| Coryphomys Temporal range:Holocene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The skull of a black rat (right) compared with a fairly complete skull of a specimen of the extinctCoryphomys musseri (left). | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Subfamily: | Murinae |
| Genus: | †Coryphomys Schaub, 1937 |
| Species | |
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Coryphomys is anextinct genus ofrats, known fromsub-fossils found onTimor. Its name isGreek for "top-of-the-headmouse" or "summit mouse".
Species includeCoryphomys buhleri andCoryphomys musseri.[1] Archaeological research on East Timor has revealed the bones of rats weighing up to 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds) when adult[citation needed]. They seem to have died out between 1000 and 2000 years ago, perhaps due to large-scale forest clearance for farming.
In 2015, the discovery of fossils of "seven new species of giant rat", including the "largest rat ever" on the island of East Timor was announced. The biggest of these rats was described as weighing "five kilos (11 pounds), the size of a small dog," and was referred to as the "Giant Rat" in news stories.[2]
