In recent weeks, scientists have announced the discovery of not one, but two new mammals species:
Scientists describe new species all the time. But usually they're really small, like insects, or live in hard-to-reach places, like under water. New mammals are rare. These two species both come from remote jungle regions, and are shy, timid creatures that avoid humans.
Interestingly, both species were well-known to local people. So these species aren't really "new" — they're just "new to science."
You know what I love about this story? The rodent that was found was for sale at a market as food. I guess that old saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure," extends to food as well. I wonder if word ever got back to the local market that they are at the center of a worldwide news story.
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bryan kennedy
Science Buzz Site Admin
Hold the phone! It turns out this species isn't new, it was just missing. Scientists have compared the specimen from the marketplace to fossils and found that the "new" species is actually a "living fossil," a member of a group of rodents thought to be extinct for 11 million years!
I don't know which is cooler -- finding a new species, or finding a species that everyone thought was extinct!
In any event, no Western scientist has ever seen one alive. Finding a living specimen is the next step -- and would offer an unparalleld look at life in the past.
Science Buzz is supported by the National Science Foundation.
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