The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Rodents: part one

CHINCHILLIDAE
Chinchillas and Viscachas

Seven species in three genera: Chinchilla, Lagidium, Lagostomus


Four species, covering all three genera, are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

 

Chinchilla
Two species, one of which is represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Short-tailed or Peruvian Chinchilla Chinchilla chinchilla
Two subspecies are usually noted (boliviana and chinchilla), although Patton et al in Mammals of South America prefers to treat the species as monotypic.

Taxonomic note: formerly named Chinchilla brevicaudata but chinchilla has priority (1829 versus 1848).


This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Long-tailed or Chilean Chinchilla Chinchilla lanigera
Monotypic

Taxonomic note: has also been treated as a subspecies of C. chinchilla.


Photo by @Giant Eland at Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium, USA


long-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) 2010 | ZooChat

 

Lagidium
Three to five species, two of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Taxonomic note: the taxonomy of this genus has been the cause of much debate, with over twenty different "species" having being named during the 19th century. Currently there are between three and five species recognised. Of the five species listed below, ahuacensis was described in 2009; moreni is a split from viscacia; peruanum and viscacia (including moreni) may be combined by some authors.

Because of the taxonomic mess the genus is in, I have not made any notes on subspecies.

See this paper for some discussion, including particularly on L. moreni (and especially see Table 1 which lists various combinations of scientific names): Notes on the taxonomy of mountain viscachas of the genus Lagidium Meyen 1833 (Rodentia: Chinchillidae)


Ahuaca Viscacha Lagidium ahuacaense

This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Southern Argentinian Viscacha Lagidium moreni
A split from L. viscacia (otherwise considered a subspecies, but it is genetically distinct), which gives a distribution of L. moreni in southern Argentina and L. viscacia in northern Argentina (hence the common names I have used here - if combined, L. viscacia is just called the Southern Viscacha).

This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Northern (or Peruvian) Viscacha Lagidium peruanum

Photo by @Maguari at Hamerton Zoo Park, UK


Southern Mountain Viscacha at Hamerton 05/04/10 | ZooChat


Southern (Northern Argentinian) Viscacha Lagidium viscacia

Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, Chile


southern viscacha (Lagidium viscacia) - ZooChat


Wolffsohn's Viscacha Lagidium wolffsohni

This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.

 

Lagostomus
One species

Taxonomic note: a second species in the genus, Lagostomus crassus, was described in 1910 from a recent (unfossilised) skull found in Peru. Although generally treated as a now-extinct species the skull falls within the range of L. maximus and may simply be a skull which had been carried (by a person) out of that species' natural distribution.


Lowland or Plains Viscacha Lagostomus maximus
Three subspecies: immollis, maximus, petilidens


Photo by @Tomek at Amazon World Zoo Park, UK (unknown subspecies)


Plains Viscacha (Lagostomus maximus) | ZooChat

 

DINOMYIDAE
Pacarana

One species, in the genus Dinomys.


Pacarana Dinomys branickii
Monotypic


Photo by @alexkant at Bioparque Ukumari, Colombia


Pacarana / Dinomys branickii | ZooChat


Photo by @toto98 at Zoologico de Cali, Colombia


Pacarana | ZooChat

 

Thanks, I shall have a look in those galleries.

 

Turns out that people don't like photographing North American Porcupines apparently! The only one with photos is the ASDM.

Do you know if they have only ever had couesi, or is that just what they have currently? There is a photo by Giant Eland which I'd prefer to use but it is from 2010 (https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/arizona-sonora-desert-museum-2010.206449/); otherwise all the others are by Arizona Docent from a few years more recent, of which I would choose this one from 2014 (N American porcupine | ZooChat).

 

CAVIIDAE
Cavies

About twenty species in six genera: Cavia, Dolichotis, Galea, Hydrochoerus, Kerodon, Microcavia

About eleven species are represented in the Zoochat galleries, covering all the genera in the family.


This family is divided into three subfamilies, as listed below. However, in the following accounts I have presented the genera in alphabetical order rather than by subfamily.


Subfamily Caviinae (Guinea Pigs or Cavies)
Cavia (about seven species - three species are depicted here)
Galea (four species - two, or perhaps three, species are depicted here)
Microcavia (three species - one species is depicted here)

Subfamily Dolichotinae (Maras)
Dolichotis (two species - both species are depicted here)
[This subfamily may be split into two monotypic genera, Dolichotis and Pediolagus, but here I have retained them both within Dolichotis]

Subfamily Hydrochoerinae (Capybaras and Rock Cavies)
Hydrochoerus (two species - both species are depicted here)
Kerodon (two species - one species is depicted here)

 

Cavia
About seven species, three of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

All species may be called either Guinea Pig or Cavy - here I use Guinea Pig for the domestic animal and Cavy for the wild species.


Taxonomic note: Cavia anolaimae and Cavia guianae are variably treated as being distinct species, as subspecies of the Brazilian Cavy C. aperea, or as synonyms of the Domestic Guinea Pig C. porcellus (as feral descendants). Here I include both as subspecies of C. aperea following Patton et al in Mammals of South America where they state that genetic work places them squarely within that species.


Brazilian Cavy or "Wild Guinea Pig" Cavia aperea
Seven subspecies (as per Patton et al): anolaimae, aperea, guianae, hypoleuca, nana, pamparum, rosida


Photo by @Malayan Tapir at Berlin Tierpark, Germany (unknown subspecies)


Wild Cavy | ZooChat


Photo by @ThylacineAlive at Tierpark Schonebeck, Germany.
(These animals were labelled by the zoo as being Montane Cavies C. tschudii but it seems they are actually C. aperea, imported originally from Uruguay which would make them the subspecies pamparum. For the identification discussion, see the comment thread attached to the photo)


Montane Guineapigs | ZooChat


Greater or Swamp Cavy Cavia magna
Monotypic


Photo by @Orycteropus at Rotterdam Zoo, Netherlands


Greater Guinea Pig | ZooChat


Photo by @ro6ca66 at Hamerton Zoo Park, UK


Greater guinea pig / swamp cavy : Hamerton : 27 Mar 2015 | ZooChat


Domestic Guinea Pig Cavia porcellus
Monotypic

The origin of the domestic animal has been debated, it originally being considered that C. aperea was the ancestor, or that it was of hybrid origin. Currently it is believed that the direct ancestor was C. tschudii.


Photo by @Parrotsandrew at Axe Valley Bird and Animal Park, UK


Guinea Pigs 11th September 2012 | ZooChat




The remaining four species in this genus are not depicted in the Zoochat Galleries (as far as I could tell).


Shiny Cavy Cavia fulgida
Monotypic


Intermediate Cavy Cavia intermedia
Monotypic
Known only from the type locality of Ilhas Moleques do Sul which is an island in Brazil. In Patton et al it is written "may have originated as an insular population derived from the mainland C. magna as little as 8000 years ago."


Sacha Cavy Cavia patzelti
Monotypic
Known only from the type locality in the highlands of Chimborazo, Ecuador. Has been treated as a subspecies of C. aperea but in Patton et al it is considered to be definitely distinct.


Montane Cavy Cavia tschudii
Eight subspecies are "tentatively" recognised in Patton et al: atahualpae, festina, osgoodi, pallidior, sodalis, stolida, tschudii, umbrata

 

Dolichotis
Two species, both of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries. They may also be separated into two monotypic genera, Dolichotis and Pediolagus.


Patagonian Mara Dolichotis patagonum
Two subspecies: centricola, patagonum

Also called Patagonian Cavy or Patagonian Hare.


Photo by @vogelcommando at Artis Zoo, Netherlands


Patagonian cavy or mara | ZooChat


Photo by @Patrick87 at Zoo Eberswalde, Germany


Patagonian mara | ZooChat


Chacoan Mara Dolichotis salinicola
Monotypic

Taxonomic note: some authors would separate this species into its own genus, Pediolagus, see e.g. Campo et al (2020) "Integrative taxonomy of extant maras supports the recognition of the genera Pediolagus and Dolichotis within the Dolichotinae (Rodentia, Caviidae)"


Photo by @Tim May at Berlin Tierpark, Germany


Chacoan mara; Berlin Tierpark; 7th June 2014 | ZooChat


Photo by @Giant Eland at Novosibrisk Zoo, Russia


Chacoan mara (Dolichotis salinicola) | ZooChat

 

Galea
Five or six species, of which two (or maybe three) are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Taxonomic notes:
*Formerly G. leucoblephara was combined in G. musteloides (as lowland and highland populations respectively).
*G. comes was generally synonymised within highland G. musteloides although it is genetically distinct, and I have separated it here following Patton et al in Mammals of South America.
*The Bolivian or Muenster Yellow-toothed Cavy Galea monasteriensis, described as a new species in 2004, has been synonymised with G. musteloides boliviensis and here I do not recognise it as a distinct species (although there are multiple photos in the Zoochat galleries from various zoos using the name). See Phylogeny, evolution, and systematics of the Galea musteloides complex (Rodentia: Caviidae) (for example).



Highland Yellow-toothed Cavy Galea musteloides
Three subspecies: auceps, boliviensis, musteloides


Photo by @MagpieGoose at Berlin Tierpark, Germany (subspecies boliviensis - i.e. the former Bolivian or Muenster Yellow-toothed Cavy Galea monasteriensis)


Muenster Yellow-toothed Cavy | ZooChat


Lowland Yellow-toothed Cavy Galea leucoblephara
Three subspecies: demissa, leucoblephara, littoralis


Photo by @gentle lemur at London Zoo, UK (labelled as G. musteloides but it seems that at least some of the earlier captive populations of "musteloides" (mainly used in laboratory work) were sourced from lowland locations (later separated as G. leucoblephara), which may make these photographed specimens G. leucoblephara. Zootierliste has them as G. musteloides but they don't appear to follow/be aware of the lowland-highland split.)


Cuis 1974 | ZooChat


Spix's Yellow-toothed Cavy Galea spixii
Three subspecies: palustris, spixii, wellsi


Photo by @Chlidonias of a taxidermy specimen at the Otago Museum (New Zealand); note that this is a very old specimen and does not represent the true colour in life.


Spix's Yellow-toothed Cavy (Galea spixii), Otago Museum - ZooChat



The remaining two species in the genus are not depicted here:


Southern Highland Yellow-toothed Cavy Galea comes
Monotypic.


Eastern or Brazilian Yellow-toothed Cavy Galea flavidens
Monotypic

 

Hydrochoerus
Two species, both of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Skull of a Capybara (left) compared to that of a House Mouse Mus musculus (right). Photo taken by @Chlidonias at the Palaeozoological Museum of China in Beijing.


rodent skulls (Capybara and House Mouse) - ZooChat



Capybara Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
The species is geographically variable but this appears to be in a north-to-south cline rather than in distinct populations, and it is probably best treated as monotypic. Otherwise, three subspecies are used: dabbenei, hydrochoeris, uruguayensis.


Photo by @Chlidonias at Wellington Zoo, New Zealand


Capybara | ZooChat


Photo by @gentle lemur at Chester Zoo, UK (showing the babies - quadruplets are typical in this species)


Capybara refuelling | ZooChat


Photo by @pantroglodytes in the wild, Venezuela (showing the size of this species, the world's largest extant rodent)


Capybara&Iguana | ZooChat


Lesser Capybara Hydrochoerus isthmius
Monotypic; formerly treated as a subspecies of H. hydrochoeris. The split to a full species is largely based on body size and the accompanying skeletal differences. The genetics do not bear it out but it is still almost-universally accepted.


Photo by @AWP at Parque Municipal Summit, Panama


Lesser capybara - ZooChat

 

Kerodon
Two species, one of which is represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Climbing or Acrobatic Cavy Kerodon acrobata
Monotypic


This are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.


Rock Cavy or Moco Kerodon rupestris
Monotypic


Photo by @ro6ca66 at London Zoo, UK


Rock cavy : London : 1983 | ZooChat


Photo by @ro6ca66 at Hamerton Zoo Park, UK (showing the rather Capybara-like profile)


Rock cavy : Hamerton : 29 Dec 2015 | ZooChat

 

Microcavia
Three species, one of which is represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Southern Mountain Cavy Microcavia australis
Three subspecies: australis, maenas, salinia. Three further subspecies (joannia, kingii, nigriana) have been synonymised with australis.


Photo by @devilfish in the wild, Argentina (probably the subspecies australis, although both that and salinia are found in different parts of Cordoba Province, where the photo was taken)


Southern mountain cavy, April 2016 | ZooChat


The other two species are not depicted in the Zoochat galleries.


Andean Mountain Cavy Microcavia niata
Two subspecies: niata, pallidior


Shipton's Mountain Cavy Microcavia shiptoni
Monotypic

 

No, just that at least some of the earlier animals kept were from lowland populations. There's really no way of knowing which species were kept without knowing collection localities. My post on the London Zoo animals is intended only as a possibility, not any sort of confirmed fact.

 

DASYPROCTIDAE
Agoutis and Acouchis

About thirteen species in two genera: Dasyprocta, Myoprocta


Eight or nine species, representing both genera, are depicted in the Zoochat galleries.

 

Dasyprocta
Eleven or more species, seven of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Taxonomic note: Patton et al in Mammals of South America describe the taxonomic situation of Dasyprocta as "chaotic" and "in critical need of revision".

Mammalian Species lists eleven species in the genus: azarae, coibae, cristata, fuliginosa, guamara, kalinowskii, leporina, mexicana, prymnolopha, punctata, ruatanica (here, with a key: Dasyprocta ruatanica), as does Wilson and Reeder's Mammal Species of the World (here, with subspecies: Mammal Species of the World - Browse: Dasyprocta), and this is followed directly on Wikipedia.

Patton et al in Mammals of South America have a list which is substantially different to the eleven species listed above (azarae, croconota, fuliginosa, guamara, kalinowskii, leporina, prymnolopha, punctata, variegata), although there are several reasons for this:
1: cristata is treated (provisionally) as a synonym of leporina in Patton et al.
2: the croconota of Patton et al is treated as a subspecies of leporina in Wilson and Reeder.
3: the variegata of Patton et al is treated as a subspecies of punctata in Wilson and Reeder (although the two species have entirely distinct distributional ranges).
4: the strictly Central American species (coibae from an island off Panama, mexicana from Mexico, and ruatanica from an island off Honduras) are not covered in Patton et al as they are extralimital.

Patton et al also note the description in 2013 of Dasyprocta iacki (as a split from D. leporina), although this new species doesn't appear to be readily recognised currently. They also note a revision in 1999 which produced twelve species in Brazil alone, a situation that seems to only be followed within Brazil.



Below is a combined list of species as per the above paragraphs. I have neglected the inclusion of subspecies here, because of the taxonomic confusion. Species photos will follow the initial list (subspecies may be named on some of these photos as an aside).


Azara's Agouti Dasyprocta azarae

Coiba Agouti Dasyprocta coibae (not pictured here)

Crested Agouti Dasyprocta cristata (not pictured here)
(Synonymised with D. leporina by Patton et al; others have synonymised it with D. fuliginosa. Unlikely to be a valid species)

Orange Agouti Dasyprocta croconota (not pictured here)
(Otherwise treated as a subspecies of D. leporina)

Black Agouti Dasyprocta fuliginosa

Orinoco Agouti Dasyprocta guamara (not pictured here)

Kalinowski's Agouti Dasyprocta kalinowskii (not pictured here)

Brazilian Agouti Dasyprocta leporina
(Also called the Red-rumped or Orange-rumped or Golden-rumped Agouti)

Mexican Agouti Dasyprocta mexicana

Black-rumped Agouti Dasyprocta prymnolopha

Central American Agouti Dasyprocta punctata

Ruatan Island Agouti Dasyprocta ruatanica (not pictured here)

Brown Agouti Dasyprocta variegata
(Otherwise treated as a subspecies of D. punctatus although, as noted earlier, the two species have entirely distinct distributional ranges with a separation of a couple of thousand kilometres between them)


...........................................................................


Azara's Agouti Dasyprocta azarae


Photo by @ro6ca66 at Cotswold Wildlife Park, UK


Azara's agouti : Cotswold WP : 27 Jun 2014 | ZooChat


Photo by @devilfish in the wild (in the grounds of Santa Cruz Zoo), Bolivia. Note that due to the general taxonomic confusion in this genus, many mammal lists for Bolivia don't even include D. azarae because the subspecies in this country are instead attached to D. variegata (D. punctata in synonymy).


Wild agouti, March 2016 | ZooChat


Photo by @Giant Eland at Zoo de Buenos Aires, Argentina (red form)


2013 Zoo de Buenos Aires | ZooChat


Black Agouti Dasyprocta fuliginosa


Photo by @devilfish at Quistococha Zoo, Peru


Black agouti, May 2016 | ZooChat


Brazilian Agouti Dasyprocta leporina


Photo by @Chlidonias at Wellington Zoo, New Zealand (this animal came from Szeged Zoo, Hungary, for which Zootierliste notes "no subspecific status")


Brazilian Agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) | ZooChat


Photo below by @Zaz at Kishinev Zoo, Moldova
Labelled as "St. Vincent Agouti", and currently identified on Zootierliste as "St. Vincent Agouti Dasyprocta leporina albida". Older photos in various zoos' galleries, presumably using either an older Zootierliste classification or that of the zoos' themselves, may be labelled as Dasyprocta leporina aguti. The agoutis on the Caribbean islands were introduced from mainland South America in pre-European times. There are differing opinions on their subspecific identities, from at one extreme all being treated as separate subspecies of D. leporina (e.g. albida, antillensis, fulvus, noblei), and at the other all being lumped together with the mainland subspecies aguti (the type-locality for which was Surinam). I have no idea on the origins of the captive stock, which is currently kept in twelve zoos in Europe according to Zootierliste (referenced as "2018 ZIMS", although ZIMS actually lists them all as aguti), whether they actually came from St. Vincent initially or if they are a general mix - or even actually mainland aguti - with zoos simply using the name "St. Vincent". Various American zoos also label their stock as St. Vincent Agoutis.


St Vincent Agouti in Kishinev Zoo | ZooChat


Mexican Agouti Dasyprocta mexicana


Photo by @Giant Eland at Chapultepec Zoo, Mexico


2013 Chapultepec Zoo | ZooChat


Black-rumped Agouti Dasyprocta prymnolopha


Photo by @MagpieGoose at Magdeburg Zoo, Germany


Black-rumped Agouti | ZooChat


Central American Agouti Dasyprocta punctata
There are numerous named subspecies (about fourteen or so) over this species' range in Central and northern South America. They are extremely variable in appearance, as can be seen from the selection of photos of wild animals below, and it may be a species complex. I'm not going to sort through the subspecies due to the taxonomic issues mentioned earlier for the genus. A list of 19 subspecies can be seen on the punctata page of Wilson and Reeder's Mammal Species of the World, but note that it includes those subspecies which would be included in Dasyprocta variegata if that species is split from punctata: Mammal Species of the World - Browse: punctata

The photos of wild animals below are arranged in their north-to-south distribution.


Photo by @Fallax in the wild, Mexico (there are two subspecies in Mexico, namely chiapensis and yucatanica - the one pictured here is the latter subspecies yucatanica)


https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/central-american-agouti.675787/


Photo by @Maguari in the wild, Costa Rica (there are three or four subspecies in Costa Rica; apparently the one at Monteverde, where this photo was taken, is richmondi)


Central American Agouti at Monteverde Lodge, 19/04/14 | ZooChat


Photo by @Newzooboy in the wild, Costa Rica (subspecies nuchalis)


Central American Agouti - Apr 2019 - ZooChat


Photo by @Vision in the wild, Panama (subspecies isthmicus)


Central American agouti, Dasyprocta punctata - ZooChat


Photo by @ronnienl in the wild, Ecuador (subspecies chocoensis)


Agouti | ZooChat


Photo by @Giant Eland at Quito Zoo, Ecuador (I'm not sure which subspecies this might be, but the species comes in several colour forms including this one with the dark pelage and distinctive patch of white-tipped hairs on the rump)


Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) species ID? - ZooChat


Brown Agouti Dasyprocta variegata


Photo by @devilfish at Vesty Pakos Zoo, Bolivia


Brown agouti, March 2016 | ZooChat

 

Myoprocta
Two species are generally recognised, although there are suggestions that M. pratti may be a species complex. Wilson and Reeder's Mammal Species of the World considers both species to be monotypic.


Red or Reddish Acouchi (or Acouchy) Myoprocta acouchy

Probably a species with no photos on Zoochat. The photo below is by @Maguari at Faunia Madrid, Spain: according to ISIS records (in 2011) this collection held two acouchis, one of each species, although the two animals in this photo do not look any different from one another so that record is a little suspect, and I have a feeling they are actually both Green Acouchis. Because the Green Acouchi has at times been treated as a subspecies of the Red Acouchi, I have a suspicion that "one male and one female Myoprocta acouchy pratti" got turned into "one male Myoprocta acouchy and one female Myoprocta pratti" when entering the record into ISIS. Interestingly, Zootierliste doesn't have Faunia Madrid under former holdings for either species (although they do have a current holding, since 2015, under Green Acouchi).

This is the only photo on Zoochat labelled as being of Red Acouchi.


Acouchis at Faunia, 27/05/11 | ZooChat


Green or Greenish Acouchi (or Acouchy) Myoprocta pratti


Photo by @Giant Eland at Moscow Zoo, Russia


Myoprocta pratti (Green acouchi) | ZooChat


Photo by @Tomek at Tiergarten Schonbrunn, Austria


Green Acouchi (Myoprocta pratti) | ZooChat