Tuco-tuco

Tuco-tucos Temporal range: Late Pliocene–Recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Female Patagonian Tuco-tuco
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Suborder:	Hystricomorpha
Infraorder:	Hystricognathi
Parvorder:	Caviomorpha
Superfamily:	Octodontoidea
Family:	Ctenomyidae Lesson, 1842
Genus:	Ctenomys Blainville, 1826
Species
Ctenomys argentinus Ctenomys australis Ctenomys azarae Ctenomys bergi Ctenomys boliviensis Ctenomys bonettoi Ctenomys brasiliensis Ctenomys budini Ctenomys colburni Ctenomys coludo Ctenomys conoveri Ctenomys coyhaiquensis Ctenomys dorbignyi Ctenomys dorsalis Ctenomys emilianus Ctenomys famosus Ctenomys flamarioni Ctenomys fochi Ctenomys fodax Ctenomys frater Ctenomys fulvus Ctenomys goodfellowi Ctenomys haigi Ctenomys johannis Ctenomys juris Ctenomys knighti Ctenomys lami Ctenomys latro Ctenomys leucodon Ctenomys lewisi Ctenomys magellanicus Ctenomys maulinus Ctenomys mendocinus Ctenomys minutus Ctenomys occultus Ctenomys opimus Ctenomys osvaldoreigi Ctenomys pearsoni Ctenomys perrensi Ctenomys peruanus Ctenomys pilarensis Ctenomys pontifex Ctenomys porteousi Ctenomys pundti Ctenomys rionegrensis Ctenomys roigi Ctenomys saltarius Ctenomys scagliai Ctenomys sericeus Ctenomys sociabilis Ctenomys steinbachi Ctenomys sylvanus Ctenomys talarum Ctenomys torquatus Ctenomys tuconax Ctenomys tucumanus Ctenomys tulduco Ctenomys validus Ctenomys viperinus Ctenomys yolandae

The tuco-tucos are members of a group of rodents that belong to the family Ctenomyidae. The tuco-tucos belong to a single genus: Ctenomys, but they include some 60 different species. The relationships among the species are debated by taxonomists. Their closest relatives are degus and other octodontids (Woods and Kilpatrick, 2005). All species of tuco-tuco are found in South America from Peru and central Brazil southward. The tuco-tucos of South America have an ecological role equivalent to that of the pocket gophers of North America.

Tuco-tucos are heavily built with short legs. Their skin is loosely applied, possibly to slide about the tunnels they create. They have long forefeet for burrowing, and bristled hind feet for grooming. They also have large heads, small ears, and hairy tails. Their body ranges in size from 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) in length, and they can weigh up to 700 g (25 oz).

Among their most notable features is that various members of the genus exhibit differing levels of genetic variability and sociality, with a tendency for the most social species (e.g., Ctenomys sociabilis) to have the least genetic variation.

Species

Argentine Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys argentinus)

Azara's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys azarae)

Berg's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys bergi)

Bolivian Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys boliviensis)

Bonetto's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys bonettoi)

Brazilian Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys brasiliensis)

Budin's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys budini)

Catamarca Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys knighti)

Chacoan Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys dorsalis)

Colburn's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys colburni)

Collared Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys torquatus)

Conover's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys conoveri)

Coyhaique Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys coyhaiquensis)

D'Orbigny's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys dorbignyi)

Emily's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys emilianus)

Famatina Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys famosus)

Flamarion's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys flamarioni)

Foch's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys fochi)

Forest Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys sylvanus)

Furtive Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys occultus)

Goodfellow's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys goodfellowi)

Goya Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys perrensi)

Haig's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys haigi)

Highland Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys opimus)

Jujuy Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys juris)

Lago Blanco Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys fodax)

Lami Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys lami)

Lewis's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys lewisi)

Magellanic Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys magellanicus)

Maule Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys maulinus)

Mendoza Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys mendocinus)

Mottled Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys latro)

Natterer's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys nattereri)

Pearson's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys pearsoni)

Peruvian Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys peruanus)

Pilar Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys pilarensis)

Porteous' Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys porteousi)

Pundt's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys pundti)

Puntilla Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys coludo)

Reddish Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys frater)

Reig's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys osvaldoreigi)

Rio Negro Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys rionegrensis)

Robust Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys tuconax)

Roig's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys roigi)

Salta Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys saltarius)

San Juan Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys johannis)

San Luis Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys pontifex)

Scaglia's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys scagliai)

Sierra Tontal Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys tulduco)

Silky Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys sericeus)

Social Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys sociabilis)

Southern Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys australis)

Steinbach's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys steinbachi)

Strong Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys validus)

Talas Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys talarum)

Tawny Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys fulvus)

Tiny Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys minutus)

Tucuman Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys tucumanus)

Vipos Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys viperinus)

White-Toothed Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys leucodon)

Yolanda's Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys yolandae)

References

• Woods, Charles A.; Kilpatrick, C. William (16 November 2005). "Genus Ctenomys". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 1560-1570. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=13400278.