Bennett's chinchilla rat (''Abrocoma bennettii'') is a species of
chinchilla rat
Chinchilla rats or ''chinchillones'' are rodents of the family Abrocomidae. This family has few members compared to most rodent families, with only nine known living species. They resemble chinchillas in appearance, with a similar soft fur and s ...
in the family
Abrocomidae.
It is found only in
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 ...
where its habitat is Mediterranean-type scrub on the western side of the Andes. The
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
has assessed its conservation status as being of "
least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
".
Description
Bennett's chinchilla rat is the largest species in the genus, with an average head-and-body length of and a tail about 80% of this. As with other members of the genus, the fur is long, dense and soft, and the ears prominent and rounded. The feet are broad but short, with four toes on the front feet and five on the hind; the small, nail-like claws are hidden by tufts of stiff bristles.
[
The dorsal ]pelage
A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...
is dark brown tinged with grey, slightly paler on the flanks, and the hairs on the underparts have dark grey bases and pale grey tips; this gives them a frosted appearance and distinguishes this species from other members of the genus which have pale underparts. The tail is well-haired and a uniform colour. The dorsal surfaces of both fore and hind feet are clad in whitish fur while the undersurfaces are pigmented but un-furred. A sternal gland is present on the chest and is indicated by a patch of white hairs in some individuals.
Ecology
The species is nocturnal and lives in a burrow. It often shares pre-existing burrows with the 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, mor ...
(''Octodon degus''), the Chilean rock rat (''Aconaemys fuscus'') or the long-tailed chinchilla
The long-tailed chinchilla (''Chinchilla lanigera''), also called the Chilean, coastal, common, or lesser chinchilla, is one of two species of rodent from the genus ''Chinchilla'': the other species being ''Chinchilla chinchilla, C. chinchilla''. ...
(''Chinchilla lanigera'').[ Alternatively it digs its own burrow, often under boulders. It is an efficient climber on both rocks and bushes, and it feeds on shoots and leaves, grasses and seeds.]
Status
''A. bennettii'' has an extensive range in Chile on the western slopes of the Andes where it is found at altitudes up to about . The habitat is being degraded by conversion to agricultural land and by mining, but this chinchilla rat is present in several protected areas and any downward trend in populations is slow, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...
has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
".
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q1766548
Abrocoma
Mammals of Chile
Endemic fauna of Chile
Mammals described in 1837
Taxa named by George Robert Waterhouse
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot