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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. It is dorsally gray or brown in color, with a bushy tail and long, furry ears. This species lives in large colonies separ ... [...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 but 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 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 their lives. Chinchillids a ... [...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 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, but 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 . Distribution and habitat The southern viscacha is native to the mountainous parts of western Argentina, southern Peru, western and central Bolivia, and northern and ce ... [...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: Ca ... [...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: * Northern viscacha (''L. peruanum'') * Southern viscacha (''L. viscacia'') * Wolffsohn's viscacha (''L. wolffsohni'') * Ecuadorean mountain viscacha (''L. ahuacaense'') 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 dry, rocky, habitats ... [...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. 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 sea level. It makes its home in crevices in the rock and is found in various habitats where s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lagidium Ahuacaense
''Lagidium ahuacaense'' is a rodent in the mountain viscacha genus (''Lagidium'') that occurs in southern Ecuador. First observed in 2005 and formally described in 2009, it occurs more than north of the nearest previously known population of mountain viscachas in central Peru. Only a single population is known, found on rocky habitats on Cerro El Ahuaca, an isolated granite mountain in southern Ecuador, and as few as several dozen individuals remain. The species is threatened by fires and grazing cattle, and the discoverers recommended its conservation status be assessed as critically endangered. Taxonomy ''L. ahuacaense'' was first observed in July 2005, when the only known population was encountered at Cerro El Ahuaca, Ecuador,Werner et al., 2006, p. 273 over north of the northernmost previously known population of mountain viscachas (''Lagidium'') in central Peru.Ledesma et al., 2009, p. 42 The find was published in a 2006 note by Florian Werner, Karim Ledesma, a ... [...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 genus in the subfamily Lagostominae Lagostominae is a subfamily of the family Chinchillidae. It contains the genus ''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 .... References Chinchillidae Rodent genera Mammal genera with one living species Taxa named by Joshua Brookes Taxa named by Johann Rudolph Rengger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rodent-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the world, and the second driest overall, just behind some very specific spots within the McMurdo Dry Valleys as well as the only hot true desert to receive less precipitation than the polar deserts, and the largest fog desert in the world. Both regions have been used as experimentation sites on Earth for Mars expedition simulations. The Atacama Desert occupies , or if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. Most of the desert is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes (''salares''), sand, and felsic lava that flows towards the Andes. The desert owes its extreme aridity to a constant temperature inversion due to the cool north-flowing Humboldt ocean current and to the presence of the strong Pacific anticyclone. The most arid re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pampa
The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil's southernmost 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. The climate is temperate, with precipitation of that is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year, making the soils appropriate for agriculture. The area is also one of the distinct physiography provinces of the larger Paraná–Paraguay plain division. Topography This region has generally low elevations, whose highest levels do not exceed 600 metres (1,970 feet) in altitude. The coastal areas and most of the Buenos Aires Province are predominantly plain (with some wetlands) and the interior areas (mainly in the sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinchilla
Chinchillas are either of two species (''Chinchilla chinchilla'' and ''Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, 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, Argentina, 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 mammals that live on land. In the water, the sea otter has a denser coat. The chinchilla is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who once wore its dense, velvet-like fur. By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare after being hunted for their ultra-soft fur. Most chinchillas currently used by the fur ind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
