Plains viscacha rat
Tympanoctomys barrerae (Lawrence, 1941)
The plains viscacha rat (Tympanoctomys barrerae) is a species in the family Octodontidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 70 g to 97.6 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.
Quick facts about the plains viscacha rat
- Weight
- 70 g – 97.6 gsrc 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 night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the plains viscacha rat live?
Not recorded
What is the plains viscacha rat?
The plains viscacha rat, plains vizcacha rat, red viscacha rat, or red vizcacha rat (Tympanoctomys barrerae) is a species of rodent in the family Octodontidae native to Argentina. It is one of three species in the genus Tympanoctomys.
From the Wikipedia article “Plains viscacha rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plains_viscacha_rat&oldid=1369364243), 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 rat endangered?
The plains viscacha rat is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- 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 Near Threatened species. What the categories mean.
How is the plains viscacha rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyOctodontidae
- genusTympanoctomys
- SpeciesTympanoctomys barrerae (Lawrence, 1941)
Synonyms Octomys barrerae
Other names and names in other languages (11)
- Red viscacha ratEnglish
- Red viscacha ratEnglish
- Red viscacha ratEnglish
- Red viscacha-ratEnglish
- Red vizcacha ratEnglish
- Red vizcacha ratEnglish
- osmák pouštníCzech
- Rata vizcacha coloradaSpanish
- pampaviskatsarottaFinnish
- メンドサビスカーチャネズミJapanese
- wiskaczoszczur czerwonawyPolish
Relatives of the plains viscacha rat
Other species in the same genus Tympanoctomys.
Kirchner's viscacha rat
Tympanoctomys kirchnerorum
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the plains viscacha rat?
An adult plains viscacha rat weighs 70 g – 97.6 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the plains viscacha rat endangered?
The plains viscacha rat is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.
What kind of animal is the plains viscacha rat?
The plains viscacha rat (Tympanoctomys barrerae) belongs to the family Octodontidae 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 rat (Tympanoctomys barrerae). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/plains-viscacha-rat
“Plains viscacha rat (Tympanoctomys barrerae).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/plains-viscacha-rat.
@misc{plains_viscacha_rat_2026,
title = {Plains viscacha rat (Tympanoctomys barrerae)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/plains-viscacha-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}