According to records, the largest known rat in the world is the South American otter. Otters, also known as "giant beavers" or "river cats," can reach 1.3 meters in length and weigh about 30 kilograms.
Otters have gray-brown fur, well-proportioned bodies, cone-shaped tails, and a special structure on their backs that allow them to better adapt to life in the water. Otters usually inhabit lakes, rivers and swamps in South America and feed on fish, crustaceans, molluscs, etc. They are a typical semi-aquatic mammal.
It should be noted that although the otter is considered to be the largest known rat in the world, it is not exactly the same as a rat in the traditional sense. Its actual classification belongs to the family Myocastoridae, not the family Muridae.
