A new children’s book about recently discovered mammals includes a section about a rodent species identified by an Abilene Christian University biology professor.

Dr. Tom Lee, a professor in the Department of Biology at ACU; Amy Scott (’10), then a biology student at ACU; and Carlos Boada, a researcher and professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador in Quito, Ecuador, discovered the species in 2010, and findings were officially published in 2022. The rat is named Thomasomys burneoi, or Burneo’s Oldfield Mouse, after Lee’s colleague Santiago Burneo, who works at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. 

Scholastic Books contacted Lee in 2023 wanting to feature his new mammal species discovery in a children’s book, Just Discovered Mammals, which was published earlier this year. 

“I think it is very important to get children excited about the natural world at an early age, so I was thrilled to see one of my discoveries documented in children’s literature. Many more people are going to read this book than are ever going to read the scientific literature where the discovery was published at first,” said Lee.

The book discusses Lee’s discovery of the new species and his experience. It describes the characteristics of Burneo’s Oldfield Mouse –  a large rat species living in the forests of the Andes mountains – and introduces Lee and the group who first identified the species.

“My family and I are excited to be able to read this book to Evelyn, our granddaughter, and I hope it inspires her to follow her dreams,” said  Lee.

Learn more about ACU’s Department of Biology. 

— Vivian Banegas
July 15, 2024