| Dinomyidae Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Josephoartigasia | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Superfamily: | Chinchilloidea |
| Family: | Dinomyidae Peters, 1873 |
| Genera | |
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See text | |
The Dinomyidae are a family of South American hystricognath rodents: the dinomyids were once a very speciose group, but now contains only a single living species, the pacarana. Several of the extinct dinomyids were among the largest rodents known to date; these included the bison-sized Josephoartigasia monesi[1] and the smaller Josephoartigasia magna.[2] The dinomyids are thought to have occupied ecological niches associated with large grazing mammals due to their ability to compete with the native ungulates of South America. On the other side, they could feed on aquatic or swampy plants along the ancient rivers.[3] These large forms disappeared after the formation of a connection to North America. The modern pacarana is only modest in size, considerably smaller than the capybara.
The Neoepiblemidae, an entirely extinct family, may actually be part of the Dinomyidae; both groups are undoubtedly closely related.
- ^ Rinderknecht, Andrés; R. Ernesto Blanco (2008-01-15). "The largest fossil rodent". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 275 (1637): 923–8. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1645. PMC 2599941. PMID 18198140.
Josephoartigasia monesi sp. nov. (family: Dinomyidae; Rodentia: Hystricognathi: Caviomorpha)
- ^ Francis, J.C. and A. Mones (1966). "Artigasia magna n. g., n. sp. (Eumegamyinae), un roedor gigantesco de la época Pliocena Superior de las Barrancas de San Gregorio, Departamento de San José, República Oriental del Uruguay". Kraglievana. 3: 89–100.
- ^ Thomas Defler (2018). History of Terrestrial Mammals in South America. Springer International Publishing. p. 151. ISBN 9783319984490. Retrieved 2022-08-27.