Scientists have rediscovered a cat-sized Chinchilla rat species while conducting field study in the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu. Previously, scientists just found the cat-sized Chinchilla rat in fossil remains, but the latest rediscovery suggests that the species in not extinct.
Machu Picchu has been one of the most common archaeological sites, which has attracted hundreds of archaeologists from across the world. A group of researchers led by Horacio Zeballos, the curator of Mammalogy at the Museum de Arequipa and Gerardo Ceballos, have now found seven new species in and around the Machu Picchu area, which includes: four new forms of frogs, a new species of lizard, a new kind of aquatic rodent and the rediscovery of the Chinchilla rat.
In 1912, archaeologists found the skulls of the massive rat inside Incan pottery discovered from Machu Picchu. These skulls are the only remains ever found for the Chinchilla rat. Scientists believed that rat species went extinct before the arrival of Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador, who plundered Machu Picchu in 1500s.
In 2009, Roberto Quispe, a park guard, reported to have sighted the Chinchilla rat near Machu Picchu. The guards revealed that they found the large rat injured and they treated the mammal before releasing it in the wild. Quispe later revealed that he was unaware of the significance of the rat.
Zeballos revealed that they started the field study with the hope to find the lost species. He confirmed that his team has found a living specimen of the species but suggests that it is endangered due to the destruction of its natural habitat. Zeballos suggests that the discovery of the Chinchilla rat and several other species may help in the protection of the forests around Machu Picchu.
"Both the National Park and the Historic Sanctuary are relatively well-managed. They have staff and some infrastructure. It seems that the Federal Government has become more interested in reducing deforestation in the National Park and the Sanctuary in recent years," says Zeballos.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which is one of the most comprehensive inventories of the global conservation status of biological species, suggests that the Chinchilla rat was believed to have become extinct as no evidence of its existence was recorded in ecological surveys conducted before.
