Gallery: New Long-Snouted Rat Without Back Teeth

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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
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.