An Age of Magic

Scared of rodents?…look away now!

If you are afraid of mice then be grateful you were not around four million years ago. The skull of a cow-sized rat that must have tipped the scales at over one ton has been found in South America, where the monster rodents are said to have existed.

Standing five-foot high at the shoulders and weighing almost a ton, it was the largest rodent ever to scuttle across the Earth and 14 times bigger than any alive today.  It lived in the forests of South America four million years ago, dodging attacks from giant meat-eating birds and sabre-toothed cats but I doubt the average mouse trap would have bothered them!

According to the scientists who have examined its skull, it looked liked a cross between a guinea pig and a beaver. The jaws would have been big enough to hold a small animal, but its tastes apparently ran to fruit and vegetables, ground down with ever-growing teeth. Yuk!!

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