Eek! A Giant New Rat

Amid the lush paradise of a so-called lost world, researchers ran into a little reminder of the developed world's sewers: A heretofore undiscovered giant rat five times the size of gutter-variety rodents. The group also came across a new pygmy possum and various rare birds in the remote area of Papua New Guinea, the BBC reports.

The "cloud forest," over a mile above sea level, is home to scores of recently documented species, the Guardian reports. But the area, discovered in 2005, bears bad news for the timid: The Mallomys giant rat, like many animals in the area, is something of a ham. "With no fear of humans, it came into the camp several times during the trip," said one researcher. (More rats stories.)