Car-sized rat fossile found in Uruguay

Scientists have unearthed the skull of a giant prehistoric rat -- a car-sized behemoth that roamed South America four million years ago, according to a study published in Wednesday`s Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The newly-identified species, believed to be the largest rodent ever to have walked the Earth, was about three meters long and 1.5 meters tall, and weighed from 468 kilos to 2.5 tonnes, researchers were quoted by Xinhuanet as saying.

The remains of the skull was found in a broken boulder on Kiyu Beach on the coast of Uruguay`s River Plate region. Measuring a whopping 53 centimeters, the skull has massive incisors several centimeters long.

Despite this fearsome look, the creature was not carnivorous and looked more hippo-like than rat-like. It was so big that it probably spent much of its life semi-submerged in water, to reduce the stresses caused by its size.