How cool is this thing? OK, it’s pretty crazy looking, but to be presumed extinct for 11 million years and then to reappear is pretty nuts. And, as Jen said, why does it look like he’s posing in a Sears portrait studio?
Rat-Squirrel Not Extinct After All:
It has the face of a rat and the tail of a skinny squirrel — and scientists say this creature discovered living in central Laos is pretty special: It’s a species believed to have been extinct for 11 million years.
The long-whiskered rodent made international headlines last spring when biologists declared they’d discovered a brand new species, nicknamed the Laotian rock rat.
It turns out the little guy isn’t new after all, but a rare kind of survivor: a member of a family until now known only from fossils.
(Thanks, Pete, for the link!)
