List of octodontids

Common degu (Octodon degus)

Octodontidae is a family of small rodents restricted to southwestern South America. A member of this family is called an octodontid. Octodontids are medium-sized rodents, ranging from 12 to 20 centimetres (4.7 to 7.9 inches) in body length. They have long, silky fur, which is typically brownish in color and often paler on the underside. The name 'octodont' derives from the wear pattern of their teeth, which resembles a figure 8. Most are nocturnal, social, burrowing animals, though the degu is largely diurnal. They are herbivorous, eating tubers, bulbs, and cactuses.[1]

There are 14 extant ochotonid species contained within 7 genera: Aconaemys (Andean rock rats), Spalacopus, Octodon (typical degus), Octodontomys, Octomys, Pipanacoctomys, and Tympanoctomys.[2] Many extinct Octodontidae species have been discovered, with identification and classification of new discoveries still ongoing.[3]

Conventions

IUCN Red List categories

Conservation status
EX	Extinct (0 species)
EW	Extinct in the wild (0 species)
CR	Critically endangered (3 species)
EN	Endangered (0 species)
VU	Vulnerable (1 species)
NT	Near threatened (2 species)
LC	Least concern (5 species)
Other categories
DD	Data deficient (3 species)
NE	Not evaluated (1 species)

Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the ochotonid's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted. All extinct species or subspecies listed alongside extant species went extinct after 1500 CE, and are indicated by a dagger symbol "†".

Classification

The family Octodontidae consists of fourteen extant species in seven genera which are divided into several extant subspecies. This does not include hybrid species or extinct prehistoric species. The cladogram below is based on that produced by Kelt et al., 2007.[4]

Family Octodontidae

• Genus Aconaemys: three species
• Genus Spalacopus: one species
• Genus Octodon: five species
• Genus Octodontomys: one species
• Genus Octomys: one species
• Genus Tympanoctomys: three species
• Genus Pipanacoctomys: one species

Octodontidae Aconaemys Spalacopus Octodon Octodontomys Octomys Tympanoctomys Pipanacoctomys

Octodontids

The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists.[5]

Main article: Octodontidae

Genus Aconaemys – Ameghino, 1891 – 3 species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Chilean rock rat	A. fuscus (Waterhouse, 1842)	Eastern Chile	Size: 135-187 mm[6] Habitat: Forests Diet: Roots and seeds[6]	LC  Unknown [7]
Porter's rock rat	A. porteri Thomas, 1917		Size: Habitat: Forest and rocky areas[8] Diet:	DD  Unknown [8]
Sage's rock rat	A. sagei Pearson, 1984	Central Chile	Size: Habitat: Forest and rocky areas[9] Diet:	DD  Unknown [9]

Genus Spalacopus – Wagler, 1832 – 1 species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Coruro	S. cyanus (Molina, 1782) Three subspecies[10] S. c. cyanus S. c. maulinus S. c. poeppigii		Size: Habitat: Forest, savanna and grassland[11] Diet:	LC  Unknown [11]

Genus Octodon – Bennett, 1823 – 5 species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Bridges's degu	O. bridgesii Waterhouse, 1845		Size: Habitat: Forest and shrubland[12] Diet:	VU  Unknown [12]
Common degu	O. degus (Molina, 1782)	Central Chile	Size: 25-31 cm[13] Habitat: Shrubland[14] Diet: Grasses, shrubs, seeds[15]	LC  Unknown [14]
Moon-toothed degu	O. lunatus Osgood, 1943	Central Chile	Size: Habitat: Shrubland and rocky areas Diet:	NT  Unknown
Pacific degu	O. pacificus R. Hutterer, 1994	Mocha Island	Size: Habitat: Forest Diet:	CR  Unknown
Ricardo Ojeda's degu	O. ricardojeda D’Elía, Teta, Verzi, Cadenillas & Patton, 2020	Neuquén Province, Argentina and Araucanía Region, Chile	Size: Habitat: Wet forests and shrub steppe[16] Diet:	NE

Genus Octodontomys – Palmer, 1903 – 1 species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Mountain degu	O. gliroides (Gervais & d'Orbigny, 1844)	Northern Chile, southwestern Bolivia, northwestern Argentina	Size: 20-38 cm[17] Habitat: Shrubland, grassland, and rocky areas[18] Diet: Shrub leaves and bark, Acacia sheaths, cactus fruits[17]	LC  Unknown [18]

Genus Octomys – Thomas, 1920 – 1 species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Mountain viscacha rat	O. mimax Thomas, 1920		Size: Habitat: Rocky areas[19] Diet:	LC  Unknown [19]

Genus Tympanoctomys – Yepes, 1942 – 3 species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Plains viscacha rat	T. barrerae (B. Lawrence, 1941)	Western Argentina	Size: Habitat: Shrubland[20] Diet:	NT  Unknown [20]
Kirchner's viscacha rat	T. kirchnerorum Teta, Pardiñas, Sauthier & Gallardo, 2014	Chubut Province, Argentina	Size: Habitat: Shrubland, grassland[21] Diet:	DD  Unknown [21]
Chalchalero viscacha rat	T. loschalchalerosorum Mares, Braun, Barquez & Díaz, 2000		Size: 14-16 cm[22] Habitat: Wetlands and shrublands[23] Diet:	CR  Unknown [23]

Genus Pipanacoctomys – Mares, Braun, Barquez, & Díaz, 2000 – 1 species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Golden viscacha rat	P. aureus Mares, Braun, Barquez, & Díaz, 2000		Size: Habitat: Wetlands (inland)[24] Diet:	CR  Unknown [24]

References

1. Ojeda 2016, pp. 536–541. sfn error: no target: CITEREFOjeda2016 (help)
2. "Search: Taxonomy: Octodontidae - Family". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
3. "Fossilworks: Octodontidae". Paleobiology Database. University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
4. Kelt, Douglas A.; Lessa, Enrique P.; Salazar-Bravo, Jorge (2007-07-31). "The Octodontidae Revisited". The Quintessential Naturalist: Honoring the Life and Legacy of Oliver P. Pearson. University of California Press. pp. 694–719. doi:10.1525/california/9780520098596.003.0019. ISBN 978-0-520-09859-6.
5. Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Family Octodontidae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 1570–1573. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
6. Eisenberg, John F.; Redford, Kent H. (1992). Mammals of the Neotropics, Volume 2: The Southern Cone: Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay. University of Chicago Press. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-226-70682-5.
7. Roach, N. (2016). "Aconaemys fuscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T278A78318793. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T278A78318793.en. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
8. Roach, N. (2016). "Aconaemys porteri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T136331A22239645. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T136331A22239645.en. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
9. Roach, N. (2016). "Aconaemys sagei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T279A78318855. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T279A78318855.en. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
10. Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Infraorder Hystricognathi". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1573. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
11. Roach, N. (2016). "Spalacopus cyanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T20427A78323110. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T20427A78323110.en. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
12. Roach, N. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Octodon bridgesi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T15087A115124772. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T15087A78321197.en.
13. Woods, C.; Boraker, D. (21 November 1975), "Octodon degus" (PDF), Mammalian Species (67): 1–5, doi:10.2307/3503820, JSTOR 3503820, S2CID 253992625
14. Roach, N. (2016). "Octodon degus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T15088A78321302. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T15088A78321302.en. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
15. Bozinovic, F.; Gallardo, P.A.; Visser, G.H.; Cortés, A. (2003), "Seasonal acclimatization in water flux rate, urine osmolality and kidney water channels in free-living degus: Molecular mechanisms, physiological processes and ecological implications", J Exp Biol, 206 (Pt 17): 2959–2966, Bibcode:2003JExpB.206.2959B, doi:10.1242/jeb.00509, PMID 12878664
16. D’Elía, Guillermo; Teta, Pablo; Verzi, Diego H; Cadenillas, Richard; Patton, James L (2020-12-10). "A new living species of degu, genus Octodon (Hystricomorpha: Octodontidae)". Journal of Mammalogy. 102 (1): 139–154. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyaa143. ISSN 0022-2372.
17. James L. Patton; Ulyses F. J. Pardiñas; Guillermo D'Elía (9 March 2015). Mammals of South America, Volume 2: Rodents. University of Chicago Press. pp. 1035–1037. ISBN 978-0-226-16960-6. OCLC 904333770.
18. Weksler, M. (2016). "Octodontomys gliroides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T15091A22240265. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T15091A22240265.en. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
19. Roach, N. (2016). "Octomys mimax". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T15093A78321632. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T15093A78321632.en. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
20. Roach, N. (2016). "Tympanoctomys barrerae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22586A78323698. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T22586A78323698.en. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
21. Roach, N. (2016). "Tympanoctomys kirchnerorum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T86051353A86051372. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T86051353A86051372.en.
22. Mares, M. A.; Braun, J. K.; Barquez, R. M.; Diaz, M. M. (2000). "Two new genera and species of halophytic desert mammals from isolated salt flats in Argentina" (PDF). Occ. Pap. Mus. Tex. Tech. Univ. 203 (1). Museum of Texas Tech University: 1–27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
23. Roach, N. (2016). "Tympanoctomys loschalchalerosorum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T136714A78324608. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T136714A78324608.en. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
24. Roach, N. (2016). "Tympanoctomys aureus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T136557A78324400. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T136557A78324400.en.

Bibliography

• Ojeda, A.A. (2016). "Family Octodontidae (Viscacha Rats, Degus, Rock Rats and Coruro)". In Wilson, D.E.; Lacher, T.E.; Mittermeier, R.A. (eds.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 6. Lagomorphs and Rodents I. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 536–551. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4.
• Hoffmann, Robert S.; Smith, Andrew T. (2005). Wilson, Don E.; Reeder, DeeAnn M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World. Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0.