When the large furry creature first scuttled into their jungle camp looking for its supper, the scientists assumed it was a cat.
But after several further visits, when it tamely allowed itself to be picked up, they realised they were actually holding a giant rat.
The monster rodent was the most spectacular discovery in a remote area of Indonesia which experts are describing as a "lost world" of hitherto-unknown animals and plants.
At the other end of the size scale was a pygmy possum thought to be one of the world's smallest marsupials - creatures which carry their young in a pouch.
"These are two animals which were totally unknown to science and we're absolutely thrilled to have discovered them," said one of the explorers who ventured into the thick jungles of Indonesia's Papua province.
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