The leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis vaccarum) surprised scientists when they discovered they live on the mountain peaks of the Andes – screenshot CNN/Marshal Quiroga-Carmona
Last week CNN reported: “Mysterious rat corpses found in Mars-like conditions on mountain tops in the Andes.”
The Andes are the world’s longest mountain range along the west coast of the South American continent, spanning 7 countries including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
The peaks of the Andes are an extremely harsh environment, with temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit), with almost no vegetation.
However, a group of scientists from Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and the United States are looking to answer the question: how does the leaf-eared mouse (“Phylotis vaccarum”) live in this harsh place? ,
Scientists discovered the bodies of 13 leaf-eared rats on the peaks of three mountains Selín, Pulaar and Copiapo at an altitude of 6,029 – 6,233 meters above sea level in the Atacama Plateau region (in the Andes Mountains) in Chile and Argentina.
According to research recently published in the journal current biologyThis discovery further proves that the leaf-eared mouse is the longest-lived mammal in the world.
Mr Jay Storrs, Professor of Biology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA), said: “Every time we find something so high up, we are completely amazed. It’s hard to say the full extent of the hardiness. This kind of environment.”
The peaks of the Andes are a harsh environment with no vegetation – Screenshot CNN/Jay Storz
Mr. Storrs gave information about the quantity on the top of the above mountains oxy Low, temperatures rarely rise above zero and winds are extremely strong, once recorded at a weather station at an altitude of 6,505 metres, up to 186 km/h.
Furthermore, the environment on the mountain peaks in the Andes has been compared to Mars – a harsh and cold planet.
According to the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) website, in 2021, NASA researchers studied the environment in this mountain range to “understand how the basic building blocks of life (the building blocks of life) evolve over time to resemble Mars.” How to react to situations.” ,
(Tags to translate)Andes Mountains(T)Leaf-eared mouse(T)Phyllotis vaccarum(T)Jay Storz(T)Harsh environments
