The new species is described in the study as being small and grey, with dense fur that stands upright and can “be brushed any direction.” Its eyes are small and its snout is covered in long whiskers that may help it to detect its aquatic invertebrate prey. Its tail is also whiskered, and is long – nearly 25 percent longer than its body. On the bottoms of its toes are small, fleshy pads that may help it hold onto the streambed when hunting underwater. Water rats occur all over the world, from Australia to South America. However, while they all possess similar aquatic adaptations, these appear to have arisen independently in many species via a process called “convergent evolution.” Indeed, the new water rat isn’t even closely related to similar-looking water rats that live on the nearby island of New Guinea. Genetic analyses indicates this new species is actually more closely related to Sulawesis terrestrial carnivorous rodents. The Sulawesi water rat and the water rats of New Guinea are no more closely related to each other than either is to the house mouse or the lab rat, but they live in similar environments, which may explain their convergent morphologies, said Jacob Esselstyn, curator of mammals at Louisiana State University’s Museum of Natural Science, and part of the research team that discovered W. mamasae. Read more at news.mongabay/2014/0619-morgan-water-rat.html#1ephXqHLSWFkjWRC.99
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 01:02:42 +0000
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