Kingdom Animalia Class Mammalia Superfamily Octodontoidea Scientific name Pipanacoctomys aureus Rank Species | Subphylum Vertebrata Suborder Hystricomorpha Family Octodontidae Phylum Chordata Order Rodent | |
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Similar Plains viscacha rat, Aconaemys, Rodent, Mountain degu, Chilean rock rat | ||
The golden vizcacha rat (Pipanacoctomys aureus) is the single species of the genus Pipanacoctomys of the rodent family Octodontidae. This animal is tetraploid and has 4x = 2n = 92 chromosomes. This species and its sister-species, the plains viscacha rat (Tympanoctomys barrerae) (4x = 102), appear to have arisen from the diploid mountain vizcacha rat (Octomys mimax), (2x = 2n = 56) as a result of the doubling and subsequent loss of some chromosomes.
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Description
The golden vizcacha rat grows to a head-and-body length of about 170 millimetres (7 in) with a tufted tail of about 140 millimetres (6 in). The dorsal fur is golden-blond and the underparts are white.
Distribution and habitat
The species is known from Catamarca Province of northwestern Argentina, where specimens are known only from the Salar de Pipanaco, a salt flat. This habitat consists largely of low, salt-loving shrubs, and the soil consists of sand with high levels of salt. It feeds on the halophytic plants growing there. The genus is named after the locale, with “octo” being a reference to the figure-eight ridge on its cheek tooth.
Status
The golden vizcacha rat is only found within a very restricted area totalling less than 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi) and it actually occupies only about one tenth of that area. It lives among the salt-loving plants that live between the salt pans and the desert. It is threatened by conversion of its very restricted habitat to agricultural use, for the growing of olives, and its population trend is downwards. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "critically endangered".