Experts celebrate as trail camera captures rare footage of elusive species not seen in decades: 'Such a large and striking animal'

A researcher has made history after securing the first-ever scientific observation of an animal that had eluded scientists for decades.

During a six-month expedition on the island of Papua New Guinea, František Vejmělka, a doctoral candidate from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of South Bohemia, spotted the Mallomys istapantap, also known as the subalpine woolly rat.

As IFL Science noted, Vejmělka documented the sighting in a study published in the journal Mammalia

According to New Atlas, the woolly rat is one of the largest murine rodents in the world, and the study said it is the largest rodent of the Australian and Oceanian zoogeographic regions.

Murine rodents are a large group of "Old World" rats and mice that comprises over 500 species, per Animal Diversity Web. As one of the largest murine rodents, the woolly rat had never been scientifically discovered in the wild since the species was first described in 1989 using a historic specimen from a museum.

Vejmělka utilized camera traps and help from indigenous hunters to obtain the rare footage of the woolly rat.

"The combination of modern and traditional detection methods enriched by the immense traditional hunting knowledge of Indigenous communities resulted in the first specimen records of this remarkable rodent in over 30 years and the first scientific observations of living animals," the study read, per IFL Science.

In a statement, Vejmělka acknowledged the significance of the discovery and the importance of research ventures.

"It's astonishing that such a large and striking animal has remained so poorly studied," Vejmělka said. "How much more is there to discover about the biodiversity of tropical mountains?"

Thanks to trail cameras, many research expeditions can obtain vital information that not only captures rare sightings but also helps gauge the health and function of secluded ecosystems and habitats. This can go a long way in studying delicate food chains without interfering or interacting with nearby wildlife.

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