Cat-sized chinchilla found near Machu Picchu in Peru
Science |
Near the famous archaeological site Machu Picchu, scientists have rediscovered an animal that had only been seen before in fossil form.
The team of Peruvian and Mexican scientists assure that the arboreal chinchilla rat (Cuscomys oblativa) currently claims Machu Picchu as its home just as it was believed to have done before Francisco Pizarro had even set foot in the Incan city.
Led by Horacio Zeballos the curator of the department of mammalogy at the Museum de Arequipa in Peru and Gerardo Ceballos from the Instituto de Ecología of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, the team had been on the search for a living specimen since 2012.
Hard field work was conducted with the spectacular archaeological site as part of the landscape, on very steep hills, with slopes of up to 60 degrees of inclination, the scientists told The Guardian. In the area´s rich terrain dominated by mountain forests, with leafy trees covered with mosses, lichens and other plants, the scientists reportedly have found six new species to science as well, but these have yet to be confirmed.
In 1912, the explorer Hiram Bingham had dug up 400-year old Incan pottery that encased a pair of skulls belonging to the chinchilla. In 2009, park ranger Robert Quispe has claimed to have seen the chinchilla near the archaeological site yet had not been accepted by scientific communities.
Thought to have gone extinct, scientists believe that the newest celebrity of Machu Picchu is endangered due to its rarity and habitat destruction. Luckily the scientists note that the animal is found in both the historic sanctuary as well as the national park of Machu Picchu.
Source: Peru This Week - Photo: Wikimedia
Led by Horacio Zeballos the curator of the department of mammalogy at the Museum de Arequipa in Peru and Gerardo Ceballos from the Instituto de Ecología of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, the team had been on the search for a living specimen since 2012.
Hard field work was conducted with the spectacular archaeological site as part of the landscape, on very steep hills, with slopes of up to 60 degrees of inclination, the scientists told The Guardian. In the area´s rich terrain dominated by mountain forests, with leafy trees covered with mosses, lichens and other plants, the scientists reportedly have found six new species to science as well, but these have yet to be confirmed.
In 1912, the explorer Hiram Bingham had dug up 400-year old Incan pottery that encased a pair of skulls belonging to the chinchilla. In 2009, park ranger Robert Quispe has claimed to have seen the chinchilla near the archaeological site yet had not been accepted by scientific communities.
Thought to have gone extinct, scientists believe that the newest celebrity of Machu Picchu is endangered due to its rarity and habitat destruction. Luckily the scientists note that the animal is found in both the historic sanctuary as well as the national park of Machu Picchu.
Source: Peru This Week - Photo: Wikimedia
