The Chalchalero vizcacha rat (Salinoctomys loschalchalerosorum) is a species of caviomorph

Caviomorpha

Caviomorpha is the rodent infraorder or parvorder that unites all South American hystricognaths. It is supported by both fossil and molecular evidence.-Origin:...

 rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....

 in the family Octodontidae

Octodontidae

The Octodontidae are a family of rodents, restricted to south-western South America. Thirteen species of octodontid are recognised, arranged in nine genera. The best known species is the Degu, Octodon degus....

. It is monotypic

Monotypic

In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...

 within the genus Salinoctomys. The species is endemic to a small area of northwestern Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, where it lives in shrubland

Shrubland

Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...

s bordering the salt flats of the Salinas Grandes

Salinas Grandes

The Salinas Grandes is a salt desert in the Córdoba and Santiago del Estero provinces of the Sierras de Córdoba in Argentina. It covers an area of 3,200 mi² ....

. Its diet consists of halophyte

Halophyte

A halophyte is a plant that grows where it is affected by salinity in the root area or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. An example of a halophyte is the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora . Relatively few plant species are...

 plants. The rodent is threatened by degradation of its unique habitat. It is named after an Argentine musical group, Los Chalchaleros

Los Chalchaleros

Los Chalchaleros is an Argentine musical ensemble consisting today of four men. The group was established in 1948 in the northern province of Salta. It is named after a local song-bird, the chalchalero....

, whose songs were popular with its discoverers.