Ferreira's spiny tree-rat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ferreira's spiny tree-rat |
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| Mesomys hispidus | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Echimyidae |
| Subfamily: | Echimyinae |
| Tribe: | Echimyini |
| Genus: | Mesomys |
| Species: |
M. hispidus
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| Binomial name | |
| Mesomys hispidus (Desmarest, 1817)
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The Ferreira's spiny tree-rat (Mesomys hispidus) is a cool type of spiny rat. You can find these rats living in many countries in South America. They are found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. The name hispidus comes from a Latin word. It means bristly, which describes their spiny fur!
Discovering the Spiny Tree-Rat
Scientists first learned about the Ferreira's spiny tree-rat a long time ago. A naturalist named Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira found a specimen in the Amazon region of Brazil. This happened during his travels. The rat is named after him!
The specimen was first kept in a museum in Portugal. Later, in 1808, it was moved to Paris. This happened during a time of war. Then, in 1817, a scientist named Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest officially described the species. He used this very specimen, which was in the National Museum of Natural History (France) in Paris.
Unlocking Secrets with Ancient DNA
Scientists today can use amazing technology to learn even more about animals. They used something called ancient DNA technology. They took a tiny piece of skin from the original specimen. From this, they were able to get some of its mitochondrial DNA. Think of DNA as the instruction book for life.
By studying this DNA, scientists learned something new. They found clues about where the rat originally came from. The DNA suggested the rat was first found in the eastern Amazon. This was likely north of the Amazon River. It was probably in the Brazilian state of Amapá. This shows how old samples can still teach us a lot!
 | Tommie Smith |
 | Simone Manuel |
 | Shani Davis |
 | Simone Biles |
 | Alice Coachman |
