The biggest rodent on Earth living today is the capybara, scientific name Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, native to South America and found in countries like Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, and Panama. Capybaras are semi-aquatic mammals that live near rivers, lakes, marshes, and swamps in savannas and dense forests. Adult capybaras typically weigh between 100 and 170 pounds, with some exceptionally large males reaching over 200 pounds, and they measure about three and a half to four and a half feet long and stand about two feet tall at the shoulder, making them far larger than beavers which are the second largest living rodents. They have a large barrel-shaped body, short legs, partially webbed feet for swimming, a blunt snout, and coarse brown fur. Capybaras are highly social and live in groups of ten to twenty individuals and are herbivores feeding on grasses and aquatic plants. They are known for their calm, gentle temperament and have become famous on the internet as the king of rodents. Among extinct rodents, the largest ever was Josephoartigasia monesi, which lived about three million years ago in South America and weighed an estimated 2,200 pounds, but among living rodents, the capybara is undisputed as the biggest.
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