Biggest rodent ever, new research

This video says about itself:

22 April 2010

CC en Español

A short animated video about the largest rodent that ever lived, Josephoartigasia monesi, also known as the Giant Pacarana. A fossil skull discovered in Uruguay belonged to a rodent, which researchers estimate weighed up to 1 tonne (1000kg)! Andrés Rinderknecht and R. Ernesto Blanco named the new species “monesi” in honor of the famous paleontologist, Alvaro Mones.

The largest rodent alive today is the capybara, which can weigh over 60kg, much smaller than its extinct cousin.

The original article describing J. monesi can be read here.

The skull is housed in Montevideo, Uruguay in the Museum of Natural History and Anthropology.

Much thanks to Dr. Blanco and Dr. Rinderknecht for their amazing discovery! And thank you to Luisa for her Spanish translation…I owe you one!

From daily The Independent in Britain:

Biggest ever rodent was a huge guinea pig with strong, tusk-like teeth

Bite was about as strong as that of a tiger

Andrew Griffin

Wednesday 04 February 2015

The biggest rodent that ever lived, which looked like a huge guinea pig and used its big teeth like an elephant does its tusk, according to new research.

Josephoartigasia monesi, which lived about three million years ago, is the biggest fossil rodent ever found.

Computer modelling has been used to determine how powerful its bite was, and how it used its huge teeth. The research was led by Philip Cox, of the University of York’s Centre for Anatomical and Human Sciences.

He found that the bite forces were similar to that of a tiger — about 1400 Newtons. The teeth would have been able to withstand three times that force.

“We concluded that Josephoartigasia must have used its incisors for activities other than biting, such as digging in the ground for food, or defending itself from predators,” said Cox. “This is very similar to how a modern day elephant uses its tusks.”

To conduct the research, Cox made a CT scan of the fossil and used it to reconstruct its skull. Researchers then used finite element analysis on the model, a technique that can be used to predict how an object would undergo stress and strain.

When we think of rodents, small animals come to mind. But the biggest rodent ever was the size of a buffalo and used its teeth like an elephant. Josephoartigasia monesi was a giant rodent that lived in South America around 3 million years ago. It was like a capybara on steroids – it weighed up to a ton and was as big as a buffalo. While most rodents today use their characteristic incisors to gnaw on tough plant matter, Josephoartigasia may have used them for a different purpose: here.