Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, José Luis Cartes, Rebecca Zarza and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
ECHIMYIDAE - SPINY-RATS
Five species of medium to large, long-tailed, hystricognath rodents generally showing a pale venter constrasting sharply with a darker dorsum. As the common name suggests most species have think spiny hairs scattered through pelage, though under normal conditions these are not distinguishable from other hairs in the field. Spines are flattened with a canal along the upper side. The tail is brittle and breaks with ease, so many specimens with tails reduced or absent are encountered. The ears are short with an irregular posterior margin and often a small tuft of hairs sprouting from the internal edge. The eyes are large and the whiskers long, with some growing from the posterior corner of the eye. Of the Paraguayan species one genus is arboreal (Kannabateomys) and the other four are terrestrial. Terrestrial species reproduce rapidly producing three or four young every 3 months or so; terrestrial species reproduce more slowly producing one or two young at most twice a year. The lateral pairs of teats are hidden in the pelage along the sides of the body, they are not located on the abdomen. A long thin gland located along the centre of the breast is particularly obvious in males.
Click here to view the Echimyidae Comparative Skull Gallery
REFERENCES
Diaz MM & Barquez RM 2002 - Los Mamíferos de Jujuy, Argentina - LOLA
Emmons LH & Feer F 1999 - Mamíferos de los Bosques Húmedos de América Tropical - FAN Bolivia
Redford K 1992 - Mammals of the Neotropics Vol 2: The Southern Cone Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay - University of Chicago Press.
