Josephoartigasia magna
Encyclopedia
Josephoartigasia magna is an extinct
species of giant rodent
. J. magna is known form Pliocene
age fossil teeth found in the San Jose Formation, Playa Kiyu, Chapadmalalan
, Uruguay
. The species was described in 1966 by J. C. Francis and A. Mones and was placed in the genus Artigasia. After restudy, A. Mones transferred the species to the new genus Josephoartigasia in a 2007 paper.
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
species of giant rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
. J. magna is known form Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
age fossil teeth found in the San Jose Formation, Playa Kiyu, Chapadmalalan
Chapadmalalan
The Chapadmalalan age is a period of geologic time within the Pliocene epoch of the Neogene used more specifically with South American Land Mammal Ages. It follows the Montehermosan and precedes the Uquian age....
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. The species was described in 1966 by J. C. Francis and A. Mones and was placed in the genus Artigasia. After restudy, A. Mones transferred the species to the new genus Josephoartigasia in a 2007 paper.