Find the most mysterious mammal in the world

Scientists have begun to find answers after trapping a Zenkerella insignis.

Zenkerella insignis living on Bioko Island is one of the most mysterious and ancient species. Until recently, scientists have only been able to obtain fossils and discrete body parts as materials for the past hundred years. No one had ever seen a Zenkerella alive. But now someone has a Z.insignis in hand. This is an opportunity to test the genome of one of the most exotic mammals and see where they are in the evolutionary map.

New animal caught.

Members of the Zenkerella genus are creatures that have not evolved much over the past 49 million years. They are 15 million years younger than dinosaurs and 35 million years older than primates. They appear since Australia is still conjoined with Antarctica and the Himalayas has not even existed.

The information about Zenkerella has always been in the fossil of the brother species with the newly discovered specimen. Biologist Erik Seiffert believes that if there is an opportunity to compare, it is possible to discover a lot about rodent evolution, not to mention changes in the African environment over the past 50 million years.

Seiffert asked Fernandez, currently director of the nature conservation center, founded by Bioko Biological Protection Program. Fernandez also teaches at West University (UK). When I asked my colleagues about Zenkerella, all said they had never heard of the name. However, scientists have found Zenkerella specimens in Bioko, while island residents are skilled hunters so he hopes to find one on this land.

Seiffert said this is the least known animal. The time of operation, food or place they live is completely mysterious during the past 50 million years. This is a rare thing for mammals because most species of the same species are well studied.

Bioko Island and sketching bone Zenkerella insignis.

From the initial observation they seemed to have relatives with several other rodents such as flying squirrels that split into a separate genus. What is particularly unique is that of the 5,400 mammals, Zenkerella has a structure close to the ancestors, indicating that they are direct descendants of the extinct ancient species, also known as "living fossils".

The concern is that Zenkarella's natural habitat in Central Africa is shrinking because of deforestation. It is unclear how many children live in the wild, even the International Union for Conservation of Nature puts Z.insignis in "less interested" species . Although it is unclear whether Z.insignis is really threatened, Seiffert thinks they are not receiving the necessary respect.

Now Seiffert, Fernandez and colleagues will begin to examine the specimen to understand the genetic origin, strange and ancient traits.

"This is an amazing discovery, proving that there will be more things to look forward to in the future," Seiffert said.