This article about an extinct giant Guinea pig makes me think of those old 50's or 60's horror movies with the giant rats and other animals and bugs. They used to show them on late night TV (sometimes with a host who made fun of them) when I was a little kid. There was always a radiation spill or the water got contaminated somehow or something like that. Classic!
The largest rodent that ever lived, Phoberomys pattersoni, seen in this artist rendering, was roughly the size of a buffalo, and roamed the banks of an ancient Venezuelan river some 8 million years ago dining on sea grass and dodging crocodiles. Researchers have recently found in Venezuela the most complete skelton to date of this giant rodent, which is an evolutionary sibling to modern-day guinea pigs.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...168/5b1kg.html