Chinchilla rat
| Chinchilla rats Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Abrocoma bennettii | |
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Parvorder: | Caviomorpha |
| Family: | Abrocomidae MillerandGidley,1918 |
| Type genus | |
| Abrocoma Waterhouse,1837
| |
| Genera | |
Chinchilla ratsorchinchillonesare members of the familyAbrocomidae.This family has few members compared to most rodent families, with only nine known living species. They resemblechinchillasin appearance, with a similar soft fur and silvery-grey color, but have a body structure more like a short-tailedrat.They are social, tunnel-dwelling animals, and live in theAndes MountainsofSouth America.They are probablyherbivorous,although this is not clear.[1]
They can be described as medium-sized. Stiff hairs project over the three middle digits of the rear feet. Their massive skulls narrow in the facial areas.[2]Somemolecular work[3]suggests that, despite their appearance, they may be more closely related tooctodontoidssuch asdegus,nutria,andtuco-tucosthan they are to chinchillas andviscachas.
Etymology
[edit]The family name is derived from the Ancient Greek wordἁβροκόμης(habrokomēs,"with delicate hair" ). The wordἁβρός(habros) means "delicate, graceful" and the wordκόμη(komē) means "hair".
Species
[edit]- Family Abrocomidae-chinchilla rats
- †Protabrocoma
- †Protabrocoma antigua
- Abrocoma
- A. bennettii-Bennett's chinchilla rat
- A. boliviensis-Bolivian chinchilla rat
- A. budini-Budin's chinchilla rat
- A. cinerea-ashy chinchilla rat
- A. famatina-Famatina chinchilla rat
- A. schistacea-Sierra del Tontal chinchilla rat
- A. uspallata-Uspallata chinchilla rat
- A. vaccarum-Punta de Vacas chinchilla rator Mendozan chinchilla rat
- Cuscomys
- C. ashaninka-Asháninka arboreal chinchilla rat
- C. oblativus-Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat
- †Protabrocoma
References
[edit]- Citations
- ^Bishop, Ian (1984). Macdonald, D. (ed.).The Encyclopedia of Mammals.New York: Facts on File. p.701.ISBN0-87196-871-1.
- ^Allaby, Michael.The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Zoology.pg 1. Oxford University Press. New York. 1992.
- ^Huchon, D. and E. J. P. Douzery (2001). "From the Old World to the New World: a molecular chronicle of the phylogeny and biogeography of hystricognath rodents".Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.20(2): 238–251.doi:10.1006/mpev.2001.0961.PMID11476632.
- Bibliography
- Braun, J. K. and M. A. Mares. 2002. Systematics of theAbrocoma cinereaspecies complex (Rodentia: Abrocomidae), with a description of a new species ofAbrocoma.Journal of Mammalogy, 83:1-19.
- Emmons, L. H. 1999. A new genus and species of abrocomid rodent from Peru (Rodentia: Abrocomidae). American Museum Novitas, 3279:1-14.
External links
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