Global News - April 2008
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Very rare rat rediscovered in the Philippines
Mon 28 April 2008 14:00 UK — Asia,Other
A very rare species of rat has been rediscovered by scientists, over a century after it was last seen in the Philippines.
The local Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that a team of American and Filipino biologists found the dwarf cloud rat in the mountainous northern region of the country.
While the specimen that was discovered was dead, the findings offers hope that the species could still exist in the region. The last time the rat was formally seen was over 112 years ago by British scientists.
Lawrence Heaney, team leader and curator at the Chicago-based Field Museum of Natural History, explained to the paper: "It is the animal whose existence had baffled biologists for so many years.
"The Philippines may have the greatest concentration of unique biological diversity, relative to its size, of any country in the world."
Danilo Balete, a research associate, is reported to have added that the specimen was found in the tree canopy near Mount Pulag.
Mr Heaney concluded: "Now that we know where to look for them, it will be possible to learn more."
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