WAkodon azarae, also known as Azara's akodont or Azara's grass mouse, is a rodent species from South America. It is found from southernmost Brazil through Paraguay and Uruguay into eastern Argentina. It is named after Spanish naturalist Félix de Azara.
WThe Amazon dwarf squirrel is a chipmunk-sized tree squirrel native to South America.
WThe armored rat is a species of rodent in the family Echimyidae. It is monotypic within the genus Hoplomys. It is found in Latin America, from northern Honduras to northwest Ecuador. It possesses a range of spines on its back and sides of the body.
WThe Brazilian guinea pig is a guinea pig species found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
WThe capybara is a giant cavy rodent native to South America. It is the largest living rodent in the world. Also called capivara, chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho, carpincho and ronsoco, it is a member of the genus Hydrochoerus, of which the only other extant member is the lesser capybara. Its close relatives include guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, the chinchilla, and the coypu. The capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species and can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually lives in groups of 10–20 individuals. The capybara is not a threatened species, but it is hunted for its meat and hide and also for grease from its thick fatty skin.
WCavia is a genus in the subfamily Caviinae that contains the rodents commonly known as guinea pigs or cavies. The best-known species in this genus is the domestic guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, an important meat animal in South America and a common household pet outside South America.
WThe guinea pig or domestic guinea pig, also known as cavy or domestic cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, guinea pigs are not native to Guinea, nor are they closely biologically related to pigs, and the origin of the name is still unclear. They originated in the Andes of South America. Studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy, such as C. tschudii, and do not exist naturally in the wild. They were originally domesticated as livestock, for a source of meat, and continue to be consumed as food.
WCaviidae, the cavy family, is composed of rodents native to South America and includes the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. They are found across South America in open areas from moist savanna to thorn forests or scrub desert. This family of rodents has fewer members than most other rodent families, with 19 species in 6 genera in 3 subfamilies.
WChinchillas are either of two species of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mountains in South America. They live in colonies called "herds" at high elevations of up to 4,270 m (14,000 ft). Historically, chinchillas lived in an area that included parts of Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, and Chile, but today, colonies in the wild are known only in Chile. Along with their relatives, viscachas, they make up the family Chinchillidae. They are also related to the chinchilla rat.
WThe collared tuco-tuco is a tuco-tuco species from South America. It is found in southern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina where it lives underground in a burrow it digs in savannah habitats. It is a relatively common species and the IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
WThe common degu, or, historically, the degu, is a small hystricomorpha rodent endemic to the Chilean matorral ecoregion of central Chile. The name degu on its own indicates either the entire genus Octodon or, more commonly, just the common degu. Common degus belong to the parvorder Caviomorpha of the infraorder Hystricognathi, along with the chinchilla and guinea pig. The word degu comes from the indigenous language of Chile, Mapudungun, and the word dewü, meaning 'mouse' or 'rat'.
WThe coypu, also known as the nutria, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, Myocastor is now included within Echimyidae, the family of the spiny rats. The coypu lives in burrows alongside stretches of water, and feeds on river plant stems. Originally native to subtropical and temperate South America, it has since been introduced to North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, primarily by fur farmers. Although it is still hunted and trapped for its fur in some regions, its destructive burrowing and feeding habits often bring it into conflict with humans, and it is considered an invasive species.
WEuryoryzomys emmonsae, also known as Emmons' rice rat or Emmons' oryzomys, is a rodent from the Amazon rainforest of Brazil in the genus Euryoryzomys of the family Cricetidae. Initially misidentified as E. macconnelli or E. nitidus, it was formally described in 1998. A rainforest species, it may be scansorial, climbing but also spending time on the ground. It lives only in a limited area south of the Amazon River in the state of Pará, a distribution that is apparently unique among the muroid rodents of the region.
WEuryoryzomys lamia, also known as the buffy-sided oryzomys or monster rice rat, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in central Brazil, where it lives in forest enclaves within the cerrado. The species' known altitudinal range is from 700 to 900 m. The main threats to its survival are the destruction and fragmentation of its forest habitat.
WEuryoryzomys nitidus, also known as the elegant oryzomys or elegant rice rat, is a rodent species in the family Cricetidae. Previously it was known as Oryzomys nitidus, but it is not closely related to Oryzomys as that genus is now constructed. Its range includes Bolivia, Brazil and Peru to the east of the Andes, in lowland tropical rainforest as well as forest in the eastern foothills of the mountains, at elevations from 50 to 2,000 m.
WEuryoryzomys russatus, also known as the russet oryzomys, russet rice rat, or big-headed rice rat, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is a member of the genus Euryoryzomys, which was split off from Oryzomys in 2006. It was first described by Johann Andreas Wagner in 1848. It is found in southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. It is considered a large species in its genus, with a reddish-brown coat, long tail length, and large skull. It is a terrestrial rodent, spending its time foraging for seeds, fruits, and insects. It is listed by the IUCN as least concern, although studies have shown it to be influenced by anthropogenic disturbances. Predators consist of small members of the order Carnivora.
WFerreira's spiny tree-rat, Mesomys hispidus, is a spiny rat species from South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
WThe gray leaf-eared mouse is a rodent species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay; its habitat includes the Gran Chaco.
WThe greater guinea pig is a species of rodent found in the coastal strip of Brazil and Uruguay, where it lives in moist grassland and marshes.
WEuryzygomatomys is a genus of South American rodents, commonly called guiaras, in the family Echimyidae. It contains two extant and one fossil species, found in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. They are as follows:Brandt's guiara Fischer's guiara †Euryzygomatomys hoffstetteri Goeldi 1901 - Tarija Formation, Bolivia
WThe guinea pig or domestic guinea pig, also known as cavy or domestic cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, guinea pigs are not native to Guinea, nor are they closely biologically related to pigs, and the origin of the name is still unclear. They originated in the Andes of South America. Studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy, such as C. tschudii, and do not exist naturally in the wild. They were originally domesticated as livestock, for a source of meat, and continue to be consumed as food.
WThe hairy-tailed bolo mouse or hairy-tailed akodont is a South American rodent species of the family Cricetidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.
WLagidium ahuacaense is a rodent in the mountain viscacha genus (Lagidium) that occurs in southern Ecuador. First observed in 2005 and formally described in 2009, it occurs more than 500 km (310 mi) north of the nearest previously known population of mountain viscachas in central Peru. Only a single population is known, found on rocky habitats on Cerro El Ahuaca, an isolated granite mountain in southern Ecuador, and as few as several dozen individuals remain. The species is threatened by fires and grazing cattle, and the discoverers recommended its conservation status be assessed as critically endangered.
WThe lesser capybara is a large semiaquatic rodent of the family Caviidae found in eastern Panama, northwestern Colombia, and western Venezuela. The lesser capybara was described as a species in 1912, but later demoted to a subspecies of the capybara. Following studies of anatonomy and genetics in the mid-1980s, it was recommended that it again should be recognized as a separate species, and this gained more widespread recognition in 1991, although some continue to consider it a subspecies.
WThe long-tailed spiny rat, Proechimys longicaudatus, is a spiny rat species from South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.
WThe montane guinea pig is a species of caviid rodent found in the Andes in South America. The montane guinea pig is the likely ancestor of Cavia porcellus, the domestic cavy or domestic guinea pig.
WThe Atlantic Forest climbing mouse is an arboreal rodent species in the family Cricetidae from South America. It is found in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil at elevations from sea level to 1500 m. Its karyotype is 2n = 44, FN = 74–80.
WThe southern big-eared mouse, also known as the southern pericote, is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile, and is one of only two species in its genus. The type specimen was captured by Charles Darwin in 1834 along the Santa Cruz River in Argentina, during the voyage of HMS Beagle, and was subsequently described by George Robert Waterhouse.
WNoronhomys vespuccii, also known as Vespucci's rodent, is an extinct rat species from the islands of Fernando de Noronha off northeastern Brazil. Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci may have seen it on a visit to Fernando de Noronha in 1503, but it subsequently became extinct, perhaps because of the exotic rats and mice introduced by the first explorers of the island. Numerous but fragmentary fossil remains of the animal, of uncertain but probably Holocene age, were discovered in 1973 and described in 1999.
WThe pacarana is a rare and slow-moving hystricognath rodent indigenous to South America. Native Tupi people call it the pacarana because it is superficially similar to the paca, a different rodent which is not in the same family. The pacarana has a chunky body and is large for a rodent, weighing up to 15 kg (33 lb) and measuring up to 79 cm (31 in) in length, not including the thick, furry tail.
WThe red-crested tree-rat or Santa Marta toro is a species of tree-rat found in the monotypic genus Santamartamys in the family Echimyidae. It is nocturnal and is believed to feed on plant matter, and is mainly rufous, with young specimens having a grey coat. IUCN list the species as critically endangered: it is affected by feral cats, climate change, and the clearing of forest in its potential range in coastal Colombia.
WSanta Catarina's guinea pig or Moleques do Sul cavy is a rare guinea pig species of southeastern South America.
WThe Santa Marta porcupine is a rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is known from dry forests on the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Serranía del Perijá mountains of northern Colombia, at altitudes below 500 and 1100 m, respectively, and intervening lowlands, and may also be present in nearby parts of Venezuela. It has been described as a subspecies of C. prehensilis, although the latter may be a species complex. Its karyotype has 2n = 74, FN = 82.
WThe red-crested tree-rat or Santa Marta toro is a species of tree-rat found in the monotypic genus Santamartamys in the family Echimyidae. It is nocturnal and is believed to feed on plant matter, and is mainly rufous, with young specimens having a grey coat. IUCN list the species as critically endangered: it is affected by feral cats, climate change, and the clearing of forest in its potential range in coastal Colombia.
WThe Santander dwarf squirrel Microsciurus santanderensis is a small tree squirrel endemic to Colombia.
WThe small vesper mouse is a rodent species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It is one of the hosts of hantavirus, causing hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
WThe soft-spined Atlantic spiny-rat, Trinomys dimidiatus, is a spiny rat species from South America. It is endemic to Brazil.
WThe Andean squirrel is a tree squirrel endemic to Colombia where it inhabits montane rain forest and cloud forests of the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central ranges of the Colombian Andes, at elevations between 2,000 and 3,300 metres. It is a small species with a body length of about 14 cm (6 in) and a similar length tail. It has soft, silky, reddish-brown fur, a darker tail and yellowish-grey underparts. It is thought to be diurnal but has been little studied, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being data deficient.