Phoberomys pattersoni: Difference between revisions

Phoberomys pattersoni; Temporal range: Late Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Suborder:	Hystricomorpha
Family:	Dinomyidae
Genus:	†Phoberomys
Species:	†P. pattersoni
Binomial name
	Phoberomys pattersoni; (Mones, 1980)
Synonyms
	Dabbenea pattersoni Mones, 1980

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 15:47, 18 September 2016

Phoberomys pattersoni is an extinct rodent that lived in the ancient Orinoco River delta around 8 million years ago. It was the second-largest of the roughly seven species of its genus. Like many other rodents, Phoberomys was a herbivore with high-crowned premolars and molars. An almost complete skeleton was discovered in Urumaco, Venezuela, in 2000. The new species was later classified with the name Phoberomys pattersoni in honor of palaeontologist Brian Patterson.^[1] From the fossil, researchers have been able to reconstruct its size and probable lifestyle. It was 3 m (9.8 ft) long, with a tail at 1.5 m (4.9 ft), and probably weighed between 250 and 700 kg (550 and 1,540 lb)), making it for some years the largest known rodent for which good size and weight estimates were possible. Its congener Phoberomys insolita was a bit larger still, but it is not known from any reasonably complete remains, thus its size cannot be estimated more precisely.

In early 2008, the discovery of Josephoartigasia monesi was announced, which was even larger.

References

^ Amos, Jonathan (September 18, 2003), "Giant rodent astonishes science", BBC News Online, retrieved 2008-03-18

External links

[1] Amos, Jonathan (September 18, 2003), "Giant rodent astonishes science", BBC News Online, retrieved 2008-03-18

[1]

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 }}
-'''''Phoberomys pattersoni''''' is an [[extinction|extinct]] [[rodent]] that lived in the ancient [[Orinoco River]] delta approximately 8 million years ago. It was the second-largest of the roughly 7 species of its [[genus]]. Like many other rodents, ''Phoberomys'' was a [[herbivore]] with [[hypsodont|high-crowned]] [[premolar]]s and [[Molar (tooth)|molar]]s. Informal names include '''Ratzilla''' and '''Mighty Mouse'''.
+'''''Phoberomys pattersoni''''' is an [[extinction|extinct]] [[rodent]] that lived in the ancient [[Orinoco River]] delta around 8 million years ago. It was the second-largest of the roughly seven species of its genus. Like many other rodents, ''Phoberomys'' was a [[herbivore]] with [[hypsodont|high-crowned]] [[premolar]]s and [[Molar (tooth)|molar]]s. <!--not encyclopedic Informal names include '''Ratzilla''' and '''Mighty Mouse'''.
+ -->
-An almost complete [[skeleton]] was discovered in [[Urumaco]], [[Venezuela]] in 2000.  The new species was later classified with the name ''Phoberomys pattersoni'' in honor of palaeontologist Brian Patterson.<ref>{{citation |journal=BBC News Online |last=Amos |first=Jonathan |title=Giant rodent astonishes science |date=September 18, 2003 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/sci/tech/3120950.stm |accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref>  From the fossil, researchers have been able to reconstruct its size and probable lifestyle. It was {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on}} long, with an additional {{convert|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} tail, and probably weighed between {{convert|250|kg|abbr=on}} and {{convert|700|kg|abbr=on}}), making it for some years the largest known rodent for which a good size and weight estimate was  possible. Its [[Conspecificity|congener]] ''[[Phoberomys insolita]]'' was a bit larger still, but it is not known from any reasonably complete remains and thus its size cannot be estimated more precisely.
+An almost complete [[skeleton]] was discovered in [[Urumaco]], [[Venezuela]], in 2000.  The new species was later classified with the name ''Phoberomys pattersoni'' in honor of palaeontologist Brian Patterson.<ref>{{citation |journal=BBC News Online |last=Amos |first=Jonathan |title=Giant rodent astonishes science |date=September 18, 2003 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/sci/tech/3120950.stm |accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref>  From the fossil, researchers have been able to reconstruct its size and probable lifestyle. It was {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on}} long, with a tail at {{convert|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and probably weighed between {{convert|250|and|700|kg|abbr=on}}), making it for some years the largest known rodent for which  good size and weight estimates were  possible. Its [[Conspecificity|congener]] ''[[Phoberomys insolita]]'' was a bit larger still, but it is not known from any reasonably complete remains, thus its size cannot be estimated more precisely.
 In early 2008, the discovery of ''[[Josephoartigasia monesi]]'' was announced, which was even larger.
 == References ==<!-- Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 4 (3): 293–306 -->
+{{reflist}}
+==Further reading==
 * McNeill Alexander, R. (2003): ''A Rodent as Big as a Buffalo''. [[Science (journal)|Science]] vol. 301, p.1678-9. [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/301/5640/1678 (HTML abstract link)]
 * Millien, Virginie and Helene Bovy (2010) : ''When Teeth and Bones Disagree: Body Mass Estimation of a Giant Extinct Rodent''. Journal of Mammalogy vol. 91, p.11-18.
 * Sanchez-Villagra, M.R. ''et al.'' (2003): ''The Anatomy of the World's Largest Extinct Rodent''. [[Science (journal)|Science]] vol. 301, p.1708-10. [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/301/5640/1708 (HTML abstract link)]
-=== Footnotes ===
-{{reflist}}
 == External links ==