Trendy Rodents Descended From ‘Big Cloud Rats’ Ancestors within the Philippines, Finds Research

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This was unlike other studies that focused on carefully sifting cave debris that preserved a wider range of vertebrate sizes, including rodent teeth and bones.

Cute may not be the adjective you would use to describe rats. However, a new study found that the distant cousins ​​of these urban rodents are far more lovable and cuddly. Known as “giant cloud rats,” these species are native to the Southeast Asian region of the Philippines. They have been living in the Philippines for a long time, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Mammalogy, and fossils of three new species of giant cloud rats prove they coexisted with ancient Homo sapiens. Larry Heaney, the Neguanee curator on mammals at Chicago’s Field Museum and author of the study, said in a statement that they have shown in their previous studies that the Philippines has one of the most impressive concentrations of unique mammal species in any country. Most of these are small animals, less than half a pound, that live in tropical forests.

The giant cloud rats play an important role in the ecology of the Philippines, much like that of the squirrels in the United States. Larry also mentioned that these recently extinct species fossils show not only that biodiversity was even greater in the recent past, but that the two that became extinct a few thousand years ago were one of the giants of the rodent family. Both now extinct species weighed more than two pounds, the study shows. Researchers also wonder if its sudden disappearance a few thousand years ago was related to its size, which might have made it ideal for hunting and eating.

Janine Ochoa, assistant professor of archeology at the University of the Philippines at Diliman and lead author of the study, said in a statement that her research has focused on open-air sites known to have preserved a collection of large fossil mammalian faunas. This was unlike other studies that focused on carefully sifting cave debris that preserved a wider range of vertebrate sizes, including rodent teeth and bones.

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