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Viscacha
Viscacha or vizcacha (, ) are rodents of two genera ('' Lagidium'' and '' Lagostomus'') in the family Chinchillidae. They are native to South America and convergently resemble rabbits. The five extant species of viscacha are: *The Plains viscacha (''Lagostomus maximus''), a resident of the Pampas of Argentina, is easily differentiated from other viscachas by black and gray mustache-like facial markings. This species lives colonially in warrens of 10 to over 100. It is very vocal and emits alarm calls. The plains viscacha can strip grassland used to graze livestock; this has caused ranchers to consider the rodent a pest species. *'' Lagidium ahuacaense'' is a newly described species of mountain viscacha from the Ecuadorian Andes. *The northern viscacha (''Lagidium peruanum'') is native to the Peruvian Andes at elevations between the tree line and the snow line The climatic snow line is the boundary between a snow-covered and snow-free surface. The actual snow line may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plains Viscacha
The plains viscacha or plains vizcacha (''Lagostomus maximus'') is a species of viscacha, a rodent in the family Chinchillidae. It is the only living species within the genus '' Lagostomus''. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. The plains viscacha is the largest species in its family. They construct elaborate burrows that house successive colonies for decades. The plains viscacha should not be confused with the plains viscacha rat. Appearance left, 200px The plains viscacha is a large rodent, weighing up to 9 kg. It has an average head and body length over 500 mm, with the tail usually a little less than 200 mm long. The dorsal pelage ranges from gray to brown, depending upon soil color, and the belly is whitish. Its head is bulky, and the face is black and white; males have distinctive black mustaches and stiff whiskers. Their fore feet have four toes, and the hind feet have three toes. Soft dense fur covers its body, from the tips of its ears to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinchillidae
The family Chinchillidae is in the order Rodentia and consists of the chinchillas, the viscachas, and their fossil relatives. This family is restricted to southern and western South America, mostly living in mountainous regions of the Andes, except one species living on plains. They are medium to large-sized rodents, weighing from to , with strong hind legs and large ears and a bushy tail. All species have thick, soft fur, which is considered valuable in some cultures. Characteristics Members of the Family (biology), family Chinchillidae are somewhat rabbit or squirrel-like rodents varying in weight from . They have large eyes, medium-sized ears, soft dense fur and short bushy tails. The forelegs are shorter than the hind legs. The forefeet have four toes while the hind feet have four small-clawed toes in ''Lagidium'' and ''Chinchilla'' but three large-clawed toes in '' Lagostomus'', a digging species. Their dental formula is and their incisors grow continually throughout thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Viscacha
The northern viscacha (''Lagidium peruanum'') is a species of viscacha, a rodent in the family Chinchillidae. It is known from Peru and Chile, at elevations from 300 to 5000 m, and may also be present in Bolivia. Description The northern viscacha grows to a head and body length of some with a bushy tail nearly as long which can be curled in a coil. The adult weight is between . Its long ears are furry and its body fur is dense and soft, but the tail has coarser hairs. The dorsal (upper) surface ranges from dark grey at lower altitudes to brown at higher elevations. The ventral (under) surface is cream or pale grey and the tip of the tail is reddish-brown or black. The northern viscacha has been observed leaping over six feet and can swim when necessary. Distribution and habitat The northern viscacha is native to central and southern Peru and northern Chile, and may also be present in the area around Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia. Its altitude range extends from above se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Viscacha
The southern viscacha (''Lagidium viscacia'') is a species of viscacha, a rodent in the family Chinchillidae found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. It is a Colony (biology), colonial animal living in small groups in rocky mountain areas. It has long ears and hind legs and resembles a rabbit in appearance apart from its long, bushy tail; however, it is not a lagomorph. Description The southern viscacha has yellowish-grey upperparts, paler underparts, and a black-tipped, bushy tail. The body fur is long and soft, while that on the tail is coarse. The long, fur-covered ears have a white fringe and both the short front legs and longer hind legs have four digits on the feet. The soles of the feet have fleshy pads called "pallipes" and they can move about with agility over rocky surfaces. The weight of an adult southern viscacha is about . They are also adept climbers, exhibiting proficiency in ascending vertical rock surfaces. Their leaps frequently span distances of five meters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammals Of Argentina
This is a list of the native mammal species recorded in Argentina. As of January 2020, the list contains 402 mammal species from Argentina, of which one is extinct, seven are critically endangered, seventeen are endangered, sixteen are vulnerable, and thirty are near threatened. The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; those on the left are used here, those in the second column in some other articles: Subclass: Theria Infraclass: Metatheria Superorder: Ameridelphia =Order: Didelphimorphia (common opossums)= Didelphimorphia is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. They are small to medium-sized marsupials, about the size of a large house cat, with a long snout and prehensile tail. *Family: Didelphidae (American opossums) **Subfamily: Caluromyi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lagidium
''Lagidium'' is a genus of rodents in the family Chinchillidae. Taxonomy Prior to 2009, most authors considered there to be three species of mountain viscachas. However, taxonomy sometimes differs by authors (e.g. ''L. peruanum'' is included within ''L. viscacia'' according to Anderson 1997). Four species are currently recognised: * Lagidium ahuacaense, Ecuadorean mountain viscacha (''L. ahuacaense'') * Northern viscacha (''L. peruanum'') * Southern viscacha (''L. viscacia'') * Wolffsohn's viscacha (''L. wolffsohni'') Distribution and habitat Range The northern viscacha occurs in central and southern Peru and northern Chile. The distribution is shown to be the Andes mountains in Peru at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 m. The southern viscacha occurs in southern Peru, southern and western Bolivia, northern Chile, and western Argentina. They occur between 2,500 and 5,100 m above sea level. Little is known about ''L. wolffsohni''. Habitat and ecology ''L. peruanum'' prefers d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolffsohn's Viscacha
Wolffsohn's viscacha (''Lagidium wolffsohni''), pronounced "wolf-sewns vi-skah-chuh", and locally known as chinchillón anaranjado, is a rare species of rodent in the family Chinchillidae. This species occurs in southwestern Argentina and adjacent Chile. It occurs up to about above sea level. It is found in rocky outcrops in mountainous areas. Etymology Wolffsohn's viscacha was initially intended to be named after the president of Wolffsohn's company. However, Oldfield Thomas, on behalf of the British Museum, named it ''Wolffsohni'' in recognition of Wolffsohn's contributions to the study of the species.Oldfield Thomas (1907) On a remarkable mountain Viscacha from southern Patagonia, with diagnoses of other members of the group, Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 19:113, 439-444. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930708562665 Description Wolffsohn's viscacha features a relatively large body, measuring approximately 470 mm from head to body, with the tail extending up to 305 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lagostomus
''Lagostomus'' is a South American genus of rodents in the family Chinchillidae. It contains a single living species, the plains viscacha, and it is the only Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ... genus in the subfamily Lagostominae. It probably only has one extant species; the taxa ''Lagostomus crassus'' is probably not valid. References Chinchillidae Rodent genera Mammal genera with one living species Taxa named by Joshua Brookes Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rodent-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile. Stretching over a strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of , which increases to if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the world, and the second driest overall, behind some specific spots within the McMurdo Dry Valleys. It is the only Desert climate, true desert to receive less precipitation than polar deserts, and the largest fog desert in the world. The area has been used as an experimentation site for Mars expedition simulations due to its similarities to the Martian environment. The constant Inversion (meteorology), temperature inversion caused by the cool north-flowing Humboldt Current, Humboldt ocean current and the strong South Pacific High, Pacific anticyclone contribute to the extreme aridity of the desert. The most arid region of the Atacama Desert is s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pampa
The Pampas (; from Quechuan languages, Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, La Pampa Province, La Pampa, Santa Fe Province, Argentina, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos Province, Argentina, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba Province, Argentina, Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil's southernmost Federative units of Brazil, state, Rio Grande do Sul. The vast plains are a natural region, interrupted only by the low Ventana and Tandil hills, near Bahía Blanca and Tandil (Argentina), with a height of and , respectively. This ecoregion has been changed by humans, especially since the release of animals like cattle, pigs, and especially sheep onto these plains. The climate is temperate, with precipitation (meteorology), precipitation of that is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year, making the soils ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinchilla
Chinchilla refers to either of two species ('' Chinchilla chinchilla'' and '' Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha, and are native to the Andes mountains in South America. They live in colonies called "herds" at high elevations up to . Historically, chinchillas lived in an area that included parts of Bolivia, Peru and Chile, but today, colonies in the wild are known only in Chile. Along with their relatives, viscachas, they make up the family Chinchillidae. They are also related to the chinchilla rat. The chinchilla has the densest fur of all extant terrestrial mammals, with around 20,000 hairs per square centimeter and 50 hairs growing from each follicle. The chinchilla is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who once wore its dense, velvet-like fur and ate their meat. By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare after being hunted for their notably soft fur. Most chinchillas currently used by the fur ind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
