The Andean mountain cavy (''Microcavia niata'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the family

Caviidae Caviidae, the cavy family (biology), family, is composed of rodents native to South America and includes the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. They are found across South America in open areas from mo ...

. It is found in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Feeding

The Andean mountain cavy's diet consists of herbs typically of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Eleocharis ''Eleocharis'' is a virtually cosmopolitan genus of 250 or more species of flowering plants in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἕλειος (''heleios''), meaning "marsh dweller," and χάρις (''charis'' ...

Distichlis ''Distichlis'' is a genus of American and Australian plants in the grass family.Bell, H. L. & J. T. Columbus. 2008. Proposal for an expanded ''Distichlis'' (Poaceae, Chloridoideae): Support from molecular, morphological, and anatomical character ...

Verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas ...

, and Deyeuxia, which are common in

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

areas, which suggest that this species of Microcavia only live in bog areas.

Characteristics

The Andean mountain cavy is usually seen with fur described as pale and soft, with yellow undertones. The dorsal hairs are multicoloured with a grey base, a dark grey middle and yellow tip. The back hairs are measured around 16-18mm and the animals cheeks, throat and belly are white with a grey base.Zeballos, H., Par, A., Pino, K., Medina, C. E., Cordova, J., & Quispe, R. (n.d.). First record of the Andean-mountain cavy Microcavia niata (Caviidae, Rodentia) from Peru.

Gayana (Concepción) ''Gayana'' is a biannual peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the University of Concepción. It covers zoology and oceanology works on taxonomy, systematics, phylogeny, biogeography, environmental biology, biotechnology, limnology, hydrolo ...

, 82(1), 85–89. doi: 10.4067/S0717-65382018000100085

References

Cavies Mammals of the Andes Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Chile Mammals described in 1898 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{rodent-stub