The mystery Mohican
Isothrix barbarabrownae was discovered at 6,200ft
Also In The News
|
Julio Baptista scored at both ends as Arsenal came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Tottenham in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final. |  |
Thursday, 25, Jan 2007 12:01
A rodent with a strange-looking Mohican has been discovered in the depths of the Peruvian jungle.
The animal, discovered by Chicago biologists working in the cloud-forests of Peru's Manu national park and biosphere reserve, boasts a blackish ridge of striking hair along its spine, strikingly contrasting with its reddy-brown fur. If that wasn't enough, it features a long black tail with a white end.
Details of its lifestyle remain in the realms of the unknown, however. The rodent was discovered in 1999 during field research at 6,200ft above sea level on the eastern side of the Andes mountain range, but efforts to find other examples of it failed completely.
Scientists did secure DNA samples, leading to useful revelations about cloud-forest fauna.
"The new species is not only a handsome novelty," said Bruce Patterson, of the Field Museum in Chicago.
"Preliminary DNA analyses suggest that its nearest relatives, all restricted to the lowlands, may have arisen from Andean ancestors. The newly discovered species casts a striking new light on the evolution of an entire group of arboreal rodents."
Manu national park boasts the largest variety of species for its size than any equivalent area on the planet - including the strange squirrel-like creature.
"Like other tropical mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas, Ruwenzoris, Virungas and Kinabalu, the Andes support a fantastic variety of habitats," Mr Patterson added.
"These in turn support some of the richest faunas on the planet."
Struck by its strange beauty, the inspired naturalists have named the new species the strikingly poetic name of Isothrix barbarabrownae.