Three million years ago booked a close relative of today’s guinea pig around in what today is Uruguay in South America. But unlike a guinea pig weighed this rascal a ton and was as big as a buffalo. The rodent typical front teeth was 30 inches long and had a bite force equivalent to that of a tiger.
The only thing that remains today of Joseph impolite Asia monesi, as the animal is called in Latin, is a fossil of its skull which was discovered in 2007. Researchers at the University of York in the UK have caused reconstruct the skull using computed tomography and three-dimensional computer modeling.
The most striking feature of the fossil, the researchers in the Journal of Anatomy, is the large front teeth that seem be oversized. Even for a rodent of this size.
– Therefore, we conclude that Joseph impolite Asia monesi used his front teeth other than to just bite with which to dig in the ground for food or defend themselves from predators. Much like today’s elephants use their tusks, says Philip Cox, one of the researchers behind the study.
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