MEDIA RELEASE
EMBARGOED: 6AM TUESDAY 6 OCTOBER, E.S.T.
Museum Victoria Scientists Announce Discovery of New
Species of Mammal: A HOG-NOSED RAT
As part of an international research team, Museum Victoria scientists have discovered
a new species of mammal: a hog-nosed rat named Hyorhinomys stuempkei.
Pictured: Hyorhinomys stuempkei
Discovered in a remote and mountainous area of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia, the Hognosed Rat, Hyorhinomys stuempkei, is a new species of mammal previously
undocumented in any scientific collection.
The new species has such a unique anatomy and is so genetically different from other
species that it was described not only as a new species but a new genus (a step above a
new species). The team’s research will be published as the cover story of the October edition of
Journal of Mammalogy.
Discovered by an international team comprising Dr. Kevin Rowe (Museum Victoria); Heru
Handika (Museum Victoria); Anang Achmadi (Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense); and Dr.
Jacob Esselstyn (Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science) this new discovery is
the third new genus described by this international collaboration since 2012, and identifies a
rodent with features never seen by science before.
As the name suggests, one of the primary and most unusual features of the Hog-nosed Rat is
its large, flat, pink (hog-like) nose with forward-facing nostrils. It also possesses extremely
large ears; long hind legs (probably used for hopping); a very small mouth opening; long,
white incisors (as opposed to orange in almost all rodents); and, curiously, very long
urogenital (pubic) hairs. It also has no coronoid process on its mandible (jaw); an attachment
MEDIA RELEASE
EMBARGOED: 6AM TUESDAY 6 OCTOBER, E.S.T.
site for muscles involved in chewing that is present in almost all other mammals, including
humans.
“To Australians, Hyorhinomys, is a bit like a rat version of a bandicoot, with long hindlimbs, huge
ears, and a long, pointed face perfect for slurping up invertebrate prey,” says Dr. Kevin Rowe,
one of the researchers based at Museum Victoria.
The Hog-nosed Rat is a carnivorous rodent, and probably feeds exclusively on earthworms,
beetle larvae, and other invertebrates.
The Hog-nosed Rat is related to a group of carnivorous rodents from Sulawesi, called “shrew
rats”. The new species is anatomically and genetically distinct from any of the previously known
genera and species; it has never been documented previously and is not known from any
scientific collections.
As Dr. Rowe says:
“The Hog-nosed Rat is exciting for us because it extends the diversity of an already amazing
group of rodents that are only found on the island of Sulawesi. Even though there are only 8
species in this endemic group, they exhibit a huge eco-morphological range including small gray
rats, a nearly toothless vermivore, an amphibious rat, and now a long-limbed, hog-nosed rat.”
“There are millions of species on this Earth that are yet to be discovered and described, but I am
still amazed that we can walk into a forest and a find a new species of mammal that is so
obviously different from any species, or even genus, that has ever been documented by
science.”
The new genus name, Hyorhinomys is Greek for hog (hyo) nose (rhino) rat (mys).
The Hog-nosed Rat was discovered through an international collaboration including scientists
from museums in the United States, Indonesia, and Australia. The discovery was aided by local
people from the village of Malangga Selatan, near Tolitoli on Sulawesi’s northern peninsula, who
guided the team into the remote forest camp. The discovery was made at an elevation of
1,600m in a remote camp two days hike from the closest village.
This is science as discovery and collaboration, adventure and research and marks an exciting
avenue for further study of the unique mammals of the Indo-Australian region.
Interviews with Dr. Kevin Rowe; high res images; and video footage of the jungle camp
and discovery team are available.
For further detail or to arrange an interview please get in touch.
Maria O’Dwyer, Senior Advisor, External Relations – Museum Victoria
M: 0466 567 306 / P: 03) 8341 7366 / E: modwyer@museum.vic.gov.au