A new rat species has been found in the Solomon Islands located in eastern Papua New Guinea. Reported by Live Science, this rare species of mice have a larger size than rodents in general.
This rat species has been the discovery of the newest rodent species after 80 years.
Earlier in 2010, animal mammal researcher Tyrone Lavery had heard rumors of a giant rat that could crack coconuts. This rat called "vika" is known to live in the trees of Vangunu Island, one of the islands of the Solomon Islands. The story of vika has even been known by the islanders who immortalize it to sing the children. But Lavery herself has never seen this creature directly.
Then finally in 2015, a forest guard on Vangunu Island caught one of these rare mice when the mouse ran out of the fallen tree. Lavery who then examine the mice immediately know there is a different.
This mice turned out to be another 8 species of mice that is a local species in the Solomon Islands. Lavery then compared these rare rat specimens with other mice in museum collections via DNA checks.
This mouse was confirmed as a new species named Uromys vika.
Uromys vika has a length of 46cm when measured from the tip of the nose to the tail, with a weight of 1 kg. In comparison, black mice that we often meet in general weighs 200 grams.
According to Lavery, dozens of new mammalian species are identified each year. Lavery theorized that the ancestors of Uromys vika were most likely brought to the Solomon Islands and evolved into a new species after years of isolation.
However, Uromys vika appears in the Journal of Mammalogy 27 Sept. 2017 was then described as an endangered species. This is due to its small habitat scope, with low population numbers. Not only that, Uromys vika population is also threatened due to commercial logging taking place on Vangunu Island.
"... If we do not find [Uromys vika] now, maybe [this species] will never be found, the area where [this species] is found is one of the few remaining unlogged forests."