When wandering through a hunter's market in Laos, Robert Timmins of the Wildlife Conservation Society happened upon a previously unknown rodent. Called kha-nyou by locals--or rock rat--the long-whiskered and furry-tailed rodent was reputed to favor certain limestone terrain. Western scientists named it Laonastes aenigmamus or stone-dwelling enigmatic mouse--partially because a live specimen has never been collected--and thought the rock rat represented a new family of mammals. But new research reported in today's Science proves that Laonastes actually represents a fossil come to life.

Pretty neat discovery, considering how scientists have thought the stone-dwelling mouse to be extinct for 11 million years! The article goes on to mention how such a discovery helps scientists determine the accuracy of knowledge that is derived by fossil records alone. Of course, it's not unreasonable to think that certain physical traits of the species might have changed over the course of 11 million years. Also, aren't we able to find the (11 million year old) fossil remains of any other creature that's not extinct -- such as a cat, bird, or dog -- for the purpose of refining our predictions based on fossil records?

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: Laotian Rodent Proves Living Fossil