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Fossil Teeth Reveal Biggest Asian Rodent
Newser • • science
Key Points:
- Researchers from Thailand, France, and Canada have identified a new rodent species, Yakamys sirindhornae, based on two teeth found in a coal seam in Thailand's Krabi province dating back 33 to 35 million years.
- The rodent was approximately the size of a beaver, weighing around 66 pounds, and belonged to an extinct family that may have reached its largest size with this species.
- Sediment analysis suggests Yakamys sirindhornae lived near ancient lakes and occupied an ecological niche similar to modern capybaras, although it was smaller than today's largest rodent.
- This discovery challenges previous assumptions about rodent evolution in Asia, indicating that larger prehistoric rodents existed in the region and that ancient rodents may have originated there before spreading globally.
- While large for its time, Yakamys sirindhornae was smaller than some prehistoric South American rodents, which evidence suggests could weigh up to a ton.
