| Revision as of 23:22, 26 August 2003 editTannin (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users12,305 editsmNo edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:29, 26 August 2003 edit undoTannin (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users12,305 editsm tnkering with species list formatNext edit → | ||
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| * '''ORDER ]''' | * '''ORDER ]''' | ||
| * '''Superfamily ]''' | |||
| ** '''Family Chinchillidae''' | ** '''Family Chinchillidae''' | ||
| *** Chinchilla, ''Chinchilla lanigera'' | *** Chinchilla, ''Chinchilla lanigera'' | ||
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| *** Wolffsohn's Viscacha, ''Lagidum wolffsohni'' | *** Wolffsohn's Viscacha, ''Lagidum wolffsohni'' | ||
| *** Plains Viscacha, ''Lagostomus maximus'' | *** Plains Viscacha, ''Lagostomus maximus'' | ||
| ** Family ]: octodonts | |||
| ** (Many other families in Rodentia) | |||
| ** Family ]: spiny rats, including nutrias | |||
| ** Family ]: hutias | |||
| ** Family ]: agoutis | |||
| ** Family ]: pacaranas | |||
| ** Family ]: cavies, including guinea pigs | |||
| ** Family ]: Capybara | |||
| ** Family ]: chinchilla rats | |||
| * (8 other superfamilies in Rodentia, not listed here) | |||
Revision as of 23:29, 26 August 2003
| Chinchillas and viscachas | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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| Genera | ||||||||||||
| Chinchilla Lagidium Lagostomus | ||||||||||||
Chinchillas and viscachas are small, nocturnal mammals native to the Andes mountains in South America and belonging to the family Chinchillidae. Chinchilla fur is considered the softest in the world and is 30 times softer than human hair. Its use in the fur industry started in the 1950s. Since then, chinchillas have also become popular as house pets.
Chinchillas in their native habitat live in burrows or crevices in rocks. They are agile jumpers and can jump up to a foot above their head. Predators in the wild include hawks, skunks, felines and canines. Their diet consists of plants, fruits and seeds.
The most common color varieties are gray, white, mosaic (white with gray or black patches), beige (very light gray), and charcoal (black). Unlike most other mammals the albino phase of the chinchilla is the beige coloration; true beiges, as opposed to just light grays, will have red eyes.
Chinchillas can breed any time of the year. For a rodent they have a very long gestation period of 111 days. Due to such a long pregnancy chinchillas are born fully fured and open their eyes soon after birth. Litters are from 1 - 8 babies although the average litter size is 2.
- ORDER RODENTIA
- Superfamily Caviomorpha
- Family Chinchillidae
- Chinchilla, Chinchilla lanigera
- Short-tailed Chinchilla, Chinchilla brevicaudata
- Northern Viscacha, Lagidum peruanum
- Southern Viscacha, Lagidum viscacia
- Wolffsohn's Viscacha, Lagidum wolffsohni
- Plains Viscacha, Lagostomus maximus
- Family Octodontidae: octodonts
- Family Echimyidae: spiny rats, including nutrias
- Family Capromyidae: hutias
- Family Agoutidae: agoutis
- Family Dinomyidae: pacaranas
- Family Caviidae: cavies, including guinea pigs
- Family Hydrochoeridae: Capybara
- Family Abrocomidae: chinchilla rats
- Family Chinchillidae
- (8 other superfamilies in Rodentia, not listed here)