The long-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera), also called the Chilean, coastal, common chinchilla, or lesser chinchilla, is one of two species of 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....

s from the genus Chinchilla

Chinchilla

Chinchillas are crepuscular rodents, slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mountains in South America. Along with their relatives, viscachas, they make up the family Chinchillidae....

, the other species being Chinchilla chinchilla. Wild populations of C. lanigera occur in Aucó, near Illapel, IV Región, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 (31°38’S, 71°06’W), in Reserva Nacional Las Chinchillas and in La Higuera, ca. 100 km (62.1 mi) north of Coquimbo (29°33’S, 71°04’W)
Chilean chinchillas were reported from Talca (35°30’S), Chile, reaching north to Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 and eastward from Chilean coastal hills throughout low mountains. By the mid-19th century, Chilean chinchillas were not found south of the Choapa river

Choapa River

Choapa River or El Río Choapa is a river of Chile located in the Coquimbo Region. The river rises in the Andes, at the confluence of the streams Totoral, Leiva and Del Valle. The river then flows through the town of Salamanca before it meets with its main tributary, the Illapel River...

.

No fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s are known.

Characteristics

Chinchilla lanigera is smaller than Chinchilla brevicaudata, wild animals have body length up to 260 mm (10.2 in). It has more rounded ears 45 mm (1.8 in) in length and longer tail its tail is usually about a third the size of its body (up to 130 mm (5.1 in) compared to 100 mm (3.9 in) in Chinchilla brevicaudata). Number of caudal vertebrae is 23 in Chinchilla lanigera (20 in Chinchilla brevicaudata). Average males weight 369 – (mean: 412 g (14.5 oz)) and females weigh 379 gram (mean: 422 g (14.9 oz)). Domestic animals are larger than wild ones and more sexually dimorphic

Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...

 with the female weighing up to 800 g (28.2 oz) and males up to 600 g (21.2 oz).

The word lanigera translates into "bearing a woolen coat", yet chinchillas do not have a woolen coat, but instead one consisting of hair. Hair is 2 – long, with gray, white, and black bands; it is silky, extremely soft, and firmly adhered to skin. Up to 75 hairs, 5 – in diameter, emerge together from a single hair follicle. Vibrissae (whiskers) are abundant, strong, long (100 –), and emerge from single follicles

Hair follicle

A hair follicle is a skin organ that produces hair. Hair production occurs in phases, including a growth phase , and cessation phase , and a rest phase . Stem cells are principally responsible for the production of hair....

. General color of upper parts is bluish or silvery gray, underparts are yellowish white. Tail has long, coarse, gray and black hairs on its dorsal surface that are 30 – long near the body, 50 – long near the tip, and form a bristly tuft that exceeds vertebrae by 50 mm (2 in)

In the wild they breed between October and December, which are the summer months in the southern hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...

.

Varieties

Three different types of C. lanigera are commonly recognized

1. The La Plata Type has better developed musculature and heavier bone structure than the other two types. They look more roundish or compact, with short, wide head, large distance from one ear to another, a relatively straight dorsal line. The shoulders are often as wide as the chest and rump. The ears are short and nearly round.
2. The Costina Type is weaker in musculature and bone structure with the most distinctive feature being the longer hind legs. The fore legs are shorter, placed closer together, and the shoulders are narrower. The vertebral column is more arched, the neck line sometimes very deep, forming a slight hump on the back of the animal. When viewed directly from the front, the head has a V-shape, the nose is pointed, and the distance between the ears is rather wide. The ears are long and positioned at an angle of about 45 degrees.
3. The Raton Type is reminiscent to the La Plata type in its body structure. The nose is pointed as in Costina and the ears are positioned very close together and rather horizontal. Animals are distinctively smaller.

Ecology

Climate in the chinchilla's habitat is rather harsh with summer temperatures climbing during the day to up to 30 °C in a shade and dropping to 7 °C at night (or below freezing point in winter).

Conservation status

The Chilean chinchilla is endangered, with the second highest conservation priority among Chilean mammals.