Tag Archives: Rodents

Evolutionary novelty in a rat with no molars

This might be an interesting species for the EvoDevo people.

I saw this article several months ago when I was looking for the diets of vermivore species.
Today I was reading an article of the development of cetacean dentition, and it occurred to me that this rodent might be an interesting species to study. Or perhaps you already knew this one.

“… a new species and genus of shrew-rat from Sulawesi Island, Indonesia that is distinguished from all other rodents by the absence of cheek teeth. Moreover, rather than gnawing incisors, this animal has bicuspid upper incisors, also unique among the more than 2200 species of rodents. Stomach contents from a single specimen suggest that the species consumes only earthworms.”

http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/08/21/rsbl.2012.0574

-Kari