The southern mountain cavy (''Microcavia australis'') is a species of South American

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 ...

Description

Southern mountain cavies are tailless rodents with short, speckled, greyish-yellow fur, fading to pale grey on the underparts. Adults measure around in total length and weigh between . They have large eyes surrounded by a prominent white ring, and small rounded ears. Females have four teats.

Distribution and habitat

Southern mountain cavies are largely restricted to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, but may also be found in some neighbouring regions of

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

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 ...

. They are found across almost the whole of western and southern Argentina, where they inhabit arid and semiarid lowlands, often close to rivers or in areas dominated by thorn bushes. Three subspecies are currently recognised: * ''M. australis australis'' - central western to southern Argentina, from

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

to Santa Cruz, and parts of south-eastern Chile * ''M. australis maenas'' - northwest Argentina, from

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...

, and extreme southern Bolivia * ''M. australis salinia'' - western Argentina, from Catamarca and

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a sur ...

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

Biology and behaviour

Southern mountain cavies eat leaves, fruits and other plant material, with

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for some plants in the genera ''Neltuma'' and '' Strombocarpa'', which contain over 50 species of spiny, deep-rooted leguminous shrubs and small trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. Until 2022, these ge ...

and ''

Capparis ''Capparis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Capparaceae. It includes 142 species of shrubs or lianas which are collectively known as caper shrubs or caperbushes. ''Capparis'' species occur over a wide range of habitat in the subtr ...

'' being reported as particularly common foods. They can even climb trees to get at the leaves, sometimes reaching as high as above the ground. In time of hardship, however, they will eat almost any plants, for example gnawing on the bark of

creosote bush ''Larrea tridentata'', called creosote bush, greasewood, and chaparral is a medicinal herb. In Sonora, it is more commonly called ''hediondilla''; Spanish ''hediondo'' = "smelly". It is a flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae. The specific ...

es. They live in colonial burrows with anything from 4 to 38 individuals. Such burrows can be extensive, with one being reported to have 26 entrances, and a total length of . They are diurnal, emerging from the burrows at sunrise, and remaining active throughout the day, except in particularly hot weather. Males are often aggressive towards one another, creating a strict dominance hierarchy within the burrow. Nonetheless, in severe weather or when there are few shelter sites, individuals, especially females, may huddle together, and the females have also been seen to nurse young cooperatively. Natural predators include owls, hawks,

grison A grison (, ) is any mustelid in the genus ''Galictis''. Native to Central and South America, the genus contains two extant species: the greater grison (''Galictis vittata''), which is found widely in South America, through Central America to s ...

s, foxes, and skunks, and southern mountain cavies alert one another of danger with low-pitched alarm calls. Other calls include a high-pitched cry of fear and soft, almost inaudible, squeaks used during chases and courtship. Breeding occurs between August and April, with litters of one to five young being born about 54 days later. The young weigh about at birth, and are able to run almost immediately. They are weaned at around three weeks, and females may be sexually mature at just 40 to 50 days old.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1770240 Cavies Mammals described in 1833 Mammals of Patagonia Mammals of the Andes Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Chile Taxa named by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Taxa named by Alcide d'Orbigny Taxonomy articles created by Polbot