Giant mouse discovered to be as big as humans in Amazon
Scientists have discovered a prehistoric mouse as large as a human living in the Amazon rainforest about 10 million years ago.
This giant mouse weighs 80kg and is up to 1.5m long. It is the largest rodent that ever lived in South America.
The largest-sized giant mouse ever existed in South America.
Scientists say it is most likely the ancestor of modern giant water guinea pigs . It inhabits wetlands, which later become lush forests.
With this huge size, they have very few enemies in the wild. It is thought that their rare enemies are large crocodiles, waiting for giant mice to pass by to attack.
They were named biologists Neoepiblema ac Greensis. This species possesses two giant front teeth while the brain is strangely small weighing only about 114 grams.
This can be explained by the good living environment, not many enemies, so they do not need to be too smart.
Modern water guinea pigs are still smaller than their ancestors.
Fossil ancient mouse species found in Acre, Brazil. The skull is so well preserved that the scientists were astounded.
There are more than 2,000 species of rodents - almost half of all different mammals on Earth. These include mice, beavers, squirrels, porcupines .
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