chinchilla rat

▪ rodent

      any of six South American species of rodents (rodent) that superficially resemble a chinchilla but are more ratlike in body form. Chinchilla rats have short limbs, large eyes, and large, rounded ears. The forefeet have four digits, the hind feet five, and the hairless soles are padded and covered with tiny tubercles that provide traction on bark or rocks. Abrocoma species have small claws, but claws are large and curved in Cuscomys; the second digits of both genera are hollowed out underneath. Stiff hairs, possibly used as grooming combs, project over the middle three toes. Abrocoma species are medium-sized rodents weighing up to 350 grams (12.3 ounces) with a body 17 to 23 cm (6.7 to 9.1 inches) long and a densely haired tail of 6 to 18 cm. Cuscomys is larger, weighing 910 grams, with a body length of 35 cm and a long, furred, two-coloured tail (26 cm). Chinchilla rats' long, soft, dense fur ranges from silvery to brownish gray on the upperparts with white, gray, or brownish underparts.

      The four Abrocoma species are primarily nocturnal and terrestrial. They den in rock crevices or burrows, are agile rock climbers, and climb shrubs and small trees. Their diet consists of leaves, buds, and stems of shrubs. Several are usually seen in close proximity to one another, perhaps forming small colonies. Some species build latrines up to 3 metres (10 feet) high that project from rock crevices and are composed of feces glued together by urine and other liquids. These structures eventually become as hard as rock.

      Of the two Cuscomys species, C. oblativa is represented only by remains from an Inca burial site at Machu Picchu, although there is speculation that the species may still live nearby. The other species, C. ashaninka (named for the Ashaninka people of the region), appears to be arboreal, and little is known of its habits. It was first described in 1999 from a single specimen obtained at 3,370 metres in the cloud forest of southern Peru, about 200 km (124 miles) from Machu Picchu.

      Chinchilla rats occur in the Andes Mountains from southern Peru to west-central Argentina, extending from coastal foothills up to the Altiplano. Abrocoma species prefer rocky areas covered by brushy vegetation and grass or open, rockless scrublands. Bennett's chinchilla rat (A. bennetti) occupies scrub habitats in central Chile from near the coast up to 1,200 metres above sea level, occurring along with the degu (Octodon degus). The two animals are approximately the same size, and mothers and young of both species have been found in the same nest burrows. A. boliviensis inhabits rocky, shrubby areas at altitudes of about 2,500 metres in central Bolivia. The ashy chinchilla rat (A. cinerea) lives only in the Altiplano, between 3,700 and 5,000 metres, from southeastern Peru to northern Chile and Argentina. A. vaccarum is known from rocky cliff faces at 1,880 metres above sea level in west-central Argentina.

      Chinchilla rats belong to the family Abrocomidae of the suborder Hystricognatha within the order Rodentia. Their closest living relatives are the family Chinchillidae (chinchillas (chinchilla) and viscachas (viscacha)). The evolutionary history of Abrocomidae dates from the Early Miocene Epoch (23.8 million to 16.4 million years ago) in Argentina.

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