Uruguayan scientists have uncovered fossil evidence of a rodent that was the size of a bull, weighing in at 880-1,500 pounds! The animal had no tail and artist drawings based on the evidence believe the animal looked something like a modern hippopotamus. The closest modern relatives of such an animal are believed to be the guinea pig or the porcupine.
Scientists speculate that the animal, which lived roughly 2-4 million years ago, split its life between the land and the water. Some water-faring rodents behave in a similar fashion today.
I can't begin to tell you how much joy the story of a giant guinea pig has brought my day!
17 January 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment