Gallery: New Long-Snouted Rat Without Back Teeth

By Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor | August 21, 2012 07:01pm ET

Molarless Rat

A newly discovered rat, announced Aug. 21 in the journal Biology Letters, lacks back teeth.

The rat lives in the Philippines and is the only known rodent species without molars.

This view of the rat's skull reveals its lack of teeth.

In addition, the rat has double-pointed bicuspid incisors, which it may use to tear its earthworm prey.

Author Bio

Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor: Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science. She covers the world of human and animal behavior, as well as paleontology and other science topics. Stephanie has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has ducked under a glacier in Switzerland and poked hot lava with a stick in Hawaii. Stephanie hails from East Tennessee, the global center for salamander diversity. Follow Stephanie on Google+.; Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor on

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