There's a New Rat in Town

9:30 AM -- In a great evolutionary leap forward, scientists have discovered a whole brand new family of rodents. So reports The New York Times this morning: 'Oddball Rodent' Is Called New to Science.

They live in the forests and limestone outcrops of Laos. With long whiskers, stubby legs and a long, furry tail, they are rodents but unlike any seen before by wildlife scientists. They are definitely not rats or squirrels, and are only vaguely like a guinea pig or a chinchilla. And they often show up in Laotian outdoor markets being sold as food...

Naturalists had trouble recalling when a new family of mammals was last identified. It may have been when, in the 1970's, a new family of bats was found in Thailand.

That family later moved into my apartment building.

— Larry, Oddball Monkey, Light Reading