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 Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...

species of viscacha are: *The Plains viscacha (''Lagostomus maximus''), a resident of the Pampas of

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 ...

, 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

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 ...

vian

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

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 adjust seasonally, and be either significantly higher in elevation, or lower. The permanent snow line is the level above which snow wil ...

. It is dorsally gray or brown in color, with a bushy tail and long, furry ears. This species lives in large colonies separated into individual family units, like an apartment complex. It eats a wide range of plant matter, settling for almost anything it can find growing in the harsh, rocky environment. *The southern viscacha (''Lagidium viscacia''), also called mountain viscacha, is similar to the northern viscacha, but its pelage is more red in color. It lives in similar habitat in the Andes. * Wolffsohn's viscacha (''Lagidium wolffsohni'') is rarer than the other four species. It occurs in southwestern Argentina and adjacent Chile. File:Bolivian vizcacha.jpg, A southern viscacha in the Sur Lipez desert, Bolivia File:ViscachaSalarDeUyuni 20170503.jpg, Viscacha near Salar De Uyuni, 2017 File:Viscacha in the morning sun.jpg, A viscacha warms itself in the morning sun in the Andes mountains in Chile.

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External links

* {{Cite EB1911 , last=Lydekker , first=Richard , authorlink=Richard Lydekker , wstitle=Viscacha , short=x Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Chile Chinchillidae Mammal common names