Editing Common degu (section)

{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{Hatnote|This species was historically called ''degu''. See [[degu (disambiguation)|degu]] for a list of other degu species now considered distinct from the common degu.}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Octodon degus -Heidelberg Zoo, Germany-8a.jpg
| image_caption = At [[Heidelberg Zoo]], Germany
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Roach, N. |date=2016 |title=''Octodon degus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T15088A78321302 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T15088A78321302.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Octodon
| species = degus
| authority = ([[Juan Ignacio Molina|Molina]], 1782)
| range_map = Octodon degus range.svg
| range_map_caption = Range of ''O. degus''
| synonyms =
''Sciurus degus'' <small>Molina, 1782</small><br />
''Octodon degus'': <small>[[George Robert Waterhouse|Waterhouse]], 1848</small>
}}

The '''common degu''' ('''''Octodon degus'''''; {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|eɪ|ɡ|uː}}), or, historically, the '''degu''', is a small [[hystricomorpha]] [[rodent]] [[endemic]] to the [[Chilean matorral]] [[ecoregion]] of [[central Chile]].<ref>C. Michael Hogan & World Wildlife Fund. 2013. Chilean Matorral. Ed. Mark McGinley. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC</ref> 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'.<ref>{{Citation |title=Diccionario Mapuche: Mapudungun/Español, Español/Mapudungun |language=es |edition=2nd |year=2006 |editor=Muñoz Urrutia, Rafael |location=Santiago, Chile |isbn=978-956-8287-99-3 |pages=104, 105, 141 |publisher=Editorial Centro Gráfico}}</ref>

The animal may be kept as a domestic pet, though there are prohibitions on their ownership in some territories. As a pet, the animal is larger than a [[golden hamster]] but smaller than a [[fancy rat]].