South American ground unveiled a fossil of a rodent that resembles the size of a human body. The prehistoric rat was found years ago and is called Neoepiblema Acreensis. Although its size is massive compared to the rat that exists today, scientists can’t say the same thing about its brain. With the help of a CT scan, they found out that the brain of the creature weighed only 113.398g. The rat’s whole weight is about almost 82kg, while its size about 1.5m. Another feature that stands out is its enormous, half-moon shaped teeth.
The prehistoric creature’s small brain means that the rat was not very smart. The two skull fossils were found in Westside of Brazilian Amazon
“Although Neoepiblema was one of the largest rodents ever, the brain of this giant rodent was very small relative to its body mass,” said Jose Ferreira, the study’s lead author.
Scientist unearthed a human-sized rodent
To put it simply, it wasn’t necessary. “When Neoepiblema inhabited South America, carnivorous placental mammals such as felids, canids, and ursids had not yet arrived on the continent, since the Isthmus of Panama was not yet formed and there was no terrestrial connection with Antarctica,” explains Ferreira.
The natural and foremost enemy was the crocodile. “Thus, predation pressures were different from what they would become from the end of the Pliocene and Quaternary when the Isthmus of Panama was formed, and the large carnivores entered the continent during an event known as the Great American Biotic Interchange,” Ferreira explained.
South American land seems to unveil more and more fossils. The two rodent skulls were not the only fossils discovered there this month. The area also revealed the most massive turtle ever to swim the Earth’s seas, weighing almost 1134kg. The giant reptile is called Stupendemys Geographicus.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.