The 480-Kilogram Giant Rodent of Ancient South America Revealed
Researchers identify Josephoartigasia monesi as the largest rodent known, living about 4–2 million years ago in South America. Weighing around 480 kilograms, it likely reached roughly 3 meters in length and could bite with about 4,165 Newtons on its molars, indicating a herbivorous, root-digging lifestyle rather than predation. Its anatomy suggests a slow-moving mammal adapted to large-herbivore–like niches, and earlier mass estimates have been revised downward from extreme figures to ~480 kg.