From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chinchilla rats are members of the family Abrocomidae. They resemble Chinchillas (to which they are closely related) in appearance but have a body-structure more like a rat. Some molecular work (Huchon and Douzery, 2001), however, suggests that they may be more closely related to octodontoids such as degus, nutria, and tuco-tucos than to chinchillas and viscachas. All species of chinchilla rat live in the Andes Mountains of South America and are probably herbivorous, although this is not clear.
[edit] Species
- Family Abrocomidae - chinchilla rats
- †Protabrocoma
- Abrocoma
- Abrocoma bennettii - Bennett's Chinchilla Rat
- Abrocoma boliviensis - Bolivian Chinchilla Rat
- Abrocoma budini
- Abrocoma cinerea - Ashy Chinchilla Rat
- Abrocoma famatina
- Abrocoma schistacea
- Abrocoma uspallata
- Abrocoma vaccarum
- Cuscomys
[edit] References
- Braun, J. K. and M. A. Mares. 2002. Systematics of the Abrocoma cinerea species complex (Rodentia: Abrocomidae), with a description of a new species of Abrocoma. 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.
- 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, 20:238-251.
[edit] External links
