Telicomys is an extinct genus of rodent from the Solimões Formation, Brazil, South America.
Description
This rodent weighed approximately .
With a length of more than in
T. gigantissimus, it contains two or three of the largest rodents that ever lived, along with
Phoberomys,
Josephoartigasia, and the
Castoroides. 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 . The closest living relative to
Telicomys is the
pacarana.
Its name derives from Greek τηλικος + μυς = "a mouse = of such a size".
