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Still, a big rat

Published: 20 May 2008

The largest rodent ever recorded might not have been as monstrous as was first suggested, a ɬÀï·¬ scientist claims. A fossil skull belonging to the rodent Josephoartigasia monesi was uncovered in Uruguay, where the beast roamed 2-4 million years ago. It was first thought to have weighed a whopping one ton, but new estimates suggest the animal could have weighed as little as a third of that. Details appear in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Dr Virginie Millien, from ɬÀï·¬ said the mathematical models originally used to calculate the rodent's mass from its skull probably overestimated its body size.

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