One of the 2 viscachas on WAnimals
Mammals · Rodentia · Chinchillidae
Plains Viscacha
Lagostomus maximus
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
It has one of the most extraordinary breeding strategies known in any mammal: the female releases hundreds of eggs each cycle, of which only a couple ever implant and develop fully.
Weight
3 kg – 9 kg
Size
39.5 cm – 66 cm
Lifespan
8 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Colony
Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- This hyperovulation has no known equivalent in any other mammal.
- It eats grasses, seeds and roots.
- It is the largest living member of its family, with a marked difference in size between the sexes.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Pampas grassland and semi-arid country of central Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay
- Birth weight
- ~200 g at birth, precocial and fully developed
- Size at birth
- ~200 g at birth
- Sexual maturity
- Female: ~7 months (214 days to a first conception) | Male: 12-16 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 145-154 days (~5 months), after an exceptional hyperovulation of as many as 200-800 eggs
- Litter / clutch size
- 1 to 4 young per litter (most commonly 2)
Sources consulted: Animal Diversity Web; Encyclopedia.com (Viscachas and Chinchillas); Wikipedia (Plains viscacha); Mammalian Species Lagostomus maximus (Oxford Academic); DNA Zoo (Earresistable puzzle)
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round on the Argentine pampas, at dusk and at night; by day its 'vizcacheras', the large burrow systems it digs, are very conspicuous.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 11 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Plains Viscacha — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Southern Mountain Viscacha
Lagidium viscacia
Common Yellow-toothed Cavy
Galea musteloides
Southern Tamandua
Tamandua tetradactyla
Pallas's Mastiff Bat
Molossus molossus
Geoffroy's Cat
Leopardus geoffroyi
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about plains viscacha.
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