kinda like the McRib.

We better hurry to Borneo to make sure we get one to eat before they are all gone.

Re:But

[trollable]

I watched a documentary about it. Somewhere on a small island ;)

Re:But

[AJWM]

I remember kangaroo meat (as served by some upscale restaurant in Adelaide) as tasting more like elk (as served by some upscale restaurant in San Diego) than beef. I had the fortune to enjoy the above meals within a few weeks of each other.

I've also tried antelope (I forget what kind) jerky, but like most other meat jerkies it tasted like dried shoe leather.

Re:But

[Ced_Ex]

You've eated?

Give the guy a break, his mouth was full!

Re:But

[John Nowak]

Fair enough. Cheers, clever boy... ;-)

Re:But

[MikeFM]

Damn it, leave the poor thing alone! I knew some rat bastard had stollen my cat but didn't know they were going to put a halloween costume on her and chase her around in the woods with a camera. If they wanted to make another Blair Witch movie they should have just asked to borrow my cat.

So when you nuts are done chasing Miss Whiskers around with your cameras please bring her home.

Re:But

[elemental23]

My SO's cat eats waffles and muffins regularly. Once the cat even swatted the end of a burrito right out of her hand and ate it. Weirdest cat I've ever met.

Re:But

[soupdevil]

Dogs need lots of vegetarian food in their diet, but they can't properly digest it themselves. So they eat it pre-digested out of the intestines of their prey.

Re:But

[AngryNick]

Oooooh, they're so cute they gotta be tasty!!

Re:But

[gazby]

Tell that to my cat! He loves black olives, field mushrooms, broccoli, potatoes and many other vegetarian things. I have a friend who has a cat who is really crazy about feferoni. I you give her some ham and some feferoni she will eat the feferoni then only eat the ham if she is hungry...

and

A meat-eating predator perhaps, but still not carnivorous. Not any more than human vegitarians (who I will never understand) are herbavores. A bear living off meat is still an omnivore, as is a human living off plants.

A bit off the inital thread perhaps, but seemed relevent to confirm that a vegetarian-fed cat (or person or free range chicken or whatever) is not an herbivore. They're omnivores who aren't getting any meat. You're not carniverous only while you're ingesting meat, but evolutionarily (like, we're all bipeds, even those of who ride bikes or use wheelchairs). Perhaps a few million years of meatless diet...

Re:But

[ScaryFroMan]

Chicken, obviously

Re:But

[cerberusss]

You say "much meatier and tastier than the local tree squirrels", but how many pounds of meat comes off one ground squirrel?

I'd like a guessing exercise. You don't want an older one. By the looks of it, my estimate is that a 1-year-old doesn't weight more than, say, 20 pounds. That'd mean (not counting the stuff you make soup or broth with) about 3 pounds of real good meat.

How far off am I?

Re:But

[antic]

I spotted "Jellyfish in Spicy Curdled Blood" alongside the deer and camel penis dishes in Beijing. Didn't give it a shot, but had their hottest rated chilli cashew chicken in which the sauce looked like lava - I swear if they had have turned off the lights, this dish would've visibly glowed - it was quite hot.

Re:But

[bensafrickingenius]

Just yesterday, I caught a couple of minutes of a show on grizzlies. It blew my mind! At one point, a HUGE bear took down and began to feed on an even huger caribou. I had no idea they were such capable predators.

Re:But

[3GMobile]

For my cat its mayonnaise, loves the stuff...loves ham, chicken though also.

Re:But

[Woldry]

Oh no, I think you're mistaken. I distinctly remember that documentary. Weren't the dinosaurs all bioengineered to be herbivores? And of course, nothing could go wrong with a plan that foolproof ...

Re:But

[Nerd4News]

"I've eated bear more than once, and it was pretty good."

My dad use to say the best way to cook bear meat was to throw it in a frying pan with an old shoe. When it was done you throw away the bear and eat the shoe. I've never tried either.

NEW WINTER FASHION

[blueadept1]

I just HAVE to have a coat with this critter's fur as trim.

Re:NEW WINTER FASHION

[Anonymous Coward]

Trust me when I tell you... you do NOT want to have to keep from freezing to death using the fur from anything from Borneo. I know this may come as a bit of a shock to you, as Borneo is renown the world over for it's freezing weather and fur-bearing creatures...

New "species" of "mammal"?

[nurhussein]

It should be a species of a particular genus, no? Mammals are an entire class of organisms, where if the species is new we should at least be able to identify the genus (and order, and family).

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[presidentbeef]

The article mentions:

"It's more likely to be a viverrid - that's the family which includes the mongoose and civets - which is a very poorly known group," Dr Isaac said.

That being said, they only have two photographs of it so far, so it's hard to tell what it is...

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Eightyford]

I have a question: Aren't class, order, genus, and family entirely arbitrary? Shouldn't we now classify living things entirely with genetics?

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Black Parrot]

> I have a question: Aren't class, order, genus, and family entirely arbitrary? Shouldn't we now classify living things entirely with genetics?

Not entirely arbitrary. What's somewhat arbitrary is how high in the tree of life the branches that get those labels are. Unfortunately it's a big messy tree that wasn't designed for the convenience of classification.

Re: New "species" of "mammal"?

[Black Parrot]

> It should be a species of a particular genus, no? Mammals are an entire class of organisms, where if the species is new we should at least be able to identify the genus (and order, and family).

It's possible that it's a representative of some previously unknown branch higher than species. If indeed it's a member of Carnivora, but not a "cat-like" or "dog-like" carnivore, then it would represent a previously unknown sub-order.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[mrRay720]

it's a big messy tree that wasn't designed for the convenience of classification

In fact, it wasn't designed at all! I'm sure you didn't really mean that, but let's not go giving the nutjobs ammo, eh.

That asside, it's incidents like this that just help show how little we still understand about our own world, yet we're still merrily destroying enormous parts of it. How many wonders will now never be known because of our actions this past century? How many will cease to exist in the coming one?

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[StoatBringer]

Obviously a very, very small Bigfoot.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Schemat1c]

That asside, it's incidents like this that just help show how little we still understand about our own world, yet we're still merrily destroying enormous parts of it. How many wonders will now never be known because of our actions this past century? How many will cease to exist in the coming one?

I think the words of George Carlin can answer that best.

"This planet has put up with much worse than us. It's been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, solar flares, sunspots, magnetic storms, pole reversals, planetary floods, worldwide fires, tidal waves, wind and water erosion, ice ages and hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets, asteroids, and meteors. You think a few plastic bags and aluminum cans are going to make a difference?

The planet isn't going anywhere, folks, we are! We're going away. Pack your shit - we won't leave much of a trace. Thank God for that. Nothing left. Maybe just a little Styrofoam. The planet will be here, and we'll be gone. Another failed mutation; another closed-end biological mistake.

The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas. And it will heal itself, because that what it does; it's a self-correcting system. The air and water and earth will recover and be renewed. And if plastic isn't really degradable, most likely the planet will incorporate it into a new paradigm: The Earth Plus Plastic.

The Earth doesn't have a particular prejudice against plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. Perhaps she sees it as one of her many children. It could be the reason the Earth allowed us to be spawned here in the first place. She wanted plastic, but didn't know how to get it!

Philosophers say, "Why are we here?" The planet says, "Plastic, asshole!""

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Basehart]

Is there a numbering system used to classify different things, similar to that used in a library? And if so, how does one possibly know how many unassigned numbers to put in-between any one particular species of thing to allow for the discovery of many other undiscovered new things in-between said things.

I'm assuming there are more unassigned numbers placed between cats in a jungle and other four legged things in the same jungle, than there are unassigned numbers between me and a monkey! (one would hope so anyway)

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Eightyford]

I think that is Carlin's greatest bit. In a somewhat related note, mass extinction has repeatedly been shown to actually increase the amount of species in the long run.

Big volcano or comet => lizards inherit the earth. Big volcano or comet => mammals and birds inherit the earth. Etc.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[bcmm]

we won't leave much of a trace.

If the KT event shows up in the fossil record after 65M years, our mass extinctions will too. If anything, ours will look more sudden and extreme.

Also, we have nearly drained many large oilfields. Most of the oil came from the Carboniferous, which ended 299M years ago. It's not going to replenish quickly

If there is an intelligence on this planet to equal ours in the next 500M years, their geologists and paleontologists will notice something odd happened around now. I wonder what theories they'll think of to account for oil existing in only the most inaccessible places on the planet (e.g. deep sea)?

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Simon Brooke]

It should be a species of a particular genus, no? Mammals are an entire class of organisms, where if the species is new we should at least be able to identify the genus (and order, and family).

Oh, please, someone, do RTFA. They've photographed this creature twice, both times with automatic cameras triggered by infra red. No-one has (as far as we know) ever seen one. There is no cine or video footage. It looks a bit like a lemur but is more likely a viverrid. But no-one knows yet. So no, no-one can identify the genus, or even the order. It's a mammal. So far, that's all anyone can say for certain.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[AviLazar]

While I like the Carlin quote, really, he is wrong about us not leaving signs on earth. We have scarred it. Most of the events you described are natural events the earth uses to take care of itself. While comets, asterids, and meteors are the outside factors which are RARE. Sunspots/flares are barely even worth mentioning other then what solar radiation does to the evolution of life.

In 500m years whatever's around is going to notice the things we have done. From completely and utterly defacing land for drilling oil, diamonds, coal. To our sky rises which have so much mass, and are composed with materials that like to stick around. NY city will be unburied and it will be easily preserved. We find fossils of dinosaurs, and they have not done anything remotely as what we have. In fact in the past 100 years we have done more then dinosaurs have done in their entire run of the planet (they just kinda walked around and ate a lot - they weren't building cities)

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[meringuoid]

NY city will be unburied and it will be easily preserved.

New York is on the coast. It'll only take a few tsunami to shift it, and over millions of years there'll be plenty of those.

Perhaps, 60 million years or so from now, one would find traces of the megacities if one looked carefully in the right place. I suspect our deep earthworks might be longer-lasting; I can't see much that's likely to shift the Channel Tunnel, for instance.

And if the next intelligent race arises when we're as long gone as the last dinosaurs, I'll tell them one place they can look where they'll surely find some of our relics. And a message. 'Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969. We came in peace for all mankind. Signed, Richard Nixon.'

That will last a while, but the meteorites will eventually powder it, and the dying Sun will consume Earth and Moon alike. Will anything of ours last longer still? Thus far, I can think of four candidates. Pioneer 10 and 11, and Voyager 1 and 2. Maybe they'll be found. Maybe someone will come across them and know we were once here, long after the Sun is a dying ember of degenerate carbon. But I doubt it. Space is a big place in which to look for a few tiny, silent, eons-dead robots.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[AviLazar]

That will last a while, but the meteorites will eventually powder it, and the dying Sun will consume Earth and Moon alike. Will anything of ours last longer still? Thus far, I can think of four candidates. Pioneer 10 and 11, and Voyager 1 and 2. Maybe they'll be found. Maybe someone will come across them and know we were once here, long after the Sun is a dying ember of degenerate carbon. But I doubt it. Space is a big place in which to look for a few tiny, silent, eons-dead robots.

Ok, see now, your just depressing me :)

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Dausha]

"Shouldn't we now classify living things entirely with genetics?"

No, because then we'd probably find that we have much more in common with viruses than mammals, and some people can't stomach that.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[deander2]

> The Earth doesn't have a particular prejudice against
> plastic. Plastic came out of the earth.

ah yes. i remember sitting around the fire as a wee little lad, listening to my grand-pappy tell us about his days in the ol' west virginia plastic mines. tough work, that was. ;)

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[khallow]

I got to agree with the other replier. 500 million years is a long time. It's likely that various things will remain in fossilized form. But I'd say that any overt trace of humanity (especially "scarring") will probably disappear on the order of millenia, not millions of years. After the die-off at the end of the Cretacean, it took a few million years for mammals to completely replace the dinosaurs. Even the asteroid strike that hit the Yucatan peninsula has been almost completely obliterated. And it was far larger than any human-based activity.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[StalinsNotDead]

wonder what theories they'll think of to account for oil existing in only the most inaccessible places on the planet

No they'll be too busy harvesting the fuels from fully decomposed landfills.

New Jersey will the their Middle East.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[AviLazar]

I got to agree with the other replier. 500 million years is a long time. It's likely that various things will remain in fossilized form. But I'd say that any overt trace of humanity (especially "scarring") will probably disappear on the order of millenia, not millions of years. After the die-off at the end of the Cretacean, it took a few million years for mammals to completely replace the dinosaurs. Even the asteroid strike that hit the Yucatan peninsula has been almost completely obliterated. And it was far larger than any human-based activity.

While 500 million years may be enough to hide our traces (or completely destroy them) I do not think a millenia will do so. Look at the great pyramids. They have been around for a while and they are in pretty decent condition...we are talking about a construction made of early forms of cement - which was made from straw and mud if I am not mistaken. Super-sky scrapers made of steel and glass - two substances which don't exactly decompose, will last for a while. A city like NY will become the Atlantis. Take places that are less likely to suffer from flooding (Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Chicago) - they will be here for a long time. I am, by no means, an expert so I am not sure how long - but a millions of years does not sound to far fetched.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[StalinsNotDead]

From reading the article, the two photographs were taken at the same time from opposite angles.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[meringuoid]

Ok, see now, your just depressing me :)

Well, let's assume someone does find Voyager and explores the records of our civilisation that it carries. They decipher the symbols. The notation. The waveform encoded in a spiral groove on a disc of gold. You know what they'll find? The last song of all human culture to survive intact and playable in the universe?

Deep down Louisiana close to New Orleans, way back up in the woods among the evergreens, there stood a log cabin made of earth and wood where lived a country boy named Johnny B Goode, who never ever learned to read or write so well, but he could play a guitar just like ringing a bell...

Happy now? I think it's very comforting. We may be long extinct, our world evaporated, our sun shrunken and fading, but whatever unimaginable alien intelligence finds our capsules will at least know that, for a while, we were here and we rocked.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[ab762]

Aren't class, order, genus, and family entirely arbitrary? Shouldn't we now classify living things entirely with genetics?
It's called cladistics. But "mammals" are pretty much a "clade", so that part's not arbitrary.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[meringuoid]

Look at the great pyramids. They have been around for a while and they are in pretty decent condition...we are talking about a construction made of early forms of cement - which was made from straw and mud if I am not mistaken. Super-sky scrapers made of steel and glass - two substances which don't exactly decompose, will last for a while. A city like NY will become the Atlantis. Take places that are less likely to suffer from flooding (Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Chicago) - they will be here for a long time.

The Great Pyramids are some four thousand years old and are not what they were - mainly because people stole the marble mantle and the electrum capstone. They must have been truly amazing in their heyday. The Sphinx is somewhat older, perhaps as much as five or six thousand years.

However, the Pyramids have the advantage of being in the desert. There is little to bother them save the slow weathering of the wind. What threats face our great cities, even if they are away from flood or hurricane or earthquake hazards?

Rain. Slow erosion by rain. And the gradual work of ivy on the concrete, and of rust on the steel. Glass is fluid and will gradually flow down in its frame until a critical point is reached and it shatters.

If civilisation fell but mankind survived, then certainly there would be great relic cities for a long, long time; our surviving descendants might wonder at the mighty works of giants in the terrible lands of stone. If, however, we all were to die in our beds tonight, then by the time a new intelligent species arose to wonder about us there'd be little enough left for them to see.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[jackbird]

Glass is fluid and will gradually flow down in its frame until a critical point is reached and it shatters.

Sorry, that's elementary school science bullshit. We have intact glass vessels from the Romans. A couple hundred year-old windowpane didn't flow, it was wedge-shaped to begin with and installed in the stongest possible way.

The overall gist of your comment is pretty right on, though.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[AviLazar]

Happy now? I think it's very comforting. We may be long extinct, our world evaporated, our sun shrunken and fading, but whatever unimaginable alien intelligence finds our capsules will at least know that, for a while, we were here and we rocked.

now that put a smile on my face. Thank you

That reminds me of the ST:TNG episode where they find a probe and Picard (at least in his mind) spends a lifetime in the civilization. It was one of the more memorable episodes.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[0xABADC0DA]

With the oil fields being so old, did you ever wonder what is in them? I suppose not much would survive so much pressure and time, but couldn't there be vast amounts of prehistoric dna floating around in there?

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[bcmm]

DNA is pretty fragile. Think about what comparatively low-level ionising radiation will do over a few years, for example. The background radiation alone would probably have totally wiped out the information in the first few million years. And that's without taking into account the extreme heat and pressure, which would probably destroy the genetic information from a freshly dead animal in hours. Consider that even the toughest molecules in the animals' bodies have been reduced to a mess of carbon and hydrogen and then reassembled into hydrocarbons.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Eightyford]

You are joking right? Watch The Matrix lately? It wasn't a documentary.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[AJWM]

In 500m years, the continents will have drifted enough for North America to have smashed into the east coast of Asia. (It won't happen exactly like that, but that gives the scale). The only traces of humankind left will be on the Moon, or buried thousands of feet underground.

Heck, the dinosaur stomping grounds of only 80m years ago are hundreds of feet below ground here, except for a few miles to the west where the rock has been bent through about 45 degrees as the Rocky Mountains uplifted. (I'm a few miles from Morrison, CO). The dinosaurs could have strip-mined half the planet and we wouldn't see much evidence of it.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[pclminion]

In fact, it wasn't designed at all! I'm sure you didn't really mean that, but let's not go giving the nutjobs ammo, eh.

The taxonomic system is most certainly designed. There is no such thing as a "tree of life." It is a human construction. If you look back through biological history, you can plot the descendency of various genetic lines, and these plots look tree-like. But the only thing that exists, right now, are the "leaves" of that tree -- individual species.

But nature itself has no need for names and systems to organize the various types of life forms. Life simply is what it is. We humans impose our abstractions on reality, not vice versa. Taxonomy is synthetic.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[ashitaka]

...we were here and we rocked.

This is truly off-topic and a complete waste of my time which should be spent writing 4GL code but I just had to say this...

That was one of the great posts of all time.

Thanks.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Minstrel Boy]

However, the Pyramids have the advantage of being in the desert. There is little to bother them save the slow weathering of the wind. What threats face our great cities, even if they are away from flood or hurricane or earthquake hazards?

Glaciers. Most of the temperate zones are going to get ground to bits at some point pretty soon, geologically speaking.

KeS

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[jackbird]

Yeah, Chicago will never flood.... Try Phoenix or (assuming the Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams fail gradually due to silt buildup rather than catastrophically) Las Vegas.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[khallow]

The pyramids are probably going to outlive most modern architecture. They are a huge stable pile of limestone blocks in a desert. Erosion will take a long time. I imagine that the longest surviving structures will be the few that are intended to last that long, eg, long term nuclear waste storage (eg, Yucca Mountain) or the Mormon's underground archive center.

If one looks at cities, they can disappear quite fast. A Manhattan probably would last longer, but it too will vanish in time.

I was also refering to such things as pollution, escavation, and the decline of biodiversity. Much of that would be reversed or hidden in a few millenia. I doubt roads would survive that long either though subtle signs of their presence would probably linger far longer.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[MutantHamster]

Living things are classified by genetics for the most part. There is also a lot of other evidence too; basically genetics are part of a wide spectrum of things used to corroborate the taxonomy of organisms that we hypothesize. However, for the most part it's not completely confirmed. For most everything below chordate I think we have a good level of accuracy, but I believe a lot of other groups are mostly speculation. As I understand it, Protista basically serves as a taxonomical miscellaneous category.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Mr. McGibby]

Pioneer 10 and 11, and Voyager 1 and 2. Maybe they'll be found.

Or maybe they'll be used for target practice by some young alien from an agressive race out to prove his prowess to his girlfriend.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[strikethree]

The last song of all human culture to survive intact and playable in the universe? ...except it will still be under copyright.

strike

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[whitehatlurker]

The taxonomic system is most certainly designed.

The original post might've said this poorly. The taxonomic system is certainly a human invention, to help us understand what is related to what (or better, how each type of living thing is related to all the rest). However, if you wish to insist it is designed, it was badly designed. The original concept is great, but there are places which are muddy and where the original hierarchy doesn't match well with those organisms which are somewhat unique.

We need a new Linnaeus.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[__aailob1448]

*CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP*

Fantastic posts. You have the gift my friend. Yes, yes you do.

Truly, if you're not in a writing profession, you're shortchanging all of us.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[munpfazy]

>we are talking about a
>construction made of early
>forms of cement - which was
>made from straw and mud if I
>am not mistaken.

I'm not expert, but all the pyramids I know of (in either Egypt or Latin America) are made from carved stone, which is an all together heartier substance. The same is true for almost any ancient archaeological monument you can name that isn't either underground, a bare foundation, or easily mistaken for a small hill.

There are adobe structures that have survived in some recognizable form for a couple thousand years (eg. the Bam Citadel), but considering how many buildings have been built that way, a rather small number of them are in good shape, and most of those have been more or less continuously maintained by people.

Certainly our abandoned cities would include an awful lot of obviously artificial materials, but it certainly isn't obvious to me that they'd be recognizable to you and I as cities in a few centuries. Structural steel and concrete don't weather particularly well once they've been exposed.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[cfuse]

In fact, it wasn't designed at all! I'm sure you didn't really mean that, but let's not go giving the nutjobs ammo, eh.

The Jebus made the genus!

Re:New "species" of "mammal"?

[Savantissimo]

Most of the hydrocarbons on the planet likely have been there since the formation of the solar system, and are not biogenic at all. Why geologists cling to the idea that Earth's hydrocarbons are primarily biogenic is a mystery, considering all the methane on other planets in the solar system, the prevalence of carbonaceous chondrites in asteroids and meteorites, and the discovery of oil under miles of solid Scandinavian granite. It's reminisent of geologists' long denial and condemnation of the idea of continental drift. (Both continental drift and the abiogenic terrestrial hydrocarbon hypotheses were introduced in the US by the late Professor Thomas Gold.) At any rate, while the oil may take a while to percolate up from the deep biosphere, there is lots of methane left in the hydrates and coal in the ground to get us over the hump to better sources of energy.

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?

[myheroBobHope]

This begs the next question: has it really gone unnoticed for so long, or has the species only recently evolved?
Evolution takes a LONG, LONG time in genetically complex things. Since mammals don't reproduce at a huge rate (compared to bacteria), the changes come about slowly. Thus, it is probably not a "new" creature. As for why it hasn't been noticed, my guess is that it preys on relatively abundant animals (such as mice) whose general population numbers are not known, and thus people don't notice that more are being eaten. I would also assume that the animal has a low population... probably becuase it is inferior food chain wise and barely clinging to survival. Or it's just a remote jungle. Or it's a robot with the power of invisibility. I'm sure we will know more once we finish tearing down the rest of the forest.

Re:Whats left?

[Da3vid]

Yes, but categories like "species" are things that we have created, not nature. Sure, it is easy to draw some lines like between a bird and a fish, but at others it is not so easy. When does one species no longer count as its former kind, but a new kind? It is feasible that this animal was once classified as something else, or was closely related to something else and avoided attention that way, and it has just now been noticed it has enough characteristics that we decided to call it something new.

If thats the case, isn't this just a headline reading, "Person decides to call something something different!" Not that I'm claiming this is the case, but it could easily be.

-Da3vid-

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?

[Council]

However, the long and muscular tail, as well as other features of the nose and digestive system, are covered under several broad Microsoft patents. Extermination is expected to commence shortly.

Re:Whats left?

[tedgie]

Actually, Animals higher in the food chain exsist in lower numbers because of the low amount of energy transfered between each level of the food chain. So I can understand why this creature has yet to be found... especially in somewhere as obscure as the jungles of Borneo

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:Whats left?

[Ythan]

Dude where can I send out for nachos? I've been driving for mine and now I feel like a sucker.

Re:Whats left?

[arose]

Giant squids have been confirmed for some time now, what they managed recently is photographing a live one.

Re:Whats left?

[arose]

Evolution takes a LONG, LONG time in genetically complex things.

True, but speciation could happen right under our noses and when we notice we would assume that we have found a new species and never know.

Re:Whats left?

[Legion303]

"When does one species no longer count as its former kind, but a new kind?"

When it can no longer breed with its old "kind."

Re:Whats left?

[Anonymous Coward]

Okay, scary thought: how do we _know_ men can't interbreed with other great apes? It's not like it's been tried much or something?

Re:Whats left?

[werewolf1031]

Okay, scary thought: how do we _know_ men can't interbreed with other great apes? It's not like it's been tried much or something?

Oblig. South Park: Dude, that's pretty fvcked up right there.

I mean... damn, dude.

Just...



...damn.

Re:Whats left?

[Woldry]

This is an oft-stated but ill-supported definition of "species". It's more problematic in botany than in zoology -- i.e., it seems to be far easier to create hybrids across species lines when interbreeding plants (think tangelos) than when interbreeding animals. But even in zoology it's not a firm rule. For example, donkeys and horses are considered separate species, but they produce viable offspring, and sometimes (rarely) those offspring are fertile.

At the other end of the species definition problem you have things like ring species. Are the individuals at either end of the ring different species, because they can't interbreed with individuals at the other end? Or are they the same species, because they can each interbreed with individuals from the intermediate areas?

Granted, these are rare phenomena. But they serve to illustrate that the definition of "species" is much hazier than the "can breed" sound byte suggests.

Re:Whats left?

[penguinoid]

This begs the next question: has it really gone unnoticed for so long, or has the species only recently evolved?

Have you any idea how few species we have actually classified?

From Wikipedia: "Insects comprise the most diverse group of animals on the earth, with over 800,000 species described...Estimates of the total number of current species, including those not yet known to science, range from two to thirty million, with most authorities favouring a figure midway between these extremes."

So we know about 1/20 of the insect species. True, I'll grant you that most mammals are known, but do try not to overevangelize evolution (seriously, some people treat it as a religion. SETI, anyone?). Or at least leave it to people who know what they are talking about.

Re:Whats left?

[Miraba]

When does one species no longer count as its former kind, but a new kind?

Welcome to one of the debates of modern biology. Here are some definitions that have been used, courtesy of Wikipedia (my notes in italics):

Typological species: A group of organisms in which individuals are members of the species if they sufficiently conform to certain fixed properties. Fossils are usually grouped in this way.

Morphological species: A population or group of populations that differs morphologically from other populations. The layperson says, "It's a duck, not a gull."

Biological / Isolation species: A set of actually or potentially interbreeding populations. This is the definition that most students learn in bio 101, but its failings have prompted the following definitions.

Mate-recognition species A group of organisms that are known to recognise one another as potential mates. Under this, wolves and dogs would be one species. Chihuahuas might be removed from this. ;)

Phylogenetic / Evolutionary / Darwinian species: A group of organisms that shares an ancestor; a lineage that maintains its integrity with respect to other lineages through both time and space. Under this, dogs would be recently removed from the wolf grouping, and it could be said that purebred dogs are actually species. Out of all the definitions here, this is the most useful for separating bacteria.

Microspecies: Species that reproduce without meiosis or mitosis so that each generation is genetically identical to the previous generation. Usually applied to plants.

Re:Whats left?

[waterhead_joey]

..not much. Good news is that O'Reilly finally has enough animals to publish "Learning HAL/S ".

Re:Whats left?

[eMartin]

Don't worry about the details. His post was just an excuse to claim he has a girlfriend.

Re:Whats left?

[Pollardito]

there's a logistical barrier to identifying species of insects that doesn't apply to 10-15lb mammals. it's one thing if they had found out that two variations of what was presumed to be a single species were actually different species, but there apparently was nothing even like this known to inhabit the area. this is an escaped exotic pet, not a new species

Re:Whats left?

[SnarfQuest]

or has the species only recently evolved?

Evolved, or escaped? This could just be someones exotic pet that just got away. Would explain why nobody has seen it before.

Then again, maybe it's an alien zombie, looking for BRAINS!

Re:Whats left?

[ToxikFetus]

What's this "girlfriend" you're talking about?

Re:Whats left?

[Da3vid]

Man, picking a fight, no? Check it out. I didn't say that we had most species classified nor did I try to overevangelize evolution. All I said is that its possible, maybe even likely, that we have seen this little guy before (and as others before, perhaps not even on Borneo) and it was mistaken for another animal. Only now, someone identified it as different and therefore a "new" species. The idea "new species" is all relative and categorical. That species has probably existed for some time, and its not even all that unlikely that we've encountered it. What has really happened is that we've established a new classification for this thing. If you read the article, you'd see all we actually have is two pictures, and even other people aren't convinced. It certainly does have a lot of lemur features, so its not impossible that it is a Borneo lemur or a "new" viverrid, too. Either way, do not blame people for evangelizing; instead, avoid the holier-than-thou attitude in order to further discussion instead of hampering it.

-Da3vid-

Re:Whats left?

[MikeFM]

Your girlfriend (ha! a likely story!) found something rare and decided to kill it? What if it was the only one? These greenies will be knocking on her door if they hear about it. Better keep it hush hush.

Re:Whats left?

[Chris Spencer]

Let me guess...she's overseas on a modeling assignment?

Re:Whats left?

[falzer]

Arthur Jermyn would have a word with you if he hadn't soaked himself in oil and set fire to his clothing one night.

what I want to know

[TenLow]

Is what does wrestling have to do with some new species of mammal?

Re:what I want to know

[Ucidalin]

WWF is the World Wildlife Fund. The WWF you speak of was changed to WWE because they were improperly using the WWF name without having rights to it. World Wildlife Fund has been around a long time.

Re:what I want to know

[mcspoo]

Horse pucky. Ask anyone: What does WWF mean?
World Wrestling Federation

Only tree huggers have a problem with that. Regardless, check the patents now and see WHO owns WWF.

Hint: it's NOT the World Wildlife Fund anymore.

Re:what I want to know

[TenLow]

Man, sarcasm never works on the internet. This was the last time I'm going to attempt a joke on slashdot. Everyone here needs to lighten up a bit.

New most endanged species?

[joey_knisch]

I suppose they are since WE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEY EXISTED!

Take that northern spotted owl.

Re:New most endanged species?

[joey_knisch]

Not as endanged as proper spelling on slashdot.

Time for bed...

Re:New most endanged species?

[ArwynH]

You mean it wasn't endangered before we found it, but now that we have it's DOOMED! Right?

Re:New most endanged species?

[obeythefist]

It'll be fine so long as researching Japanese "scientists" don't harpoon it. For science.

New Species?

[MrApples]

It seems that the title is a bit misleading.

"So far, two images are all that exist. But they were enough to convince Nick Isaac from the Institute of Zoology in London that the animal may indeed be new. "The photos look most like a lemur," he told the BBC News website. "But there certainly shouldn't be lemurs in Borneo." "

This all sounds incredibly ethereal to me. Thus I find it odd that they say "New Species Found..."

Re:New Species?

[Wizzandabe]

"But there certainly shouldn't be lemurs in Borneo."

The ice poles shouldn't be melting but they are.

Re:New Species?

[jrumney]

It looked like an oppossum to me (Australian marsupial), apart from the coloring.

Re:New Species?

[jrumney]

... or even a wallaby?

"recently evolved"

[circletimessquare]

for a species to "recently evolve" you're talking about tens of thousands of years

Re:"recently evolved"

[Da3vid]

Haven't you ever heard of the X-Men? Not only did this thing recently evolve, it probably has adamantium claws and super regeneration.

-Da3vid-

Continuous creationism

[Julian Morrison]

The species only actually sprung into existence about a year ago. You can tell that, because the local people still don't remember seeing it. Soon, the locals will remember it, complete with a history and folklore. By then it may be real enough that it can exist as a zoo specimen, rather than a mere couple of blurry photos.

Even now, its fossil ancestors are probably forming spontaneously in the rocks of Borneo.

Re:Continuous creationism

[meringuoid]

Even now, its fossil ancestors are probably forming spontaneously in the rocks of Borneo.

Toto, I think we're in Kansas...

Re:Continuous creationism

[lousyd]

The species only actually sprung into existence about a year ago.

Yeah, as in, "Wait wait! Don't burn this jungle!"

"Why not?"

"Because... because... because of the rare wild spotted toad-lemur-mongoose! Quick! Look! Right there!"

"I don't see nuthin'. Why ain't the locals seen it?"

"Because they're too close to the land? They're looking too hard! That's it!"

Acham's Razor

[acercanto]

Hmm, But there certainly shouldn't be lemurs in Borneo.
I wonder how hot the lemur black market is? What are the chances it's just an escaped pet lemur?

Re:Acham's Razor

[Oakey]

How about this (true story). I live in Blackpool, a seaside town on the North West of England, the last place you'd expect to find a ring tailed lemur considering they're supposed to be confined to Madagascar (with the obvious exception of Zoo's, etc).

A few years ago my friend came home for his dinner, on arrival his mum said "There's a monkey in the back garden". He just looked at her like she had gone insane and says "yeah, of course there is", she replies "no, really, there is. There's a monkey in the garden. I've seen it!". So he looks out and there's nothing there, looks back at his mum and just rolls his eyes at her. So he gets his dinner and tells her "I'm going to go eat this in the conservatory and watch the giraffes and the elephants in the garden". 10 minutes or so pass and he's eating his food, and he looks up to see a lemur sat on the grass looking at him through the window.

They eventually managed to trap it in the shed and called someone from the zoo or RSPA to come and get it. They figure it was smuggled into the country and either someone had enough of it or it escaped.

So in answer to your question, I'd say there's a healthy black market in lemurs

Re:Acham's Razor

[bmalia]

Or perhaps a Fossa?

Looks like...

[Anonymous Coward]

...the Chupacabra to me!

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[gowen]

Let me be the first to say: that's not actually funny. Is it even a joke?
Why would a mammal cause France to surrender? What's the historical analogy? Is this from the Fox News version of "The Daily Show"? What gives?

You can't create jokes by adding cliches to news stories.

New mammal found : "It's A Trap" says Akbar -- not funny
New mammal found : "GWB can't pronounce its name" -- not funny
New mammal found in Indonesia : US Govt pleased since they won't have to ship it to Indonesia in order to torture it as a Terror suspect -- not funny

Don't give up the day job.

Pokemon

[Anne Thwacks]

Its a Pokemon!

Re:Pokemon

[towsonu2003]

Its a Pokemon!

No, it's Yu-Gi-Oh's Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1 (minus wings)... A crazy scientist must have done this!

Live Or Die?

[Wizzandabe]

If these "new" creatures can live and fend for themselves, why shouldn't we look after their habitat? I mean if humans got a right to live, have these not? But I wonder if they go well with a mild marinated sauce.

Re:Live Or Die?

[vertinox]

I mean if humans got a right to live, have these not?

Well, when they form a highly industrialized society capable of waging war on mankind, then they can have their say on whether or not they taste good with A1 sauce.

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[TuataraShoes]

gowen, you must be new here! It doesn't need to be funny to be modded funny. Geeks do humour by formula.
Your reply should have been:

In Korea, the new mammal finds you!

Oh, how my sides hurt.

Messed up logic

[Anonymous Coward]

"The photos look most like a lemur," he told the BBC News website. "But there certainly shouldn't be lemurs in Borneo."

Tell that to the fucking lemurs in Borneo.

New Mammal

[trifakir]

CowboyNeal what are you doing in Borneo? I'd say quite a good match with the photo...

Brontosaurus

[macaddct1984]

Was it just me, or did the image of the new mammal first look like a tiny brontosaurus?

Re:Brontosaurus

[nicholas.]

I thought the EXACT same thing. I was like: "Holy shit! Baby dinos." Now that I've studied the photo some I see it's just Garfield's tough cousin.

Re:Brontosaurus

[tezbobobo]

Dude! I was about to write just that. I thought it was a joke and just about closed the window.

Re:Brontosaurus

[identity0]

You mean, a tiny brontosaurus with shiny, glowing buttocks mooning the camera?

Yes, now I've seen everything.

Looks a lot like a Fossa

[madaxe42]

It really looks like a Fossa - usually native to Madagascar. Wikipedia Fossa.

It's a member of the Viverridae family, which is fairly poorly known, due to their being a) nocturnal b) rare and c) furtive.

Re:Looks a lot like a Fossa

[madaxe42]

More pictures and videos here

As an aside, does anyone else have problems with copy/paste in firefox 1.5?

Re:Looks a lot like a Fossa

[bmalia]

Folks on Digg thought it looked like a Lemur, but after reading that wiki on Fossa's, I agree with you, a Fossa is a likely canidate. It's a terrible picture they have, so its hard to tell. Reguardless, it's very unlikely its a totally new species. I'll wait until a reliable source is able to capture/study one and confirm its a new species before I'll believe it.

Re:Looks a lot like a Fossa

[zolaar]

A more in-depth article about the afformentioned species' front paws: here

Ooh, bad pun...baaaad pun...

Re:Looks a lot like a Fossa

[vantango]

It looks like a red tree kangaroo known as Bennett's Tree Kangaroo. Try googling the latin name "Dendrolagus bennettianus" for some good pics.

It's a mammal, dark red, long fat tail, noctural and very shy. It's also a herbivore so there wouldn't be too many pictures of it trying meat. Maybe this is the only one?

Bah, nothing to be excited about...

[Havenwar]

Another furry critter that have survived for a long time until meeting humanity. Oh golly, let's stuff it and place it on the mantelpiece, or swarm scientists down to it's natural habitat until it gives up and hangs itself.

Some of the things in the back of my fridge have evolved to the point of coherent speech, and I'm sure life on earth would get as far if only scientists (and developers, of course) kept their fingers (and bulldozers) out of the game.

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[cfx666]

That's as funny as

In Soviet Russia you can find only old mammals!

or

I for one welcome our new beowulf cluster mammal!

Cfx

PS: Please don't kill dead jokes!

Wild Man From Borneo (1974)

[Tiro]

"Wild Man From Borneo"
by Kinky Friedman

I'm the star of Captain Midnight's traveling show
came to this circus many moons ago
my mother's in your story books
she loved a jungle king
left me standing here alone
inside the center ring

in a bamboo cage I crossed the raging sea
like a page torn direct from history
a hairy scary legendary screaming souvenir
don't you come too close to me
don't you come too near

(chorus)

I'm the wild man from Borneo
the wild man from Borneo
you come to see
what you want to see
you come to see but you never come to know of

the tattooed lady left the circus train
left all of her pictures in the rain
and I wonder if you're happy
I wonder if you're free
I wonder if you'll ever know the mark you left on me

(chorus)

Obligatory Futurama reference

[Dachannien]

Narrator: Bigfoot: Endangered Mystery! In the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest dwells the strange and beautiful creature known as Bigfoot, perhaps.

Fry: That proves it!

Narrator: Sadly, logging and human settlement today threaten what might possibly be his habitat, although if it's not, they don't. Bigfoot populations require vast amounts of land to remain elusive in. They typically dwell just behind rocks, but are also sometimes playful, bounding into thick fogs and out-of-focus areas. Remember, it's up to us. Bigfoot is a crucial part of the ecosystem, if he exists. So let's all help keep Bigfoot possibly alive for future generations to enjoy unless he doesn't exist. The end!

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[Sique]

As a matter of fact: France fought the most wars in modern history (that's since the 15th century). It fought more than Great Britain, Prussia and Austria (the other large nations in Europe with many battles) together. As far as I remember, it was more than 2000 wars with french involvement, compared with 500-700 for each of the other nations. The U.S. come not even close to a 10th of the numbers of France. And if french troups have surrendered here and there, the quote is still smaller than that of other nations (otherwise France would not be here anymore).

Jokes about France surrendering sheet more light on uneducated jokers than on french national characteristics. If you really want a nation to make jokes about because of constant bad luck in battles, take Saxony: No major victory in battle since the second siege of Vienna. Frederick the Great of Prussia once joked: Saxony is like a sack of flour: You can beat it as often as you want, there is still something coming out (Yes, I am of saxon origin).

More importantly

[Timberwolf0122]

does it run (Fe)Linux?

I'll get my hat....

Re:More importantly

[EmagGeek]

Just imagine a Beowulf cluster of them!!

What shall we call it ...?

[neiljt]

BBC TV reported that there was some debate over what the new beastie should be called. The leader of the team which discovered it was one Stephan Wulffraat.

I know what my money's on.

Re:What shall we call it ...?

[Anonymous Coward]

Stephan!

Re:What shall we call it ...?

[Zog The Undeniable]

Just imagine a Wulffraat cluster of those mammals!

Re:What shall we call it ...?

[guitaristx]

My lisp is gone!

Rodents Of Unusual Size?...

[Mendy]

...I don't think they exist.

Re:Rodents Of Unusual Size?...

[madaxe42]

Of course not.

Re:Rodents Of Unusual Size?...

[skegg]

Yes, inconceivable !!

Surface

[3.14159265]

Nice, here we go!

http://imdb.com/title/tt0452718/

Re:Surface

[ArwynH]

Small? Cat-sized? Carnivorous? Sounds more like these guys to me. Run while you still can!

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[grolschie]

Netcraft confirms that CowboyNeals new mammal is dead! oh and France surrenders!

Occam's Razor (also spelled Ockham's Razor)

[Life700MB]

The simplest explanation is usually the best.

From here.

--
Superb hosting 2400MB Storage, 120GB bandwidth, ssh, $7.95

Speaking of the plundering in the forests

[lightyear4]

With [Borneo's] current deforestation rate of 1.3 million hectares per year - an area equivalent to about one third of the size of Switzerland - only peat and montane forests would survive in the coming years.

[From WWF report via http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/media/2005/news_20 050613_ind.htm ]

1.3 million hectares = 3,212,369.96 acres ...and that's a lot of land - per year.

Makes you wonder what else has been trampled underfoot undiscovered.

this is so exciting

[asdomar]

You don't find new mammals that often, and to do so must be extraordinary
Callum Rankine

Hell yeah. I'd say this is exciting.
FYI it took me a lot to write this post. Using one hand on the keyboard makes me so slow!

Talk about a can of worms you just opened

[Flying pig]

Well, no, they aren't arbitrary, except in the pedantic sense that arbitrary means by making a judgement - as in the word "arbitration", and not in its modern sense of "just one person's opinion". They are based around the understanding of taxonomy available at the time. (And, ultimately, from the religious concept of the chain of being - it's remarkable that current Christian fundamentalism is actually regressive compared to 17th and 18th century Protestantism, and proof that society goes backwards as well as forwards.)

The whole area of the filing of lifeforms - taxonomy - is in a state of flux, and the best way to get a grip on it is to read the popular writings of Jay Gould, who is so sadly no longer with us. Classification with genetics is at an early stage and we still do not know how to measure genetic difference reliably - which is why there is now disagreement over how closely human beings and chimpanzees are related. We can measure very small genetic divergences in the same species, but measuring the size and significance of genetic diferences between related species is very hard.

Disclaimer - I am not a taxonomist, just someone who is interested in the subject. Which is why I urge you to read Jay Gould. Even if you aren't really that interested in the subject, his writings should be familiar to any reasonably well informed slashdot reader.

Re:Talk about a can of worms you just opened

[metlin]

to any reasonably well informed slashdot reader.

Ah, now *that* would be proof of Intelligent Design, right there! ;)

You are new here, aren't you, boy?

Re:Talk about a can of worms you just opened

[etresoft]

Sorry, I tried to read Stephen Jay Gould and just couldn't take it. Too dry and orthodox. Plus, haven't the intelligent design people debunked evolution? If you want a good alternative to evolution and intelligent design, pick up something by Vine Deloria Jr., who is also sadly no longer with us.

Re:Talk about a can of worms you just opened

[Mr. Bad Example]

> [...] there is now disagreement over how closely human beings and chimpanzees are related.

Ironically, the disagreements take the form of geneticists shrieking and flinging poop at each other.

Decided...

[earthstar]

From TFA

It is concerned that other as yet unknown creatures may go extinct before their existence can be documented.

So IT IS decided that these animals will go extinct is it?Documentaion of them is the main concern?!! huh.

Re:Decided...

[Red Flayer]

It is concerned that other as yet unknown creatures may go extinct before their existence can be documented.

"So IT IS decided that these animals will go extinct is it?Documentaion of them is the main concern?!! huh."

Well, yes, documentation is a concern. We don't know how many species have already gone extinct without any knowledge of them. It's also understood that awareness of a species is the first step to taking action to ensure that that species survives.

And if you can't stop the extinction, isn't collecting knowledge a worthwhile pursuit?

Re:Decided...

[star_aas]

may != will

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[meringuoid]

Further in France's defence, consider the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The British got themselves slaughtered. The French, OTOH, did a bloody good job. Had we been up to their military standards that day, there'd be a damn sight fewer names on memorials all over England, and the war might have ended a good deal sooner.

DINO!

[ZeroExistenZ]

For a second I saw a dinosaur in that, until I discovered the eyes and tried to see the "Not a lemur" thing. (ofcourse Dinosaurs aren't lemurs!)

Re:DINO!

[PFI_Optix]

For a second I saw a dinosaur in that, until I discovered the eyes and tried to see the "Not a lemur" thing. (ofcourse Dinosaurs aren't lemurs!) Good to know I'm not the only one. 'Chop out the eyes and you've got a great "Minidino discovered in _________!!!" headline for the Weekly World News.

Not planctons

[Nicolas MONNET]

Whales don't eat plancton, they eat small crustaceans (krill).

Some of them (toothed whales) eat fishes and other sea mammals as well IIRC.

Re:Not planctons

[trollable]

"Krill are shrimp-like marine invertebrate animals. These small crustaceans are important organisms of the zooplankton" (Wikipedia)

Re:Not planctons

[c_forq]

"Zooplankton (from Greek zoon, or animal), small protozoans or metazoans (e.g. crustaceans and other animals) that feed on other plankton. Some of the eggs and larvae of larger animals, such as fish, crustaceans, and annelids, are included here." (Wikipedia)

While technically a type of plankton, unlike phytoplankton or bacterioplankton the zooplankton is considered an animal, (phytoplankton being a plant/algae and bacterioplankton being bacteria). When most people think plankton they think of phytoplankton/algae.

Re:Not planctons

[RoadDoggFL]

Your little quote even identifies Krill as animal...

Re:Not planctons

[trollable]

eating animal != carnivore

Re:Not planctons

[RoadDoggFL]

Ok, but if the whale only eats krill (which might have been the whole root of this discussion, I don't really care anymore), then it = carnivore.

Re:Not planctons

[trollable]

According to Wikipedia, the baleen whales belong to the order Cetacea, not Carnivora. I also don't think krill is considered as meat. Anyway, my knowledge if this topic is limited.

Re:Not planctons

[RoadDoggFL]

So is mine, but when has that ever stopped anybody on slashdot?

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[Sique]

No, it's just the central situation in western Europe, bordering to Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Prussia and Austria, where all the other strong nation had only one or two strong neighbours.

PS: Austria no longer borders to France. It lost the Western Austria (Vorderoesterreich) in the aftermath of the Napoleon Wars. Same with the Netherlands. 1831 the southern provincies of the Netherlands segregated and formed the new country Belgium.

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[Sique]

Saxony is still a country. It just lost its state as Nation, :) being part of Germany since 1871. Nations that no longer exists would include Burgundy (now partly Belgium, Luxembourg and eastern France) and Venezia (Italy, Slovenia, southern Croatia, Albania, Greece).

for shame...

[wisdom_brewing]

no posts welcoming our new feline-marsupial hybrid red-furred overlords? for shame...

Well...

[Viper233]

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.
 
Well.. it could be a cat!!!

 
--
NO, I didn't RTFA, how observant of you.

Spirou?

[Filik]

This must be that long-tailed animal from Spirou. What is it called in English? (Was called Spiralis in Norwegian)

Re:Spirou?

[panthro]

Are you talking about Marsupilami?

Re:Spirou?

[Filik]

Indeed. It isn't yellow with black spots (unless its very dirty) and doesnt have quite that tail, but it seems the closest they've found so far.

No, no, no

[jimi the hippie]

It's:

In Korea only the old people discover new mammals.

AND

In Soviet Russia, the new mammal finds you!

GoldenPalace.com Lemur?

[Tillmann]

Hi, did they pick a name for the animal yet? Or are they going to sell naming rights on eBay? bye, Till

New species

[Tux2slack]

I find new species all the time in my fridge :> One of them ate my domestic cat.

Maybe it's the Chupecabra?

[syntap]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabras

Wrong continent, but I suppose it could have migrated. The Wiki picture is only one of many... others in the Google Image search look much like the recent pictures of the "new" animal.

Re:Maybe it's the Chupecabra?

[CAIMLAS]

No, probably not.

For one, it was found in Borneo. That's kinda far for something to migrate without swimming.

I'd bet it's either a breed similar to lemurs, or quite possibly a lemur itself. It's kind of hard to believe that lemurs only exist on a single island throughout the world.

Put lemurs in a different environment, and they're probably going to be capable of evolving into something that eats meat. I mean, we supposedly evolved from a lemur-like creature, so it's at least plauseable. There used to be Indian trade routes throughout that region of the world, long ago, so it's plauseable that Lemurs were at one time a domesticated animal used for food, or possibly for pets... not implauseable that one might escape.

do not look at this animal directly in the eye

[digitaldc]

you may become severely burned

"One of the photos clearly shows the length of the tail and how muscley it is; civets use their tails to balance in trees, so this new animal may spend chunks of its time up trees too."

It also sends chunks to the ground.

Found at last

[VinB]

It's Bill the cat! And he looks pissed.

Look out of your Goldfish Bowl

[abb3w]

Creation Took Eight Days...

Survivor Borneo

[akeyes]

Does it look like one of these?

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[agraupe]

Perhaps it's because the French were so very annoying, and smelled so bad.

What'cha gonna say now?

Just kidding, guys, but you all have to admit that the French (and even the French Canadians) are not that easy to get along with. An interesting statistic would be to see how many wars they've started vs. how many wars they've fought.

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[dmatos]

I dunno, I thought the second two were pretty funny. How about:

New mammal found: Don't worry, we set it up the bomb.
New mammal found: Netcraft confirms that it is dead.
New mammal found: Petrified remains are covered in hot grits for native dinner.

"believed to be carnivorous"

[Jivecat]

Oh sure -- you eat one conservationist, and they tag you a carnivore.

Looks lik a Cryptoprocta ferox EN C2a

[Ucidalin]

See check the link below. http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/mvpsg/species.h tml#Viverridae But these creatures are native to Madagascar.

Re:Looks lik a Cryptoprocta ferox EN C2a

[ares284]

Hey, isn't that a firefox down at the very bottom??

-Ares

Re:Is that what it takes?

[flyinwhitey]

Why is it that when some imbecile like you comes along, you never get the talking down you deserve?

Stop stereotyping, asshole, values have nothing to do with gender.

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[gowen]

You're right : That's way less funny than mine :)

Re:Solitary Protest

[flyinwhitey]

Right, god forbid those people actually living in Borneo be allowed to scrape out a living.

Shut up, your "righteous indignation" fails when people will have to starve for your conscience to be soothed.

How odd..

[shagism]

I also have a mammal the size of a domestic cat at my house!

It is also a carnivore!

This story is amazing!!

Is that why humans...

[Red Pointy Tail]

are either rare or low in the food chain?

I'd be interested in your survival story...

[mindaktiviti]

I know it's off topic but I'd be interested in reading about your survival story (i.e. being standed in the bush), and what sort of things you had to do (i.e. shelter, food, water).

Re:I'd be interested in your survival story...

[core plexus]

I'm working on a book, contact me via email or web and I'll share some tips. totalsecurity at gmail dot com

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[Dausha]

"As a matter of fact: France fought the most wars in modern history (that's since the 15th century). It fought more than Great Britain, Prussia and Austria (the other large nations in Europe with many battles) together. As far as I remember, it was more than 2000 wars with french involvement, compared with 500-700 for each of the other nations. The U.S. come not even close to a 10th of the numbers of France. And if french troups have surrendered here and there, the quote is still smaller than that of other nations (otherwise France would not be here anymore)."

That all depends on how you define war, and how far back you wish to stretch the timeline. The United States was involved in quite a few military expeditions in its past that were then referred to more as "minor wars." However, we don't seem to count those in the tally of wars one or lost. If you count minor wars, then the US was in several during the 90s: Rwanda, Kosovo, Somalia, to name a few. However, those hardly count as wars.

However, when we turn to "major wars," France has not done well at all since they became a republic. Napoleon did okay for a while. Got their tails kicked by the Prussians in the 1870s, the Germans in the 1910s (but for a concerted effort), the Germans again in the 1940s, Vietnam (which is more like a minor war by the definition I have for a minor war). The French have also been the least supportive of US military action, presumably because of the repercusions. Although, it may also be a historical friendliness between the Russians and French that partly motivates the French to be unsupportive--that and it sucks to have once been a Great Power and are now not. Don't worry, though, the US nears the downswing of that cycle.

Could be

[dheltzel]

someone's pet lemur that they just let out to "do it's business" and it strayed a bit far afield.

Still, the whole "new species of mammal" thing is a lot more exciting and newsworthy. I can't really blame them for making a bit of a fuss about it.

A fossa-like vivverid is pretty exciting...

[argent]

My first thought was that Nick Isaac was smoking something good. It sure looks like a fossa to me, and it's possibly a related viverrid. That could lead to a real breakthrough in our understanding of the Malagasay viverrids. As far as I know there really aren't any close relatives of the fossa anywhere else in the world, and this could help solve the question of whether the fossa (Cryptoprocta Ferox) and the malagasay civet (confusingly categorised as Fossa Fossana) are related or not.

Re:A fossa-like vivverid is pretty exciting...

[Pollardito]

i don't understand why the first inclination is not "this is some escaped pet that was imported". and not just a fleeting inclination, but one that prevents them from filing such a stupid story before they get more evidence on this animal. this story is being drummed up by people who A. want to see themselves in the paper and/or B. want to use this species as their tool for conservation.

Local people, the WWF says, had not seen the species before, and researchers say it looks to be new.

this thing is too damned big to be alive for god-knows-how-long and unseen by locals. if it wasn't imported, than it has been there tens of thousands of years, especially since no one seems to even know another species that looks similar that is indigenous

"The photos look most like a lemur," he told the BBC News website. "But there certainly shouldn't be lemurs in Borneo."

there certainly shouldn't be humans in Antarctica...new species!

That could be one reason why it has not been spotted before. Another could be that access to the heart of Borneo is becoming easier as population centres expand and roads are built.

locals always had access to the heart of Borneo, and they didn't see it before either. is there essentially no one living there at all? i realize that this isn't some suburb, but surely there is a decent population of people in the region that they'd have seen something like this

Re:A fossa-like vivverid is pretty exciting...

[argent]

I'm not sure why you attached this to my comment rather than the top level, but I'll make a couple of comments anyway.

1. Borneo is large and sparsely populated, particularly in the high altitude rainforests.

2. When they say "the local people don't know it" you don't know who they talked to. There must be 50 ethnic groups and languages on Borneo, and subsistence farmers don't travel huge distances.

3. "New mammal species" doesn't mean "nobody's ever seen it before". It just means "nobody who publishes in academic journals has seen it before". Columbus didn't discover the New World, the people living there had known about it all their lives... they discovered Columbus!

Re:A fossa-like vivverid is pretty exciting...

[Pollardito]

i attached it to your comment because this portion of your previous post :

As far as I know there really aren't any close relatives of the fossa anywhere else in the world, and this could help solve the question of whether the fossa (Cryptoprocta Ferox) and the malagasay civet (confusingly categorised as Fossa Fossana) are related or not.

it seemed to me that not only was the most logical explanation of "this is probably an escaped pet" being brushed aside, but that the explanation that was being chosen instead was being run with further and further down the line. i guess i was frustrated that this key question was completely overlooked in the article and the early threads here, and that ever more arcane aspects of this (honestly least likely) explanation were instead being explored.

Re:A fossa-like vivverid is pretty exciting...

[argent]

i attached it to your comment because this portion of your previous post

OK, I don't get it. I'm not taking anything and running "further and further with it", I started at the same line as everything else.

I looked at the picture, went 'that looks like a fossa, interesting' and because the taxonomical confusion over madagascar's viverrids was fresh in my mind I thought it worth commenting about. I added it to the comment about the fossa because I started out looking for a comment about a fossa to attach it to, because someone reading a message about a fossa might find it interesting, not because I read it and went "oh, yeh, a fossa".

On the other hand, someone who might be in the potential audience for comments about escaped pets would more likely find your message if it was at the top level and labeled "It might be an escaped pet". You might want to repost.

Re:A fossa-like vivverid is pretty exciting...

[momoe]

The relationships among the Malagasy carnivores is well supported as a single lineage by a large molecular dataset in a recent study. See Poux et al. 2005 "Asynchronous Colonization of Madagascar by the Four Endemic Clades of Primates, Tenrecs, Carnivores, and Rodents as Inferred from Nuclear Genes" Systematic Biology 54(5): pp 719-730. Laurence Frabotta, PhD

Re:A fossa-like vivverid is pretty exciting...

[argent]

That paper doesn't seem to say anything about the relationship of (for example) Fossa Fossana to other civets, rather it's using the divergence of Cryptoprocta and Fossa to set bounds on how recently any single period of colonization could have occurred.

Without including non-malagasay civets in the study you can't rule out separate colonization. The only related carnivores they include in the study are Crocuta and Suricata.

After a bit more searching I've found a much better study published in 2003: Yoder, A.D. and J.J. Flynn. Origin of Malagasy Carnivora. In: The Natural History of Madagascar (S. M. Goodman and J. Benstead, eds.) University of Chicago Press, pp. 1253-1256. which does make a compelling case.

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[orzetto]

Considering France's repeated losses to Germany

Repeated? It happened once, and the US did do absolutely nothing until declared war upon by Hitler! Get your facts straight, US participation is WW1 was minor.

an agenda

[Anonymous Coward]

This came out faster than researchers could verify the results, and before they obtained a live capture.

I think we should all take this with a grain of salt, that picture could have been taken anywhere.

Keep in mind these people have an agenda to stop logging in the area. Though a noble effort, a bad though crafty way to go about acquiring results. However, it may be that there is no logging going on in these parts in which case they are lying to make sure the area is declared forest preserve. It may be that this ends up working, and the area ends up protected in the future as a result.

Just something to think about.

Hasn't Bigfoot taught us anything?

[JourneyExpertApe]

"The photos look most like a lemur," he told the BBC News website. "But there certainly shouldn't be lemurs in Borneo."

It's obviously just a man in a lemur costume.

No, but there was one singing...

[jd]

"Brains, brains, I love brains..."

And it shall be called...

[teknopagan]

They could name it after the leading biologist on the team, Stephen Wulffraat - "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you - the Wolf-Rat!"

Sweet!

[JojoLinkyBob]

Just in time, O'Reilly must be running out of unique book covers by now :]
I wonder which lucky book title will be affiliated with this critter.

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[Sique]

The member states of the Federal Republic of Germany are called 'countries'. Saxony is one of them: the Free State of Saxony.

My statement is similar to the statement, that Texas is a republic, but not a nation.

Not quite

[jd]

Baeleen whales do indeed eat plankton (and sometimes krill), as they are filter-feeders. Toothed whales eat larger fish (sometimes caught in a net of air bubbles a group of whales will produce), squid and other larger sea creatures. Dolphins (which are technically in the whale family) are even known to eat porpoises (also in the whale family). Interestingly, there is actually footage of Orcas (which are dolphins) throwing porpoises through the air with their tail repeatedly to each other, before killing and eating them.

Toothed whales cannot (as far as I know) eat plankton, so they are definitely carnivores. Krill is animal, as are zooplankton (as opposed to phytoplankton, which is plant, and bacterioplankton, which is bacterial). This means that Baeleen whales are eating both plant and animal, so are technically omnivores.

Dogs are also omnivores - well, maybe I should say that they THINK they're omnivores. T. Rex was probably omnivore - there is evidence it ate plant material - and if they ever extract any DNA from the T. Rex organic material they've found, you may yet get the chance to eat one. Or vice versa.

Re:Not quite

[trollable]

T. Rex was probably omnivore - there is evidence it ate plant material

I could not find any link. Could you post some here?

Re:Not quite

[jd]

My bad - the two links I was thinking of (Killer Dino Turned Vegitarian and Dinosaurs Got Munchies For Grass do not refer to T. Rex. (Mind you, they don't completely rule it out, either. "Indiscriminate eaters" is an interesting term.)

Wierd family

[bradleyland]

This family is full of misfits. Ever seen a civet, or a fossa?

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[Sique]

The definition used for the statistics (by an U.S. researcher btw.) was: 'armed conflict involving at least 1000 armed persons on each side'. And if you are talking about being kicked in the ass by the Germans: France was on the winning side in both World War I and World War II in the end. However they managed this may be subject to discussion, but they prevailed.

The connection to France becoming a losing party after turning republic is also flawed. In 1870 France was an imperium with Napoleon III being the emperor. Only after that France became a republic again after the conflict between the proletarian and the bourgeois side (the Commune of Paris 1870/71) was over. After that France did remarkably well until 1956 (battle of Dien Bien Pu).

A lot of wars France was losing in the last half of the 20th century were colonial wars. The U.S. never claimed any country formally as a colony, so the U.S. never had a chance to lose a similar war. The U.S. was instead losing a lot of supportive dictatorships during the 20th century (Cuba, Nicaragua, South Vietnam, Haiti, Iran...) or were having rebellious allegiancies (Angola, again Nicaragua, Venezuela...) which lost. This really improves the formal balance sheet for the U.S. because they could always claim not to be a party in the conflict.

Obligatory Ahnold reference

[kpang]

"It's not a lemuhr"

lemur

[big_scary_robot]

The first thing i thought when i saw the picture was "lemur."

"But there certainly shouldn't be lemurs in Borneo."

Lemurs... Madagascar. Pirates in the Indian Ocean used Madagascar as base of operations. Pirates were all about having exotic pets (monkeys, the obligotory parot. why not a lemur?). Is it posible that pirates in the Indian Ocean could have ended up in Borneo?

We can't wipe this one out... yet...

[EmagGeek]

We first have to understand where it is on the food chain. It might be a vital link in the production of human food. Also, we don't know yet what it tastes like, or if its fur is usable for industrial purposes. Perhaps the skin of this critter has properties that make it useful for clothing, footwear, or seating for luxurious Italian sports cars.

What the WWF really needs to do is capture the male and female of the species and determine if they will breed in captivity. If so, we could easily answer all of these questions. You never know, you might be able to burn this thing's piss in your car for fuel. If it tastes good, well then there's a whole new food source. If the fur is particulary soft or the skin is supple, I see whole new clothing lines on the horizon.

Bottom line is, we should hold off on the logging until we develop some new industry centered around the wholesale raising and slaughtering of this potentially useful species..

the question is...

[halfelven]

...is it designed in an intelligent fashion, or is it some randomly evolved scum? :-)

Fishy chicken...

[tjwhaynes]

Well, crodile tastes a bit like chicken

I've eaten crocodile and the last thing I thought of was chicken. Maybe chicken that had decided that flying was for the birds and had chosen to devolve back to the sea for a couple of dozen millenia. There is something distinctly fishy about crocodile.

Cheers,
Toby Haynes

Re:Fishy chicken...

[swv3752]

I find croc is to chicken as venison is to beef. A little wild if not gamey but of a similiar texture and taste.

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[AJWM]

So, while it's great France may have had success during the age of the longbow,

Um, no. See the Battle of Agincourt.

Re:Let me be the first to say...

[tootlemonde]

armed conflict involving at least 1000 armed persons ...

That definition is useful as far as it goes but it probably could not be stretched to include the longest, most expensive war since the Hundred Years War, which was the Cold War.

France was an active participant on the side of NATO during the Cold War and can rightly claim some of the glory in the defeat of the Soviet Union. If so, a victory of that scale certainly dwarfs France's record of defeat in lesser conflicts.

As Sun Tzu observed, "For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence."

Re:Solitary Protest

[FishandChips]

Ah, I expect you're an American and are having trouble finding Borneo on a map while whining about the high price of gas for your 8 miles to the gallon SUV. Reading Slashdot is a great way to discover that most Americans appear to know nothing of the world outside the USA other than how to bomb it.

Tastes like chicken

[queenb**ch]

Seriously, everything tastes like chicken so this will too. That said, perhaps it won't catch the bird flu, so we can farm big vast hordes of them, like we do chickens now. Then we'll all be safe from the pandemic.

See Mother Nature provides....

2 cents,

Queen B

Re:Solitary Protest

[blankypoo]

"This musk is gathered by scraping it out of the Civet's anal sacs, a very painful process" (Wikipedia) Brings a new meaning to the term "scrape out a living."

Lemur

[CAIMLAS]

Is it just me, or do the photos closely resemble a lemur?

News Flash!

[azav]

Bill Gates Found in Borneo.

Film at 11.

Species: Dorkus geekio

Re:Solitary Protest

[flyinwhitey]

So, apart form your pathetic attempt at an insult, what was the point of your post?

Making stupid accusations changes what? The fact that I'm American means what?

See, that's a typical euro, make an accusation in place of an argument, because there is no counter argument.

Nice try with the ad hominem though, maybe if the schools in your part of Europe were better you'd be able to discuss things rationally.

No, wrong again

[flyinwhitey]

"Germany is a federal republic made up of 16 states, known in German as Länder (singular Land). Since Land is also the German word for "country", the term Bundesländer ("Federal States"; singular Bundesland) is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. A few of the states are city states, while others are Flächenländer ("area states")."

Just a trick of language, whic you disingenuously attempted to pawn off as reality.

"Bundesländer" does NOT mean counrty, and they use it to avoid confusing people like you who are too intellectually lazy to understand the correct translation.

"My statement is similar to the statement, that Texas is a republic, but not a nation."

Yes, I agree, the statements are similar in that they are both wrong.

Bigot

[flyinwhitey]

Stop trying to backpedal, you displayed your bigotry, and now you're trying to pawn it off as "energy".

It's bigotry, regardless.

"Feminine energy or values is about nurturing, heart-connection, love, education, sharing and openness.

Masculine energy or values is about control, power, achievements, height, everything big and huge and pretty darn impressive and controlling."

That's just stupid on the face of it. Those values are neither "masculine" nor "feminine" in that they appear in everyone. They are simply "values" nothing more, stop making up arbitrary categories and then trying to pigeonhole peole based on them.

Honestly, it disgusts me when I have to deal with people who display your level of ignorance and prejudice, because no amount of reason will ever get through.

Re:New "species" of "mammal"? Hair?

[citabjockey]

What does the hair look like? What about the hips?

Elvis?