A RARE species of giant woolly rat has been documented in photos and video footage for the first time ever.
The elusive, nocturnal Subalpine Woolly Rat, or Mallomys istapantap, can be found high up in the mountains of Papua New Guinea.
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New Guinean Woolly rats are some of the largest murine rodents in the world – and are triple the size of the average rodent in the UK or US.
Despite its total length of 85cm, 8cm-long paws, and body weight of roughly 2kg – the giant woolly rat has evaded researchers for decades.
The species was last recorded 30 years ago and had never before been photographed until now.
František Vejmělka, a Czech doctoral candidate from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of South Bohemia, is the first person to scientifically document the Subalpine Woolly Rat in the wild.
With help from several local tribes, Vejmělka was able to document the rare species while on a six-month expedition from the base to the summit of Mount Wilhelm – the highest peak in Papua New Guinea at 4,509m high.
“It’s astonishing that such a large and striking animal has remained so poorly studied,” said Vejmělka.
“How much more is there to discover about the biodiversity of tropical mountains?”
The creatures are typically found in regions up to 3,700metres high.
Its nocturnal habits – and the inaccessibility of its habitat – have made it extremely difficult to observe in the wild.
And until now, the Subalpine Woolly Rat was known to science only from a handful of museum specimens.
Vejmělka documentation means scientists now have biometric measurements of the creatures.
They also have knowledge other aspects of its lifestyle, such as the animal’s diet, parasites that affect them, and activity patterns.
The shaggy-furred rat climbs trees at night, hides in underground burrows or tree canopies during the day, and feeds exclusively on plant matter.
“If it weren’t for the indigenous hunters who accompanied me in the mountains and helped me locate the animals,” said Vejmělka. “I would never have been able to collect this data.”
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