A new law of nature could have been discovered as scientists think rain causes species to grow larger after an astonishing discovery in South America.
According to a new study, the shaggy soft-haired mouse–Abrothrix hirta–was found to experience changes in size based on which side of the Andes it lives on. Those on the wetter side were larger despite being genetically identical to the ones on the drier side.
The study is titled Andean rain shadow effect drives phenotypic variation in a widely distributed Austral rodent and it is published on August 31, in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, the Journal of Biogeography. The study was authored by Pablo Teta, Noé U. de la Sancha, Guillermo D’Elía and Bruce D. Patterson.
