[ Giant Rodent ] [ Deer ] [ GIANTS-1 ]

June 6, 2000, Tuesday 
SECTION: International news 

  Giant prehistoric rodent's skeleton found in Venezuela 

DATELINE: CARACAS, June 6 

BODY: 
The complete skeleton of a giant rodent that lived eight million years ago in what is now Venezuela has been discovered, the newspaper El Nacional reported Tuesday. 

It is the first time that the fully preserved skeleton of such a beast has been found in the Americas, the daily said. 

Orangel Aguilera, a zoologist from Francisco de Miranda Experimental University, said the find by a university team was important because thus far scientists only had at their disposal "badly preserved teeth" of such prehistoric animals. 

The skeleton of the animal, which in its lifetime weighed about 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) and was three meters (10 feet) long and 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) tall, was found near the town of Urumaco, in Falcon state, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Caracas. The find also backs up a theory that eight million years ago, a huge river, dubbed the Paleo-Orinoco-Amazon, flowed parallel to the Andean mountain range toward the Caribbean Sea, according to scientists cited by the paper. 

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The discovery of the nearly complete skeleton of an eight million-year-old rodent the size of a kangaroo is the first of its kind ever found, scientists here say. 

A set of fossils "of this type is the first in the Americas and in the world," zoologist and research leader Orangel Aguilera told AFP. 

The giant rodent -- Phoberomys pattersonii -- weighed about 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) in its lifetime, was three meters (10 feet) long and 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) tall, Aguilera said. 

The remains were found in mid May near the town of Urumaco, in Falcon state, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Caracas. 

The animal's body was similar to that of a kangaroo, Aguilera said. 

"The skeleton is nearly complete, with vertebrae, and parts suggesting it had a tail," Aguilera said. 

Thus far, scientists had uncovered only "badly preserved teeth" of such prehistoric animals, Aguilera said, adding that his team was contacting colleagues in other countries where the species is believed to have once lived. 

Since phoberomys pattersonii is thought to have lived on river banks, the discovery reinforces a theory that eight million years ago a huge river, dubbed the Paleo-Orinoco-Amazon, flowed parallel to the Andean mountain range toward the Caribbean Sea. 

"The fauna specimens discovered in the arid zone of Urumaco are of the same period and very similar to those discovered in Acre region in Brazil on the border of Peru, which today is tropical forest," Aguilera said. "This reinforces the theory of the Paleo-Orinoco-Amazon." 

In addition to the giant rodent, researchers have discovered skeletons of crocodiles, gavials and catfish in the region. The remains resemble those found in Brazil by French archaeologist Jean Bocquentin and other discoveries on the border of Brazil and Peru. 

Those finds include the skull of a duck-billed crocodile measuring 1.8 meters (5.9 feet), and remains of a two-meter-long (6.6-foot-long) tortoise. Researchers had to use an army helicopter to remove those remains from the inaccessible site where they were discovered. 

Such specimens, scientists warn, risk being damaged by weather or stolen by looters. However the giant rodent skeleton has already been moved to the paleontological museum in Coro, capital of Falcon state, the scientists said. 

A dozen people had carry it on foot for three hours to reach the road to Coro, Aguilera said. 

Researchers will now conduct micro-analyses of the remains to determine its age more precisely, and present a report of their findings at a conference scheduled in August at the University of Acre in Brazil. 

The rodent was discovered by six researchers from Venzuela's Francisco de Miranda National Experimental University, the French Jean Bocquentin and the Brazilian Alceu Ranzi, both from the Federal University of Acre in Brazil. 

The excavations were funded by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, based in Panama. 

Agence France Presse 

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