Species group · Mammals
WAnimals has 2 species of viscacha, in the family Chinchillidae.
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 2.
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
Recorded in 8 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
It looks superficially like a long-tailed rabbit, though it is closer kin to the chinchilla, and groups of them sun themselves on the rocks in the early morning.
Its long tail curled upwards, together with its rabbit-like ears, gives it an unmistakable hybrid look, but it is related neither to rabbits nor to squirrels: it belongs to the chinchilla group.
It is the staple prey of the Andean cat, one of the most threatened cats in the world: where the viscachas disappear, the Andean cat disappears after them.
This hyperovulation has no known equivalent in any other mammal.
From Plains Viscacha
It eats grasses, seeds and roots.
From Plains Viscacha
It is the largest living member of its family, with marked sexual dimorphism.
From Plains Viscacha