World's Largest Mouse

Several thousand years ago, life in the world's largest rat species on the island of Timor, or Timor Leste precisely in the region today. Rats the size is larger and heavier than the average cat's body home.

The remains of a rodent skeleton was discovered in a cave.

Excavations at the investigators also found 13 other rodent species, 11 of which are new species to science. Meanwhile, eight of them, have more than one kilogram of weight.

As the largest living species of mice was estimated to have weighed 6 pounds. For comparison, the average house mouse currently weighs 150 grams. Meanwhile, the biggest rats are still alive today in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea weighs 2 pounds.

carbon ajaData rats showed, the biggest rat that ever existed on this Earth to live 1,000 to 2,000 years ago. These animals live together with rodents found in the excavation.

"The island of Timor has been inhabited by humans about 40,000 years ago. Early humans to hunt rats for food resources during this period. However, the hunt did not cause extinction, a new largest rat species extinction in recent years, "said researchers from the Australian Research Institute, CSIRO, Ken Aplin, such as pages loaded Live Science.

He asserted, the arrival of humans into habitats giant rat has nothing to do with the extinction of giant rats.

"The opening of forests to agricultural land, this is the most likely cause of extinction, this occurs after the age of metal."

Researchers reveal East Indonesia is a 'hotspot' evolution of a mouse. Added Aplin, islands in the Indonesian territory of East developed a variety of species, so the place unique. Aplin confessed, timmya also discovered six new species of rats in a cave on the island of Flores.

Although most of the island of Timor is currently barren, researchers revealed that region of the period covered in lush rainforest. It is probable, will found a new species.

"Although less than 15 percent of original forest remaining Timor Island, a small portion of the island was still a dense forest. So who can guess the creatures that might be there? "Added Aplin.

Aplin and Kris Helgen, Smithsonian Institution, describes in detail their findings in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History or the American Museum of Natural History.