Contact: Greg Borzo
gborzo@fieldmuseum.org
312-665-7106
Field Museum

Dwarf cloud rat photo

Caption: The greater dwarf cloud rat (Carpomys melanurus) was rediscovered in April 2008 -- 112 years after the first and only time it had ever been seen by scientists. Cloud rats are one of the most spectacular cases of adaptive radiation by mammals anywhere in the world, with at least 15 species ranging in size from 2.6 kg to 15 grams, all living only in the Philippines.

Credit: Photo by Larry Heaney, courtesy of The Field Museum.

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Related news release: Dwarf cloud rat rediscovered after 112 years