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Rodents of Unusual Size

Posted by michael on from the world's-largest-hamster-wheel dept.

lowy writes "The New York Times has a story (free registration, blah, blah) reporting that paleontologists are claiming they have a nearly complete skeleton of a 1500-pound distant relative of the guinea pig. Would Westley and Buttercup have made it through the Fire Swamp if the R.O.U.S's were this big?"

4 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. See also... by keesh · · Score: 5, Informative

    From the bbc... No registration required

  2. Or, this non-reg link by scootr1 · · Score: 4, Informative

    ..to the UK's Independent:

    link

  3. Re:Rodents of unusual size by Anonymous+Codger · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Guinea pigs aren't rodents, they are cavies"

    Just checked Britannica. A guinea pig is a cavy, and a cavy is a rodent "belonging to the family Caviidae (order Rodentia)".

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  4. Re:Rodents of unusual size by barakn · · Score: 4, Informative
    Hippos aren't pachyderms. They are in the order Artiodactyla, which also has the pigs, deer, camelids, giraffes, bovines (cows, sheep, goats, buffalo, etc.), and the pronghorn antelope. The horse is in the order Perissodactyla, which also includes tapirs and rhinos. Elephants are in their own order, Proboscidea. The closest living relative of the elephant is probably (debated by some) the hyrax (order Hyracoidea), a small guinea pig-like animal that you probably confused with the guinea pig. Also distantly related to the elephant is the order Sirenia, manatees and dugongs.

    Thanks for trying to confuse the issue. Who the hell modded you informative?

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    "I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show