Mr Rowe, who specialises in rodent evolution, spent six weeks in Indonesia with other scientists and a group of locals trying to reach the remote forest area.
He also shared with the BBC the "exciting moment" of finding a hog-nosed rat.
"We had been setting up overnight traps for a few days - that was when I stumbled upon a completely new rat," he said.
"I hollered immediately for my colleagues as I knew it was a new species."
The rats appeared "healthy, with full stomachs", weighing at an estimated 250g.
Mr Rowe also added that there were rats on Sulawesi island similar to the newly discovered mammal, but they "weren't the same".