British archaeologists record new species of mouse in Europe: report

British archaeologists have recorded a new species of mammal -- a mouse with a larger head, bigger ears, more prominent eyes, and more "prehistoric" teeth than any other of its kind -- on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Genetic tests proved that the grey mouse, which has been named Mus Cypriacus (Cypriot mouse), is a new species. The find overturns the widely held belief that every living species of mammal had been identified in Europe, the New Scientist reported on its website on Thursday.

The creature is the first new mammal species to be found in Europe in more than a century, and the only endemic rodent still alive and as such can be considered a living fossil, researchers claimed.

The mouse was discovered by chance by archaeologist Thomas Cucchi from the University of Durham, UK, who was on Cyprus comparing the Stone Age mouse fossils with the island's modern species, according to the report.

The genetic tests revealed the Cypriot mouse to be the same species as the Stone Age fossils and it must have arrived before the island broke away from mainland Europe, the report said.

"It is an endemic species of mouse that has somehow survived the arrival of humans and the other species of mice that people accidentally brought with them when they colonized the island," Keith Dobney, who heads the research team at the University of Durham, was quoted as saying.

Source: Xinhua