Giant rat, tree kangaroo among ‘Lost World’ discoveries
A new species of giant rat, a kangaroo-type creature that lives in trees and a fanged frog are among more than 40 never-before-seen creatures discovered during a “Lost World”-style expedition to a previously unexplored volcanic crater in Papua New Guinea.
A crew from the BBC Natural History Unit accompanied scientists from the UK, the US and Papua New Guinea on their remarkable adventure into the three-kilometer wide crater of Mount Bosavi – an environment protected by 1,000-metre natural walls where life has evolved undisturbed since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago.
Within 30 seconds of stepping out of a helicopter onto the rim of the volcano, the team had spotted a previously unknown type of frog, one of 16 new species of amphibian identified during the two-week trip.
One of the most remarkable discoveries was the giant rat, now known as the Bosavi woolly rat, Measured at 82 centimetres in length, the vegetarian rodent is among the biggest species of rat in the world.
“This is one of the world’s largest rats. It is a true rat, the same kind you find in the city sewers,” Kristofer Helgen, a mammalogist based at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and a member of the expedition, told the BBC.
Other discoveries included the world’s smallest parrot, various fish, spiders and insects and a tree-dwelling marsupial, the Bosavi silver cuscus, which was so tame that it climbed into the back of naturalist Steve Backshall.
“I can’t begin to describe how it feels to have an animal in my hands that in all probability has never been seen by science,” Backshall told the Guardian.
“Most biologists would consider it a great achievement to name one new species but at some points on this trip it seemed like everything we were looking at was new. The end of every day was like a massive party. It was very special.”
“The Lost World of the Volcano” begins on BBC One on Tuesday 8 September at 2100 BST . Click here for more about the expedition or watch a clip from the show below.