Tympanoctomys
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tympanoctomys | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Plains viscacha rat, Tympanoctomys barrerae | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Octodontidae |
| Genus: | Tympanoctomys Yepes, 1942[1] |
| Type species | |
| Octomys barrerae B. Lawrence, 1941 | |
| Species | |
|
T. barrerae (B. Lawrence, 1941) | |
Tympanoctomys is a genus of rodent in the family Octodontidae. There are three extant species in the genus: T. barrerae,[2] T. kirchnerorum[3] and T. loschalchalerosorum.[4] T. loschalchalerosorum was formerly considered to be monotypic within the genus Salinoctomys, but has been shown by genetic analysis to nest within the variation of T. barrerae.[4]
All species are endemic to central western Argentina, where the genus has a fragmented range. Their natural habitat is desert scrubland, dunes and salt flats, where they eat halophyte plants. They are solitary, nocturnal rodents that construct large mounds with complex burrows.[3]
