Giant 'rat as big as a cat' with three-inch claws and sharp incisors caught on camera
Termed the subalpine woolly rat, this massive vermin is kitted out with razor-sharp teeth, dense fur, and three-inch talons – and has now been snapped by cameras for the first time ever, the MailOnline reports.
Breathtaking video captured the bushy-tailed rodent bustling along a tree limb under cover of darkness, presumably on the prowl for grub. For those fretting about encountering such a titan, rest assured, this mammoth pest is not a UK resident – its home is the craggy high terrain of Mount Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea.
The revelation was brought to light by scientist František Vejmělka of the Czech Academy of Sciences' Biology Center and the University of South Bohemia.
His words: 'It's astonishing that such a large and striking animal has remained so poorly studied. How much more is there to discover about the biodiversity of tropical mountains?' reports Birmingham Live.
Previously, this colossal rodent – known to science as Mallomys istapantap – was merely recognised from scant museum records, originally chronicled in 1989, unseen in nature for over thirty years.
However, amid a half-year-long research trip, Mr Vejmělka, alongside local tribespeople, managed to secure both still images and moving pictures of this reclusive creature in its authentic surroundings.
Camera traps positioned at a lofty 12,000ft up Mount Wilhelm, which towers at an astonishing 14,793ft, have snared images of the elusive rat navigating through the mist-cloaked forests and grasslands.
The subalpine woolly rat, sizing up at a massive 2.7 feet from nose to tail tip and tipping the scales at nearly 2kg, shadows its humble brown rat relative that measures a mere 11 inches and weighs a paltry 200-300g. Read More Scientists map gusty winds in a far-off neutron star system
Indeed, this sizable rodent is comparable in length to a typical domestic cat which usually hits the scales between 3.6 to 4.5kg and stretches about 2.3 feet.
Vejmělka has collated vital information on the rat's feeding habits, parasites, patterns of activity, and routes of travel, casting light on a creature long shrouded in obscurity.
This night-time wanderer leads a clandestine existence, scaling trees in the dark, concealing itself in burrows or tree crowns during daylight, and feasting solely on vegetation.
The research findings, chronicled in the journal Mammalia, represent significant steps towards demystifying the enigmatic furry denizens that inhabit New Guinea's inaccessible highlands.
'These are the first specimen records in 30 years for this spectacular mammal poorly known to science,' Mr Vejmělka observed, commending local tribes for their role in the breakthrough.
'Camera trap images and video, as well as photographs of the habitat and hunting with indigenous people, deepen our understanding of the activity patterns, locomotion, diet, intrageneric elevational partitioning, and behavioural ecology of the woolly rats.'
These New Guinean woolly rats, along with the giant cloud rats of the Philippines, are the largest rodents in the murine family, having evolved over five million years on rainforest-clad mountain slopes, free from competing mammals.
However, despite its impressive size, the subalpine woolly rat is not the largest rat species.
That accolade goes to the Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus), which can reach up to 3ft in length – half of which is made up by its tail.
Also in contention is the Malagasy giant rat (Hypogeomys antimena) from Madagascar, which measures around 2ft.
Nevertheless, none of today's rodents quite match up to prehistoric giants such as Josephoartigasia monesi or Phoberomys pattersoni – now extinct – which once roamed the Earth as part of the planet's long-lost megafauna.
These colossal creatures likely became extinct due to climate changes, environmental shifts, and human hunting.
However, the recent discovery of the subalpine woolly rat demonstrates that the world still harbours many hidden giants – and not all of them are merely the stuff of legend.
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