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Home / Exhibits / Curators
Curator Dan M. Brooks, Ph. D., Discovers New Species
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Orzyomys abdersoni (Rodentia: Muridea)
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The Houston Museum of Natural Science is proud to announce the first new species of mammals to be described this millennium, Orzyomys andersoni (Rodentia: Muridea), discovered by museum Curator of Zoology Dr. Dan Brooks and a team of researchers.
The field team, comprised of Brooks and three Bolivian mammalogists, was originally in the eastern panhandle of Bolivia to assess the number of threatened and endangered species occupying the area. While waiting for transportation from their base camp in the Cerrado region, the researchers placed traps around the site and caught several interesting animals.
“Most of the areas where research occurs are along roads that are easily accessible. This particular area hasn’t been surveyed before because it is extremely difficult to reach,” said Brooks. “In fact, our team had to use a helicopter to get in and out of the region.”
Once the specimens were trapped, the process of preservation began. Of these specimens, the researchers had trouble identifying one rat. To properly identify the rat, Brooks took the specimen to the American Museum of Natural History in New York for examination by Guy Musser, Ph.D., a noted Rice Rat specialist. Musser could not classify this particular specimen to any known species with certainty.
To distinguish this species from others, molecular analysis was performed. The data collected from the analysis supported the team’s conclusion, it is, in fact, a new species of Rice Rat.
According to Brooks about two to three percent genetic differentiation is needed to validate a new species. In the case of this specimen, there was a 10 percent differentiation. The species was named Anderson’s Rice Rat (Orysomys andersoni) in honor of Syd Anderson, an Emeritus Curator of Mammals at the American Museum of Natural History, who devoted his life to studying the mammals of Bolivia.
The team found the Rice Rat in the midst of the Cerrado region of Bolivia. Though found mostly in central Brazil, there is a small, isolated patch of Cerrado in southeastern Bolivia. This isolation promotes differentiation among species, as it prevents isolated members of the species from exchanging genetic material with the main population.
The team of researchers hopes to continue to study the isolated area to gain more insight on the Rice Rat and other promising specimens found there.
“This region is so exciting in terms of what could be out there because the entire eastern Bolivia region has been virtually unexplored. There is a strong possibility that other species will be discovered in that area,” said Brooks.
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