Giant hutia
The giant hutias are an extinct group of large rodents known from fossil and subfossil material in the West Indies. One species, "Amblyrhiza inundata", is estimated to have weighed between , big specimens being as large as an American black bear. This is twice as large as the capybara, the largest rodent living today, but still much smaller than "Josephoartigasia monesi", the largest rodent known. These animals were probably used as a food source by aboriginal humans. All giant hutias are in a single family, Heptaxodontidae, which contains no living species; this grouping seems to be paraphyletic and artificial, however.
Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park
A diversity of animals of the rodent group live in the park. The larger ones are coipo, coypu, "Myocastor coypus", a webbed-feet animal that inhabits reedy lake and river banks; and Wolffsohn's viscacha, "Lagidium wolffsohni", of the family Chinchillidae, whose preferred habitat is above the timber line. Among the smaller rodents, scientists have shown particular interest for Chilean climbing mouse, "Irenomys tarsalis", and for the long-clawed mole mouse, "Geoxus valdivianus".