Plains viscacha
Lagostomus maximus (Desmarest, 1817)
The plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus) is a species in the family Chinchillidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 4.65 kg to 6.39 kg and live up to 9.41 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the plains viscacha
- Weight
- 4.65 kg – 6.39 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 9.41 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 10.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 156 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.9 – 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 8.48 months – 15 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.75src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At dawn and dusk (crepuscular)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the plains viscacha live?
Not recorded
What is the plains viscacha?
The plains viscacha or plains vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) is a species of viscacha, a rodent in the family Chinchillidae. It is the only living species within the genus Lagostomus. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. The plains viscacha is the largest species in its family. They construct elaborate burrows that house successive colonies for decades.
From the Wikipedia article “Plains viscacha” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plains_viscacha&oldid=1379338304), 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 plains viscacha endangered?
The plains viscacha is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- 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 Least Concern species.
How is the plains viscacha classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyChinchillidae
- genusLagostomus
- SpeciesLagostomus maximus (Desmarest, 1817)
Synonyms Dipus maximus, Lagostomus pamparum, Lagostomus trichodactylus, Viscaccia americana
Other names and names in other languages (19)
- Argentine plains viscachaEnglish
- Argentine plains viscachaEnglish
- فسكاش السهولArabic
- ViscachaGerman
- Vizcacha de las llanurasSpanish
- vizcachaSpanish
- Vizcacha de las praderasSpanish
- tasankoviskatsaFinnish
- Viscache des plainesFrench
- PampaszinyúlHungarian
- Viscaccia di pianuraItalian
- ビスカーチャJapanese
- PampasviscachaNorwegian Bokmål
- WiskaczaPolish
- wiskaczan wielkiPolish
- Viscacha-da-PlaníciePortuguese
- Равнинная вискачаRussian
- Равнинная вискашаRussian
- Ova ViskaçasıTurkish
Relatives of the plains viscacha
Other species in the same genus Lagostomus.
Peruvian plains viscacha
Lagostomus crassus
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the plains viscacha?
An adult plains viscacha weighs 4.65 kg – 6.39 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the plains viscacha endangered?
The plains viscacha is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the plains viscacha live?
The plains viscacha has a recorded lifespan of 9.41 years.
How long is the plains viscacha pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 156 days.
What kind of animal is the plains viscacha?
The plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - 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 - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/plains-viscacha
“Plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/plains-viscacha.
@misc{plains_viscacha_2026,
title = {Plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/plains-viscacha},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}