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Chalchalero Viscacha Rat
Tympanoctomys loschalchalerosorum
The Chalchalero viscacha rat or Chalchalero vizcacha rat (Tympanoctomys loschalchalerosorum) is a species of caviomorph rodent in the family Octodontidae. It was formerly considered to be monotypic within the genus Salinoctomys, but has been shown by genetic analysis to nest within Tympanoctomys, and in particular, within the variation of T. barrerae. The species is endemic to a small area of northwestern Argentina, where it lives in shrublands bordering the salt flats of the Salinas Grandes. Its diet consists of halophyte plants. It is named after an Argentine musical group, Los Chalchaleros, whose songs were popular with its discoverers.
From the article Chalchalero viscacha rat on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The Chalchalero viscacha rat is a nocturnal medium-sized species of rat. Its dorsal fur is dark brownish black while its underparts are white. The hairs on its back are about 2 centimetres (0.8 in) long and have a grey base, a brown band and a black tip, and the guard hairs are a uniform darkish brown. This viscacha rat reaches a head-and-body length of 14 to 16 centimetres (5.5 to 6.3 in) with a tail length of 11 to 12 centimetres (4.3 to 4.7 in). The tail is relatively long, clad with hair along its entire length and ends with a black tassel. The soles of the feet have six pads, and there is a fringe of hairs around the feet.
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Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 607175.