Capybara
The capybara ("Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris") is a mammal native to South America. It is the largest living rodent in the world. Also called chigüire, chigüiro (in Colombia and Venezuela) and carpincho, it is a member of the genus "Hydrochoerus", of which the only other extant member is the lesser capybara ("Hydrochoerus isthmius"). Its close relatives include guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, the chinchilla, and the coypu. The capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species and can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually lives in groups of 10–20 individuals. The capybara is not a threatened species but it is hunted for its meat and hide and also for grease from its thick fatty skin, which is used in the pharmaceutical trade.
Phoberomys pattersoni
An almost complete skeleton was discovered in the Urumaco Formation at Urumaco, Venezuela, in 2000. The new species was later classified with the name "Phoberomys pattersoni" in honor of palaeontologist Brian Patterson. From the fossil, researchers have been able to reconstruct its size and probable lifestyle. It was long, with a tail at , and probably weighed between ), making it for some years the largest known rodent for which good size and weight estimates were possible. Its congener "Phoberomys insolita" was a bit larger still, but it is not known from any reasonably complete remains, thus its size cannot be estimated more precisely.