Telicomys

Telicomys Temporal range: Late Miocene–Early Pliocene PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Suborder:	Hystricomorpha
Family:	Dinomyidae
Genus:	†Telicomys Kraglievich, 1926
Species
Telicomys giganteus Telicomys gigantissimus Telicomys amazonensis (disputed)

Telicomys is an extinct genus of rodent from South America.

With a length of more than 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in T. gigantissimus, it contains two or three of the largest rodents that ever lived, along with Phoberomys, Josephoartigasia, and the giant beaver. It is part of the same South American radiation of rodents as both Phoberomys and the modern capybara, which is the largest living rodent, reaching lengths of up to 1.35 m (4 ft 5 in). The closest living relative to Telicomys is the pacarana.^[1]

Its name derives from Greek τηλικος + μυς = "a mouse [= rodent] of such a size".

References

1. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 284. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.