The hog-nosed shrew rat was discovered in Sulawesi island.
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Named by the discovery team from Museum Victoria, Indonesia’s Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense and the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, the rat’s scientific name is Hyorhinomys stuempkei.
The hog-nosed shrew was spotted by a team of researchers in the mountainous north peninsula of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. “But it also has a long face and larger ears for a rat of its size and lower teeth which are more in common with shrew rats”, he added.
Mammal expert, Kevin Rowe, said it was an “exciting moment” finding the “hog-nosed rat”.
In fact, it’s so genetically different from other species, that this little piggy-rat has earned its own genus (that’s a step above species … if “species” is a Golden Globe, “genus” is an Oscar).
Instead, Dr Rowe described them as “curious” and told MailOnline they “are much longer than the hairs on any rats” that he is aware of.
‘Long hairs often have a spatial sensory function, like a cat’s whiskers being used to gauge width.
They say the rodent has features that have never been seen by scientists before.
The curator of mammals at LSU, Jake Esselstyn, said he and Rowe knew they were looking at a new species after catching an animal in their traps during a field expedition in 2013.
‘This rat, which we’re calling the hog-nosed rat because of its long hog nose, is like no other rat that has been seen on Sulawesi’.
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‘The extent of diversity among these animals is remarkable considering the small number of species now known, ‘ the researchers concluded. “So we expected to find new species, but we’ve been quite surprised”.
