Owl's spiny rat (''Carterodon sulcidens'') is a rodent species in the family

Echimyidae Echimyidae is the family of neotropical spiny rats and their fossil relatives. This is the most species-rich family of hystricognath rodents. It is probably also the most ecologically diverse, with members ranging from fully arboreal to terr ...

found in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It is the only species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Carterodon''. Owl's spiny rat has evolved characteristics such as a heightened ability to dig in open grasslands during times of environmental change.Bezerra, Alexandra & Marinho-Filho, Jader & Carmignotto, Ana. (2011). A review of the distribution, morphology, and habit of the Owl’s Spiny Rat Carterodon sulcidens (Lund, 1841) (Rodentia: Echimyidae). Zoological studies. 50. 566-576.

Phylogeny

The genus ''Carterodon'' is the sister group to the family Capromyidae (hutias). In turn, this clade shares evolutionary affinities with some genera of spiny rats belonging to the subfamily Euryzygomatomyinae. Analyses of craniodental characters proposed that ''Carterodon'' may be associated with '' Clyomys'' and '' Euryzygomatomys''. However, molecular data suggest the

polyphyly A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which ar ...

of this assemblage of fossorial genera.

References

Echimyidae Mammals described in 1841 Taxa named by Peter Wilhelm Lund Rodents of Brazil {{Echimyidae-stub oc:Carterodon