Four new species of rats were discovered

The international team of scientists led by Dr. Scott Gardner from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA) has described four newly discovered species of rats belonging to the family of Ctenomyidae.

A rodent species Ctenomyidae - (Photo: Wikipedia)

The species of the Ctenomyidae family are often referred to as tuco-tuco , according to the "tuc-tuc" sound they emit when burrowing. Tuco-tuco is about 15-25cm long, weighs about 100 grams to over 1kg. They have small eyes, small ears, short, muscular legs but possess very strong claws.

Previously, there were 65 species of tuco-tuco, living in South America from Peru to Brazil. But four newly discovered species live in Bolivia plains and valleys. They were scientifically named Erika's tuco-tuco, Anderson's cujuchi, Lessa's tuco-tuco and Yates' tuco-tuco , according to biologists and biologists.

According to Sci-News, a detailed description of four new rodents is published in the special edition of the Texas Tech University Museum (USA).