Temporal range: Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene (Chapadmalalan-Uquian) ~3–2 Ma
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J. monesi skull, scale = 10 cm (3.9 in)
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Rodentia
Family:
Dinomyidae
Genus:
†Josephoartigasia Francis and Mones, 1966
Type species
†Artigasia magna
Species
†J. magna (Francis and Mones, 1966)
†J. monesi (Rinderknecht and Blanco, 2008)
Josephoartigasia is an extinct genus of enormous dinomyid rodent from the Early Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of Uruguay. The only living member of Dinomyidae is the pacarana. Josephoartigasia is named after Uruguayan national hero José Artigas. It contains two species: J. magna, described in 1966 based on a left mandible, and J. monesi, described in 2008 based on a practically complete skull. Both are reported from the San José Member of the Raigón Formation by the Barrancas de San Gregorio along the shores of Kiyú beach.
The skull of J. monesi measures 53 cm (1 ft 9 in), similar to a beef cow skull, equating to a full body length of 262.8 cm (8 ft 7 in)—though this is likely an overestimate—and a weight of about 480–500 kg (1,060–1,100 lb). This makes J. monesi the biggest rodent ever discovered. It was much larger than J. magna, giant hutia or the largest living rodent, the capybara, which averages 60 kg (130 lb). J. monesi also had a massive bite force of approximately 1,400 N (310 lbf) at the incisors (on par with large carnivores) and 5,000 N (1,100 lbf) at the third molar (rivaling large crocodilians). Its skull was heavily reinforced to withstand high stresses far exceeding what bite force alone could exert, so it could have been using its teeth to crack nuts, excavate large burrows, dig up roots, or self defense against predators.
Josephoartigasia lived in a forested estuarine environment, alongside toxodontids, ground sloths, glyptodonts, scimitar-toothed cats, terror birds, and thylacosmilids. Like other giant extinct rodents, Josephoartigasia predominantly ate C3 plants, such as leaves or fruits, though the extreme bite force of J. monesi would have permitted it to consume a wide variety of different plants if necessary.
Josephoartigasia is an extinct genus of enormous dinomyid rodent from the Early Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of Uruguay. The only living member of Dinomyidae...
list of the largest rodents. Mammals portal List of largest mammals Josephoartigasia monesi at Fossilworks.org Phoberomys pattersoni at Fossilworks.org...
known to date; these included the bison-sized Josephoartigasia monesi and the smaller Josephoartigasia magna. The dinomyids are thought to have occupied...
Dinomyidae together with extinct animals such as Phoberomys pattersoni and Josephoartigasia monesi, prehistoric giant rodents that lived in South America several...
discovery of a complete skull of Josephoartigasia monesi in 2008 showed this species to be even larger. Josephoartigasia was known at the time of P. pattersoni's...
opening lyric in Toliver's song. Mammals portal South America portal Josephoartigasia monesi, an extinct species identified as the largest known rodent ever...
capybara, the largest rodent living today, but still much smaller than Josephoartigasia monesi, the largest rodent known. These animals were probably used...
Caviomorphs include the extinct Heptaxodontidae (giant hutias), the extinct Josephoartigasia monesi (the largest rodent ever known) and extant families of chinchilla...
one of the largest rodent species ever discovered, surpassed only by Josephoartigasia monesi, several species of Phoberomys, and possibly the Pleistocene...
mammals including: sloths, bats, rodents related to the modern capybara (Josephoartigasia) weighing up to 700 kilograms (1540 lb), the primate Stirtonia, and...
2 in) and weight of 100 kg (220 lb). The largest known rodent was Josephoartigasia monesi, a pacarana with an estimated body length of 3 m (10 ft). The...
Chinchillidae) Pacaranas and extinct relatives, such as the giant rodent Josephoartigasia Cavies (family Caviidae), such as the guinea pigs, maras, and capybaras...
pinckneyi A large capybara North America 100 kg (220 lb) Pleistocene Josephoartigasia J. monesi 'Giant pacarana', largest known rodent South America 1,500 kg...
the white-dotted skate. Extinct fauna includes megafauna, such as Josephoartigasia monesi, Lestobradys, and Glyptodon (some of them coexisted with the...
South American dinomyids were much bigger than the modern rodents. Josephoartigasia monesi was the largest-known rodent of all time, approximately weighing...
after the early Oligocene. By the Pliocene, some caviomorphs (e.g., Josephoartigasia monesi) attained sizes on the order of 500 kg (1,100 lb) or larger...
and can weigh up to 4 kg (8.8 lb). The largest known rodent ever is Josephoartigasia monesi, an extinct species known only from fossils found in Uruguay...
three of the largest rodents that ever lived, along with Phoberomys, Josephoartigasia, and the giant beaver. It is part of the same South American radiation...
follows the Montehermosan and precedes the Uquian age. Fossils of Josephoartigasia magna, a rodent in the family Dinomyidae from this age have been found...
was known as the largest rodent on earth, before the discovery of Josephoartigasia monesi. Fossil specimens from the Late Miocene period have been discovered...
estimates of body mass of extinct giant rodents, including estimates for Josephoartigasia monesi and Phoberomys pattersoni which are much lower than in previous...
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