Peruvian plains viscacha
Lagostomus crassus Thomas, 1910
The peruvian plains viscacha (Lagostomus crassus) is a species in the family Chinchillidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh about 4.65 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Extinct.
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Quick facts about the peruvian plains viscacha
- Weight
- 4.65 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- At dawn and dusk (crepuscular)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Extinct (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the peruvian plains viscacha live?
Not recorded
What is the peruvian plains viscacha?
Lagostomus crassus is an extinct species of viscacha that was native to Peru. It is known from a single skull found in southern Peru.
The skull is not in any way fossilized, indicating that the animal it belonged to lived very recently. The skull is also identical to that of the extant plains viscacha, being comparable in size to that of a large individual. Based on the above factors, it is probable that Lagostomus crassus is not a valid taxon, and merely a plains viscacha that was transported to Peru in ancient times.
From the Wikipedia article “Lagostomus crassus” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lagostomus_crassus&oldid=1314756700), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the peruvian plains viscacha endangered?
The peruvian plains viscacha is listed as Extinct on the IUCN Red List: it no living individuals remain.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Extinct species. What the categories mean.
How is the peruvian plains viscacha classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyChinchillidae
- genusLagostomus
- SpeciesLagostomus crassus Thomas, 1910
Other names and names in other languages (2)
- ペルービスカーチャJapanese
- wiskaczan grubyPolish
Relatives of the peruvian plains viscacha
Other species in the same genus Lagostomus.

Plains viscacha
Lagostomus maximus
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the peruvian plains viscacha?
An adult peruvian plains viscacha weighs 4.65 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the peruvian plains viscacha endangered?
The peruvian plains viscacha is listed as Extinct on the IUCN Red List, meaning it no living individuals remain.
What kind of animal is the peruvian plains viscacha?
The peruvian plains viscacha (Lagostomus crassus) belongs to the family Chinchillidae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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CreatureData. (2026). Peruvian plains viscacha (Lagostomus crassus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/peruvian-plains-viscacha
“Peruvian plains viscacha (Lagostomus crassus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/peruvian-plains-viscacha.
@misc{peruvian_plains_viscacha_2026,
title = {Peruvian plains viscacha (Lagostomus crassus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/peruvian-plains-viscacha},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}