Giant rat discovered in Mount Bosavi crater

[waht]

Wow it's almost straight out of Jurassic Park, or Jules Verne's novels.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/07/discovery-species-papua-new-guinea

A team of scientists from Britain, the United States and Papua New Guinea found more than 40 previously unidentified species when they climbed into the kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosavi and explored a pristine jungle habitat teeming with life that has evolved in isolation since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago. In a remarkably rich haul from just five weeks of exploration, the biologists discovered 16 frogs which have never before been recorded by science, at least three new fish, a new bat and a giant rat, which may turn out to be the biggest in the world.

the giant rat:

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/5349/algratvolcanostill.jpg

 

[Mk]

Scientific American recently had a similar article on their site:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-species-himalayas

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

pretty sure they grow that big in the NYC subways ;)