From NALINM@AOL.COM Sun May 22 12:55:52 2005
Date: Sat, 14 May 2005 14:52:56 EDT
From: NALINM@AOL.COM
To: nathistory-india@Princeton.EDU
Subject: New Rodent Species (Laos)


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FWD
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Rodent Discovered in Laos Defines New Family of Mammals

NEW YORK, New York, May 12, 2005 (ENS) - A new species of rodent found in
Laos is so unique that scientists say it represents an entire new family
of mammals.

During biodiversity surveys in the Khammouan Limestone National
Biodiversity Conservation Area in Central Laos, specimens of the unknown
rodent were discovered in a local market being sold for food. Local
hunters explained that these "rock rats" were trapped in the nearby
limestone karst.

Called "Kha-Nyou" by local people, the species was first discovered by
Wildlife Conservation Society scientist Dr. Robert Timmins. Early one
morning in 1996, he went to the market to look for unusual animals. "It
was for sale on a table next to some vegetables. I knew immediately it
was something fairly exciting," he told ENS.

 

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), based at New York's Bronx Zoo,
is working in Laos to help enact a program designed to halt illegal
wildlife trade where poaching has devastated animal populations.

Dr. Mark Robinson, working with WWF Thailand, later discovered other
specimens of Kha-Nyou caught by hunters, and he also identified bone
fragments in an owl pellet.

The two scientists were independently engaged in biodiversity survey work
in the same area between 1996 and 1999.

In 1998 Robinson obtained the heads of two of the animals and photographs
of rodents captured by villagers from Mauang Village in Laos' Thakhek
District.

Robinson and Timmons decided that the animal they had independently
collected was quite different from any yet known from Southeast Asia. So,
in 1998, specimens collected by Robinson in 1998 and by Timmons in 1996
were sent to The Natural History Museum in London for comparative
analysis with material in the research collection.

On his return to the area in January 1999 Robinson continued his search
for the unusual rodents by going with villagers from two adjacent
villages, Mauang and Doy, who routinely trap them in bamboo traps, using
rice as bait. About 50 traps were set each day, at a single location on
bare earth under and between large boulders on steep slopes surrounding
karst formations.

From the traps Robinson obtained eight more bodies, one skin and three
heads, which were also sent to the Natural History Museum.

Preliminary analysis by Paulina Jenkins in the museum's Zoology
Department revealed that the animal was clearly a new genus and species.
Its combination of external and skull characteristics were found to be
distinctively different from any mammalian species yet known to science.

Tissue samples were sent to the University of Vermont for DNA analysis by
biologist C. William Kilpatrick who confirmed the rodent is a creature
not previously known.

Based on differences in the skull and bone structure, coupled with the
DNA analysis, the authors estimate that the Kha-Nyou diverged from other
rodents millions of years ago.

Drs. Timmins and Robinson have never actually met, although they have
known about each other for a long time. "There aren't that many people
doing conservation work in the region," said Timmins. "We knew of each
other."

In their paper published in the April 18 issue of the Natural History
Museum's journal "Systematics and Biodiversity," Timmins and Robinson
recommend that the common name to be adopted for the new animal should be
Kha-nyou or Laotian rock rat.

The new family has been given the scientific name of Laonastidae, the
genus is called Laonastes, and the species is called Laonastes
aenigmamus.

 Villagers reported that the animals were caught only at night and so are
presumed to be nocturnal, in contrast to observations of other small
rodents such as treeshrews and ground squirrels. Stomach contents
consisted mainly of plant remains, so the researchers believe they are
vegetarian.

The scientists find that these rock rats give birth to one offspring at a
time, rather than a litter.

Timmins and Robinson write that it is "difficult to assess the species
status under IUCN Red List guidelines" because so little is known of the
species ecology, and the fact that there are no close relatives from
which parallels might be drawn.

Limestone habitats, in general are relatively safe from massive scale
destruction, they write, but note that "tree cover in peripheral and
accessible karst areas is very vulnerable to loss due to logging and
firewood removal."

"Much depends on whether Laonastes is able to use, in addition to scree
slopes around the base of the karst, the massive karst limestone
formations themselves, whether Laonastes is able to exist in secondary
scrub habitats, or if Laonastes is able to tolerate the very high levels
of wildlife harvest that is ubiquitous within its known range," the
scientists write.

They recommend that the species be given an IUCN Data Deficient listing.

"We're not sure how many exist," he said. "They may be fairly widely
distributed in this area of central Laos, there are thousands of square
kilometers of this limestone, and it's not clear how specialized they are
to certain formations of limestone."

 "To find something so distinct in this day and age is just
extraordinary," Dr. Timmins said. "For all we know, this could be the
last remaining mammal family left to be discovered."

Dr. Timmins, who also discovered a new species of striped rabbit from the
same region in 1999, warns that habitat protection and regulations to
reduce unsustainable commercial hunting are vital to safeguarding
remaining populations of the Kha-Nyou and other unusual species.

"Skeptics might say that if we are still discovering such amazing new
animals, why are people worried about wildlife loss," said Dr. Timmins,
"but of course it is an indication of how little we know, and a window
onto what we could be losing without ever knowing."

Dr. Timmins returns to IndoChina on an annual basis to do WCS
conservation work, mainly determining conservation priorities for various
species. One species of concern, he says, is the highly threatened saola,
Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, a large ungulate found on the border between
Laos and Vietnam, in the wet forests of the Annamite Mountains.

The saola was cataloged for Western science for the first time in 1993 by
Vietnamese scientists. "This species is facing extinction in the need
future," Timmins said.

The Lao government has not yet responded to the discovery of a new mammal
family in their country. "It's a go slow country," said Timmins. "These
are very early days yet as to what their reaction will be. Hopefully it
will encourage them to conserve biodiversity in their country. They have
made laudable efforts, establishing a protected area system, but it
remains to be seen if these protected areas can function to conserve
species."

FULL LINK WITH PHOTOS

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2005/2005-05-12-05.asp