Giant coconut-cracking tree rat discovered in Solomon Islands

A mythical giant rat that is said to crack coconuts with its teeth has been discovered in the Solomon Islands after years of searching.

The elusive tree-dwelling rodent, which measures 18 inches from nose to tail tip, was identified as a new species, Uromys vika.

Mammal expert Dr Tyrone Lavery hunted for the animal after hearing rumours of a giant possum-like rat known to locals as “Vika” in 2010.

His quest ended when one of the creatures was spotted scurrying out of a felled tree.

Dr Lavery, from The Field Museum in Chicago, said: “The new species, Uromys vika, is pretty spectacular.

“It’s a big, giant rat. It’s the first rat discovered in 80 years from Solomons, and it’s not like people haven’t been trying – it was just so hard to find.”

The Solomon Islands is an archipelago 1,000 miles north west of Australia where biological isolation has led to the evolution of unique species.

More than half the mammals living on the islands are found nowhere else on Earth.

Dr Lavery first heard of the Vika from people living on Vangunu Island in the Solomons who told him the animal lived in 30ft rain forest trees and cracked open coconuts.

After years of fruitless searching, he was on the point of abandoning the hunt.

Comparisons with museum specimens and analysis of the rat’s DNA confirmed beyond doubt that the animal really was a new species.

Results of the research are reported in Journal of Mammalogy.