Prehistoric 'giant rat' found in Thailand from fossil teeth
Scientists have identified a new species of prehistoric giant rodent, named Yakamy, based on fossilized teeth found in southern Thailand. The animal, which lived 33 to 35 million years ago, weighed approximately 30 kilograms and provides new insights into early rodent evolution.
Why it matters
The discovery helps paleontologists understand the evolutionary history and geographic distribution of early, large-sized rodents during the Paleogene period.
A giant rodent weighing around 30 kilograms roamed what is now southern Thailand 33 to 35 million years ago, scientists said, after identifying a previously unknown species from two fossilised teeth.
The ancient animal, which one geologist on the team called a "giant rat", was among the largest known from the Paleogene period, offering new clues about how early rodents evolved to enormous sizes.
The findings, published Wednesday in the journal Scientific Reports, were based on a molar and an incisor discovered in 2004 at a coal mine in southern Krabi province.
Pannipa Tian, a geologist with Thailand's Department of Mineral Resources who found the incisor, said she initially misidentified the fossil because of its "unusually large size".
"At first, I thought it was a bone. I showed it to my supervisor, who told me it was a giant rat's tooth," Pannipa, 51, told AFP on Thursday.
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