The new species of giant rat, named Uromys vika, was discovered on Vangunu Island by Tyrone H. Lavery of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, according to an article published in the Journal of Mammalogy.
The specimen discovered by Lavery was over 45cm long and weighed over half a kilogram.
The rat’s existence has long been suspected by zoologists, with rumors of giant rats that eat coconuts and which the locals called "vika" circulating for decades.
Giant Rat That Fell From Sky in Solomon Islands Is New Species https://t.co/bxH9mumSkH
— RobinHelene Carlton (@IslandInDesert) 27 сентября 2017 г.
The rodents apparently managed to avoid detection for so long due to the fact that they dwell in the canopy and rarely descend to the ground.
The scientists recommended listing Uromys vika as Critically Endangered due to the creature’s apparently low population density, small distributional range, and also because Vangunu is a site of intensive commercial logging.
