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Science 19 September 2003:
Vol. 301. no. 5640, pp. 1708 - 1710
DOI: 10.1126/science.1089332
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Reports

The Anatomy of the World's Largest Extinct Rodent

Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra,1* Orangel Aguilera,2 Inés Horovitz3

Phoberomys is reported to be the largest rodent that ever existed, although it has been known only from isolated teeth and fragmentary postcranial bones. An exceptionally complete skeleton of Phoberomys pattersoni was discovered in a rich locality of fossil vertebrates in the Upper Miocene of Venezuela. Reliable body mass estimates yield ~700 kilograms, more than 10 times the mass of the largest living rodent, the capybara. With Phoberomys, Rodentia becomes one of the mammalian orders with the largest size range, second only to diprotodontian marsupials. Several postcranial features support an evolutionary relationship of Phoberomys with pakaranas from the South American rodent radiation. The associated fossil fauna is diverse and suggests that Phoberomys lived in marginal lagoons and wetlands.

1 Universität Tübingen, Spezielle Zoologie, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany.
2 Universidad Nacional Experimental Francisco de Miranda, CICBA, Complejo Docente Los Perozos, Carretera Variante Sur, Coro, 4101, Estado Falcón, Venezuela.
3 Department of Organismic Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, 621 Young Drive South, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095–1606, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: marcelo.sanchez{at}uni-tuebingen.de

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
THE OLIGOCENE-MIOCENE TRANSITION ON CORAL REEFS IN THE FALCON BASIN (NW VENEZUELA).
K. G. JOHNSON, M. R. SANCHEZ-VILLAGRA, and O. A. AGUILERA (2009)
Palaios 24, 59-69
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The largest among the smallest: the body mass of the giant rodent Josephoartigasia monesi.
V. Millien (2008)
Proc R Soc B 275, 1953-1955
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The largest fossil rodent.
A. Rinderknecht and R. E. Blanco (2008)
Proc R Soc B 275, 923-928
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Evolution and importance of wetlands in earth history.
S. F. Greb, W. A. DiMichele, and R. A. Gastaldo (2006)
Geological Society of America Special Papers 399, 1-40
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