Pacarana
Encyclopedia
The Pacarana is a rare and slow-moving nocturnal rodent
found only in tropical forest
s of the western Amazon River basin
and adjacent foothills of the Andes
Mountains from northwestern Venezuela
and Colombia
to western Bolivia
, including the yungas
. One place that it is common is Cotapata National Park
in Bolivia. It is known as the pacarama (false paca) by native Indians due to its superficial similarity to a different caviomorph
rodent, the paca
.
It is a hystricognath
rodent, and the sole extant member
of the family Dinomyidae
in Caviomorpha
; initially, it was placed with true mice
. Some evidence places the pacarana as closely related to the prehistoric giant rodents that inhabited South America several million years ago, such as Phoberomys pattersoni
and Josephoartigasia monesi
.
It has a chunky body and is large for a rodent, weighing up to 15 kg (33.1 lb) and measuring up to 79 cm (31.1 in) in length, not including the thick, furry tail.
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....
found only in tropical forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s of the western Amazon River basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
and adjacent foothills of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
Mountains from northwestern Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
to western Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, including the yungas
Yungas
The Yungas is a stretch of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains from southeastern Peru through central Bolivia. It is a transitional zone between the Andean highlands and the eastern forests. Like the surrounding areas, it has characteristics of the Neotropic ecozone...
. One place that it is common is Cotapata National Park
Cotapata National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area
Cotapata National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area is a protected area in the Yungas of La Paz Department, Bolivia...
in Bolivia. It is known as the pacarama (false paca) by native Indians due to its superficial similarity to a different 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, the paca
Paca
The Lowland Paca , also known as the Spotted Paca, is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from East-Central Mexico to Northern Argentina...
.
It is a hystricognath
Hystricognathi
Hystricognathi is an infraorder of rodents. Hystricognaths are distinguished from other rodents by the bone structure of their skulls. The masseter medialis passes partially through the infraorbital foramen and connects to the bone on the opposite side...
rodent, and the sole extant member
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...
of the family Dinomyidae
Dinomyidae
Dinomyidae was once a very speciose group of South American hystricognath rodent, but now contains only a single living species, the Pacarana. The Dinomyidae included among its ranks the largest rodents known to date, the bison-sized Josephoartigasia monesi and the smaller Josephoartigasia magna...
in Caviomorpha
Caviomorpha
Caviomorpha is the rodent infraorder or parvorder that unites all South American hystricognaths. It is supported by both fossil and molecular evidence.-Origin:...
; initially, it was placed with true mice
Muroidea
Muroidea is a large superfamily of rodents. It includes hamsters, gerbils, true mice and rats, and many other relatives. They occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent except Antarctica. Some authorities have placed all members of this group into a single family, Muridae, due to...
. Some evidence places the pacarana as closely related to the prehistoric giant rodents that inhabited South America several million years ago, such as Phoberomys pattersoni
Phoberomys pattersoni
Phoberomys pattersoni is an extinct rodent that lived in the ancient Orinoco River delta approximately 8 million years ago. It was the second-largest of the roughly 7 species of its genus. Like many other rodents, Phoberomys was a herbivore with high-crowned premolars and molars...
and Josephoartigasia monesi
Josephoartigasia monesi
Josephoartigasia monesi, an extinct species of South American caviomorph rodent, is the largest rodent known, and lived approximately 4 to 2 million years ago during the Pliocene to early Pleistocene. The species may have weighed , considerably larger than its closest living relative, the pacarana...
.
It has a chunky body and is large for a rodent, weighing up to 15 kg (33.1 lb) and measuring up to 79 cm (31.1 in) in length, not including the thick, furry tail.