Scientists have discovered the remains of giant rats

The incredible size of the bones were discovered in the Solomon Islands.

Zoologists have discovered in the Solomon Islands is extremely large rat, whose weight may reach one kilogram. This creature is mentioned in the culture of the local aboriginal people.

The new species was given the name Uromys vika.

American scientists have described a new species of rats, they discovered the Solomon Islands after many decades of fruitless search. The creature is mentioned under the name “Vick” in the folklore of the locals. It was described as fairly large animal, lead a concealed mode of life. Researchers have long doubted that there is a giant rat, but now they found evidence of the veracity of the legend says.

Arrived in the Solomon Islands zoologist Lavery Tyrone (Tyrone Lavery) spoke about the large rodent, who was removed from the tree. The creature had red color. Length without tail reached 46 cm and weighed an animal of 500 grams to one kilogram. For comparison, the length of the body of conventional rats is 8-30 cm and a weight of 30 to 400 grams. Individuals rats can weigh up to 500 grams.

When Lavery arrived on the scene, unusual animal was already dead and his body decayed. Assumed that speech can go about one of the already known species, however, the analysis of the skull, hair and DNA showed that it is not. The new species was named Uromys vika.

The animal eats coconut, gnawing the shell, and eating the flesh of the nut inside. Also in the Uromys vika diet includes fruits. According to scientists, the reason for the “semi-mythical” status of the rats is her lifestyle. The fact that it lives on the branches of trees, rarely going down. Find a rat in the foliage, and even at high altitude, very difficult.

Like many other representatives of the fauna of the Solomon Islands, a giant rat threatens extinction. This is due, in particular, deforestation. Researchers have not lost hope that the authorities will take measures to save endangered animals.

The new discovery once again shows us how bad a person knows their home planet. A large part of the Solomon Islands cover the humid Equatorial forests, hiding is still rich, often endemic fauna of the archipelago. Tyrone Lavery believes that the ancestors of Uromys vika came to the Solomon Islands about the same as many other species of animals, in particular rats. They “traveled” on the trunks of the trees, which were thrown into the ocean of the rivers of Asia and Australia. To understand many aspects related to the life of the open, will help new research.

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