Editing Viscacha

{{Short description|Group of rodents}}
{{Paraphyletic group
| name = Viscacha
| image = Vizcacha in the Atacama.jpg
| image_alt = A southern viscacha in the Atacama Desert, Chile
| image_caption = A [[southern viscacha]] in the [[Atacama Desert]], [[Chile]]
| auto = yes
| parent = Chinchillidae
| includes = *''[[Lagidium]]'' <small>[[Franz Meyen|Meyen]], 1833</small>
*''[[Lagostomus]]'' <small>[[Joshua Brookes|Brookes]], 1828</small>
| excludes = *{{Extinct}}''[[Eoviscaccia]]'' <small></small>
*''[[Chinchilla]]'' <small>[[Edward Turner Bennett|Bennett]], 1829</small>
*{{Extinct}}''[[Pliolagostomus]]'' <small></small>
*{{Extinct}}''[[Prolagostomus]]'' <small></small>
}}

'''Viscacha''' or '''vizcacha''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|v|ɪ|ˈ|s|k|æ|tʃ|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|US|v|ɪ|ˈ|s|k|ɑː|tʃ|ə}}) are  rodents of two genera (''[[Lagidium]]'' and ''[[Lagostomus]]'') in the family [[Chinchillidae]]. They are native to South America and [[convergent evolution|convergently]] resemble [[rabbits]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nosowitz|first1=Dan|title=Mystery Animal Contest: Who Is This Fuzzy Sniffler?|url=https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/mystery-animal-contest-who-fuzzy-sniffler|website=Popsci|date=18 April 2013 |publisher=Popular Science|access-date=15 April 2018|language=en}}</ref>

The five [[Extant taxon|extant]] species of viscacha are:
*The [[Plains viscacha]] (''Lagostomus maximus''), a resident of the [[Pampa]]s of [[Argentina]], is easily differentiated from other viscachas by black and gray mustache-like facial markings. This species lives colonially in [[Warren (burrow)|warren]]s of 10 to over 100. It is very vocal and emits alarm calls. The plains viscacha can strip grassland used to graze livestock; this has caused ranchers to consider the rodent a pest species.
*''[[Lagidium ahuacaense]]'' is a newly described species of mountain viscacha from the Ecuadorian Andes.<ref>{{ cite journal |last1=Ledesma |first1=K. J. |last2=Werner |first2=F. A. |last3=Spotorno |first3=A. E. |last4=Albuja |first4=L. H. | title = A new species of Mountain Viscacha (Chinchillidae: ''Lagidium'' Meyen) from the Ecuadorian Andes | journal = Zootaxa | year = 2009 | volume = 2126 | pages = 41–57 | url = http://bibdigital.epn.edu.ec/bitstream/15000/3751/1/Copia%20de%20EcuadoreanViscacha.pdf |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.2126.1.2 }}</ref>
*The [[northern viscacha]] (''Lagidium peruanum'') is native to the [[Peru]]vian [[Andes]] at elevations between the [[tree line]] and the [[snow line]]. It is dorsally gray or brown in color, with a bushy tail and long, furry ears. This species lives in large colonies separated into individual family units, like an apartment complex. It eats a wide range of plant matter, settling for almost anything it can find growing in the harsh, rocky environment.<ref name=mou>{{ cite journal |last1=Werner |first1=F. A. |last2=Ledesma |first2=K. J. R. |last3=Hidalgo |first3=B. | title = Mountain vizcacha (''Lagidium'' cf. ''peruanum'') in Ecuador - First record of Chinchillidae from the Northern Andes | journal = Mastozoología Neotropical | year = 2006 | volume = 13 | issue = 2 | pages = 271–274 | url = http://www.scielo.org.ar/pdf/mznt/v13n2/v13n2a13.pdf }}</ref>
*The [[southern viscacha]] (''Lagidium viscacia''), also called mountain viscacha, is similar to the northern viscacha, but its [[pelage]] is more red in color. It lives in similar habitat in the Andes.<ref name=mou/>
*[[Wolffsohn's viscacha]] (''Lagidium wolffsohni'') is rarer than the other four species. It  occurs in southwestern Argentina and adjacent Chile.<ref name= "SDSWV">{{citation |author=Gladys I. Galende & Rocío Vega|date=2020 |title=Summer diet selection of a rock specialist: the Wolffsohn´s viscacha (Lagidium wolffsohni) in protected natural area of Pinturas River, Cueva de las Manos, Patagonia, Argentina|journal= Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment|volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=135–145 |doi=10.1080/01650521.2020.1763763}}</ref><ref name= "CACC">{{citation |author=Galetto, Emanuel|date=2020 |title=Chinchillón Anaranjado: El Centinela Del Cañadón}}</ref> 

<gallery widths="200px" heights="180px">
File:Bolivian vizcacha.jpg|A southern viscacha in the Sur Lipez desert, Bolivia
File:ViscachaSalarDeUyuni 20170503.jpg|Viscacha near Salar De Uyuni, 2017
File:Viscacha in the morning sun.jpg|A viscacha warms itself in the morning sun in the Andes mountains in Chile.
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Viscachas|viscacias}}
* {{Cite EB1911 |last=Lydekker |first=Richard |authorlink=Richard Lydekker |wstitle=Viscacha |short=x}}

[[Category:Mammals of Argentina]]
[[Category:Mammals of Chile]]
[[Category:Chinchillidae]]
[[Category:Mammal common names]]