Uruguay: One-ton rat fossil found

Scientists discovered the fossil of a prehistoric rodent that may have been about ten feet long, nearly five feet tall and weighing 2000 pounds. Two Uruguayan paleontologists “stumbled upon the” fossil which would have belonged to the world’s biggest rodent.

One of the scientists told CNN:

"We can give an educated guess that the rodent would have been 3 meters long -- assuming that it was similar to a Capybara (the largest rodent alive today) and taking it into account that large mammals generally have relatively smaller heads. It's tail probably was closer to the one of capybara or guinea pig (very short) and not like a rat," Ernesto Blanco says.

It’s believed that the rodent, named Josephoartigasia monesi, was an herbivore and existed between two and four million years ago.

Image- BBC News

Sources- Guardian UK, Associated Press, CNN, Reuters