Octodon
''Octodon'' is a genus of octodontid rodents native to South America, in particular in the Chilean Andes. The best-known member is the common degu, ''O. degus'', which is kept as a pet in various countries. Two of the four species of degus are nocturnal.University of Michigan

Classification

This genus was first described in 1832 by the British zoologist Edward Turner Bennett.

Taxonomy

The genus name ''Octodon'' comes from the Latin ''octo'', eight, with reference to their teeth, molars and premolars having the shape of the number 8. The full list of species is: ...
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Common Degu
The common degu (''Octodon degus''; ), or, historically, the degu, is a small hystricomorpha rodent endemic to the Chilean matorral ecoregion of central Chile. The name ''degu'' on its own indicates either the entire genus '' Octodon'' or, more commonly, just the common degu. Common degus belong to the parvorder Caviomorpha of the infraorder Hystricognathi, along with the chinchilla and guinea pig. The word ''degu'' comes from the indigenous language of Chile, Mapudungun, and the word ''dewü'', meaning 'mouse' or 'rat'. The animal may be kept as a domestic pet, though there are prohibitions on their ownership in some territories. As a pet, the animal is larger than a golden hamster but smaller than a fancy rat. Description The common degu is a small animal with a body length of and a weight of . It has yellow-brown fur above and creamy-yellow below, with yellow around the eyes and a paler band around the neck. It has a long, thin tail with a tufted, black tip, dark sparsel ...
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