Pacarana

Outwardly resembles a very large paca or guinea pig . This is the fifth largest rodent after capybara , common beaver , crested porcupine and mara , although it is inferior in size to the latter and actually competes with it. The body length of the pacarana is 73–79 cm, and the mass is 10–15 kg. The physique is heavy, massive, with fairly short four-fingered limbs. The foot is wide; the claws are long, slightly curved, powerful, similar to the claws of burrowing animals, although Pakarana is not. Stop walking. The tail, reaching 1/3 of the body length in size, is completely covered with hair - from the base to the tip. The head is wide, with small rounded ears, large eyes and very long grayish vibrissae . Teeth 20.

The hair is rough, low, sparse. Body color black or dark brown, belly somewhat lighter than the back. Rows of white spots pass along the sides and along the back, sometimes merging into wide white stripes on the back.

In its structure, pacarana occupies an intermediate position between mumps , packs and hutia .

Pacarana only inhabits the rainforests in the west of the Amazon and the adjacent eastern slopes of the Andes from Colombia to western Bolivia. Currently found in only six countries: Bolivia , Brazil , Venezuela , Colombia , Peru , Ecuador

The lifestyle of this rare beast is poorly understood. It inhabits the lower parts of rocky mountain slopes and valleys in rain forests at an altitude of 200 to 2000 m above sea level. It is very rare. In captivity, Pakarans behave calmly, non-aggressively, and peacefully; in nature are slow and "phlegmatic." The lifestyle is mainly nocturnal and terrestrial, although they can climb trees. They are found singly or in pairs, but there is an assumption that they can live in family groups. They feed on fruits, leaves, tender shoots of plants; when feeding, like many rodents, they squat, holding food with their front paws.

Very little is known about pacaran breeding. In captivity, pregnancy lasts 222–283 days; in a brood of no more than two cubs weighing 900 g each. Cubs were born mainly in January-February. The timing of breastfeeding and puberty is unknown. Life expectancy is estimated at over 9 years.

• The dinomyids were once a thriving group of South American rodents, apparently occupying the ecological niche of ungulates on this continent. This family included 8 genera; the earliest dinomyids belonged to the Oligocene . In particular, this family included the largest of the known rodents - Phoberomys pattersoni , whose mass reached 700 kg.
• Pacarana was first discovered in 1872 in the courtyard of a small Peruvian town. Since then, this animal has been repeatedly considered extinct. Pacarana is a rare animal whose existence is threatened by deforestation and hunting for meat.