Just be glad this thing's not sniffing around your larder! Toothless long-nosed rat which sucks worms out of the ground discovered in Indonesia
By Eddie Wrenn
It may be toothless, but this cousin of the UK rat is not one you would like to see scurrying around on your floor.
Scientists who discovered the bizarre-Pinocchio-nosed Paucidentomys vermidax in a remote rainforest in Indonesia have hailed the creature as an 'evolution' of your typical rat.
Other than two small incisors on the tip of its snout, the rat is toothless - hunting by sticking its extended nose into the ground, before sucking up tasty worms from below the surface.
The toothless Paucidentomys vermidax, found in a remote rainforest on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi
Snout of a rat: The creature uses its long nose to scoop and suck worms out of the ground
The rat was spotted in the rainforests of Sulawesi by an international team of researchers from Canada, Indonesia and Australia.
It has been named Paucidentomys vermidax after its dental and dietary adaptations - Paucidentomys meaning 'few-toothed mouse' and vermidax 'devourer of worms.'
The team hailed the discovery as unique, and expedition member Dr Kevin Rowe, a mammal expert Museum Victoria in Australia, said: 'There are more than 2,200 rodent species in the world and until this discovery all had molars in the back of their mouth and incisors at the front.'
Dr Anang Achmadi, curator of mammals at Indonesia's Museum of Zoology in Bogor, said: 'The specialised incisors of rodents give them the distinct ability to gnaw - a defining characteristic of rodents worldwide.'
Other than fang-like upper incisors, the rat is toothless, meaning it can not gnaw like its UK relatives
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