Plains viscacha rat
species of mammal
The plains viscacha rat, plains vizcacha rat, red viscacha rat, or red vizcacha rat (Tympanoctomys barrerae) is a species of rodent in the family Octodontidae native to Argentina. It is one of three species in the genus Tympanoctomys.
Description
The plains viscacha rat is a moderately-sized rat, with a large head, long tail, and short ears. Adults measure about 13 cm (5.1 in) in total length, with a 15 cm (5.9 in) tail, and weigh an average of 90 g (3.2 oz), with males being slightly larger than females. The rat has buff-yellow fur with white underparts, fading to dark brown at the tip of the tail.
Distribution and habitat
The plains viscacha rat is endemic to central western Argentina, where it has a fragmented range in Mendoza Province and western La Pampa. Its natural habitat is desert scrubland, dunes and salt flats, between 300 and 1,400 m (980 and 4,590 ft). There are no recognised subspecies.
The species is threatened by destruction of its fragmented and restricted habitat.
Biology and behaviour
Plains viscacha rats are solitary, and nocturnal.
“Plains viscacha rat” enters the record as species of mammal. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Plains, viscacha and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Plains viscacha rat” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Plains, viscacha and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1567530. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Plains viscacha rat” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.