The first photos and video have been taken of a live Laotian rock rat (Laonastes aenigmamus), described in a scientific journal for the first time last year. It may be the only living species in its family, which scientists previously believed went extinct 11 million years ago. See here for a press release and here for video.
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Last year, a new and unusual species of rodent was discovered in Laos, called Laonastes aenigmamus, or kha-nyou. Here's the skull:
It's notable mainly because of that unusual jaw. It's hystricomorphous—an obscure term that refers to how the jaw is muscled, in this case with a large masseter…
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tags: Icadyptes salasi, giant penguin, ornithology, birds, avian
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