Tympanoctomys | |
---|---|
Plains viscacha rat, Tympanoctomys barrerae | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Octodontidae |
Genus: | Tympanoctomys Yepes, 1942[1] |
Type species | |
Octomys barrerae B. Lawrence, 1941
| |
Species | |
T. barrerae (B. Lawrence, 1941) |
Tympanoctomys is a genus of rodent in the family Octodontidae. There are three extant species in the genus: T. barrerae,[2] T. kirchnerorum[3] and T. loschalchalerosorum.[4] T. loschalchalerosorum was formerly considered to be monotypic within the genus Salinoctomys, but has been shown by genetic analysis to nest within the variation of T. barrerae.[4]
All species are endemic to central western Argentina, where the genus has a fragmented range. Their natural habitat is desert scrubland, dunes and salt flats, where they eat halophyte plants. They are solitary, nocturnal rodents that construct large mounds with complex burrows.[3]