4-429: Abrocoma Cuscomys † Protabrocoma Chinchilla rats or chinchillones are rodents of the family Abrocomidae . This family has few members compared to most rodent families, with only nine known living species. They resemble chinchillas in appearance, with a similar soft fur and silvery-grey color, but have a body structure more like a short-tailed rat . They are social, tunnel-dwelling animals, and live in
8-705: Is derived from the Ancient Greek word ἁβροκόμης ( habrokomēs , "with delicate hair"). The word ἁβρός ( habros ) means "delicate, graceful" and the word κόμη ( komē ) means "hair". This article about a rodent is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Abrocoma See text Abrocoma is a genus of abrocomid rodents found in the Andes of South America , from southern Peru to central Chile . The genus contains eight species , most of which are found in isolated mountain ranges in northwestern Argentina . The oldest fossil record for
12-539: The Andes Mountains of South America . They are probably herbivorous , although this is not clear. 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. Some molecular work suggests that, despite their appearance, they may be more closely related to octodontoids such as degus , nutria , and tuco-tucos than they are to chinchillas and viscachas . The family name
16-480: The Caviomorpha appears at the late Eocene -Early Oligocene transition (37.5–31.5 mybp). The Abrocoma has an interesting body structure for example within its own head it has a sac that contains a liquid that is not named by Janet K. Braun and Michael A. Mares(894). They also have feet that are padded which helped to completely say with certainty that it is a rock dweller but also a rock climber.(896). Additionally,
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