Eurasian beaver
Eurasian beavers are one of the largest living species of rodents and are the largest rodent native to Eurasia. They weigh around . In Norway, adult males average while females average , while another study found adults from the same country to average . By the average weights known, the Eurasian beaver appears to be the world's second heaviest rodent behind the capybara, but averaging slightly larger and heavier than the North American beaver. While the largest specimen confirmed on record weighed , the Smithsonian has reported that this species can exceptionally exceed . Typically, the head-and-body length is and the tail length is .
Rodent
At least 89 species of rodent, mostly Hystricomorpha such as guinea pigs, agoutis and capybaras, are eaten by humans; in 1985, there were at least 42 different societies in which people eat rats. Guinea pigs were first raised for food around 2500 B.C. and by 1500 B.C. had become the main source of meat for the Inca Empire. Dormice were raised by the Romans in special pots called "gliraria", or in large outdoor enclosures, where they were fattened on walnuts, chestnuts, and acorns. The dormice were also caught from the wild in autumn when they were fattest, and either roasted and dipped into honey or baked while stuffed with a mixture of pork, pine nuts, and other flavorings. Researchers found that in Amazonia, where large mammals were scarce, pacas and common agoutis accounted for around 40 percent of the annual game taken by the indigenous people, but in forested areas where larger mammals were abundant, these rodents constituted only about 3 percent of the take.