Another Giant Rat, this time from the Solomans

  • Thread starter Thread starter BillTre
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Time
AI Thread Summary
A recently described species of rat from the Solomon Islands sparked a discussion about giant rats in both nature and literature, referencing a famous quote from Sherlock Holmes about the "giant rat of Sumatra." The conversation highlighted the prevalence of giant and dwarf species on isolated islands, explained by Foster's Rule and the Theory of Island Biogeography by R. MacArthur and E. O. Wilson. The discussion also touched on the phenomenon of island gigantism and dwarfism, noting examples like mini-elephants and the "hobbits" of Flores. The connection between literature and real-world biology was emphasized, showcasing the interplay between fictional narratives and scientific discoveries.
BillTre
Science Advisor
Gold Member
2024 Award
Messages
2,681
Reaction score
11,632
I just read about a recently described species of rat in an article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/science/giant-rat-coconuts-solomon-islands.html?emc=edit_th_20170930&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=38810697
This, of course, reminded me of the famous line from a Sherlock Holmes story.
Holmes is one of my favorite literary characters and I consider Mr. Spock to be the second coming of Sherlock.

The original giant rat quote is:
"Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson, ... It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared."

After looking this up in wikipedia, I discovered there have (of course) are actually many Giant Rats in nature as well as in literature after Conan Doyle's story (see wikipedia article), some of which were not that unreasonable WRT the original quote (rats involved in disease transmission on a ship which becomes depopulated).
 
  • Like
Likes jim mcnamara
Biology news on Phys.org
I reread all the Sherlock Homes stories about every ten years or so.

Giant vertebrates (and dwarf species, too) are common on isolated islands, first explained well by Foster's Rule and generalized by Theory of Island Biogeography. (R MacArthur and E O Wilson)

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_gigantism
 
  • Like
Likes BillTre
I was about to say that big things will also tend to get smaller, but then I saw it in your link!

I was thinking mini-elephants and relatives (on many islands islands) and mini-people (the hobbits on Flores).
 
Can't resist
 

Thread 'Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)'

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/body-dysmorphia/ Most people have some mild apprehension about their body, such as one thinks their nose is too big, hair too straight or curvy. At the extreme, cases such as this, are difficult to completely understand. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/health/other/why-would-someone-want-to-amputate-healthy-limbs/ar-AA1MrQK7?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=68ce4014b1fe4953b0b4bd22ef471ab9&ei=78 they feel like they're an amputee in the body of a regular person "For...
View full post »
Thread 'Did they discover another descendant of homo erectus?'

Thread 'Did they discover another descendant of homo erectus?'

The study provides critical new insights into the African Humid Period, a time between 14,500 and 5,000 years ago when the Sahara desert was a green savanna, rich in water bodies that facilitated human habitation and the spread of pastoralism. Later aridification turned this region into the world's largest desert. Due to the extreme aridity of the region today, DNA preservation is poor, making this pioneering ancient DNA study all the more significant. Genomic analyses reveal that the...
View full post »

Thread 'Warning of new opiod drug (nitazene) on the streets: Question re strength...'

Whenever these opiods are mentioned they usually mention that e.g. fentanyl is "50 times stronger than heroin" and "100 times stronger than morphine". Now it's nitazene which the public is told is everything from "much stronger than heroin" and "200 times stronger than fentany"! Do these numbers make sense at all? How do they arrive at them? Kill thousands of mice? En passant: nitazene have already been found in both Oxycontin pills and in street "heroin" here, so Naloxone is more...
View full post »

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top