| Telicomys Temporal range: Late Miocene–Early Pliocene [1] |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Hystricomorpha |
| Family: | Dinomyidae |
| Genus: | †Telicomys Kraglievich, 1926 |
| Species | |
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Telicomys giganteus |
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Telicomys is an extinct genus of rodent from South America.
With a length of more than 2 metres (6.6 ft) 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 metres (4.4 ft). The closest living relative to Telicomys is the pacarana.[1]
Its name was made from Greek τηλικος + μυς = "a mouse [= rodent] of such a size".