More Giant Rodents!

Paleontologists have discovered a fossil of a 1-ton rodent in Uruguay. The fossil (called Josephoartigasia monesi) is around 2 million years old. The rodent's 21-inch skull was discovered in a broken boulder. By comparing the skull's dimensions to the body sizes of existing rodents, the researchers determined that its owner probably weighed about 2200 pounds, making it the world's largest known rodent.

However, unlike today's rodents, the relatively small size of the animal's teeth suggests it did not have a great deal of chewing power and might have fed on soft vegetables and fruit.

The discovery displaces Phoberomys pattersoni, a 1500 pound cousin of the guinea pig that roamed the Orinoco delta in Northern Venezuela some 8 million years ago (see picture below and article here).