Kirchner's viscacha rat | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Octodontidae |
Genus: | Tympanoctomys |
Species: | T. kirchnerorum
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Binomial name | |
Tympanoctomys kirchnerorum |
Kirchner's viscacha rat or Kirchner's vizcacha rat (Tympanoctomys kirchnerorum) is a species of rodent in the family Octodontidae described in 2014.[2] It is one of three species in the genus Tympanoctomys.[2][3] That species is endemic to Chubut Province in the central western Argentina, where it has a fragmented range. Its natural habitat is desert scrubland, dunes and salt flats, where it eats halophyte plants. It is a solitary, nocturnal rodent that constructs large mounds with complex burrows.[2] The species was named in honor of both Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Néstor Kirchner, presidents of Argentina.