Gallery: New Long-Snouted Rat Without Back Teeth

By

Molarless Rat

Newly discovered molarless rat.

(Image credit: © Kevin Rowe)

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

New Rat

Molarless rat species

(Image credit: © Kevin Rowe)

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

New Rat Skull

Molarless rat skull

(Image credit: © David Paul.)

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

Rat Teeth

Molarless rat teeth

(Image credit: © David Paul.)

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

Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
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+.