The southern viscacha (Lagidium viscacia ) is a species of viscacha, a rodent in the family Chinchillidae found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. It is a colonial animal living in small groups in rocky mountain areas. It has long ears and hind legs and resembles a rabbit in appearance apart from its long, bushy tail, but is not a lagomorph.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withSouthern viscachas have yellowish-grey upperparts, paler underparts, and a black-tipped, bushy tail. The body fur is long and soft, while that on the tail is coarse. The long, fur-covered ears have a white fringe. Both the short front legs and longer hind legs have four digits on the feet. The soles of the feet have fleshy pads called "pallipes" which help these animals to move about with agility over rocky surfaces.
Southern viscachas are found in South America. They are native to the mountainous parts of western Argentina, southern Peru, western and central Bolivia, and northern and central Chile. These animals live among rocks and around crags where the vegetation is sparse.
Southern viscachas are colonial animals that live in small groups. They do not hibernate and are mostly active soon after dawn and in the evening. At these times, they come out from their underground hiding place to feed. Part of the day is spent perched on a rock sunbathing, grooming, or resting. Southern viscachas do not venture far from rocks so that they can plunge underground if danger threatens. They use various calls to communicate with each other.
Southern viscachas are herbivores (folivores). They feed on available plant material, which is mostly grasses and moss. They also eat lichens.
Little information is available about the mating system and reproductive behavior of Southern viscachas. It is known that breeding starts in the last quarter of the year when mating takes place. The gestation period lasts about 130 days. Females give birth to a single precocial pup (or sometimes two) which has its eyes open and is fully furred at birth. It suckles for about 8 weeks but is able to supplement the milk with solid food within hours of its birth. Young Southern viscachas reach reproductive maturity at around 1 year of age.
There are no major threats to these animals. However, they suffer from weather conditions and are hunted for their flesh and fur.
The IUCN Red List and other sources do not provide the Southern viscacha total population size. These animals are very common and widespread throughout their known range. Currently this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...