Two new mammals found in Indonesian 'lost world': green group

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2007

JAKARTA (AFP) — Two mammals believed new to science have been found on the latest expedition to a virtual lost world found in Indonesia's Papua in 2005, Conservation International (CI) said Monday.

Scientists from CI and the Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI) visited the Foja Mountains in June 2007, following a first trip in late 2005 that saw them discover dozens of new plants and animals, CI said in a statement.

"During the June expedition, the team documented two mammals, a Cercartetus pygmy possum, one of the world’s smallest marsupials, and a Mallomys giant rat, both currently under study and apparently new to science," CI said.

The giant rat is about five times the size of a typical city rat and visited the scientists' camp several times, lacking...