Pacarana Dinomys branickii Least concern
Where the pacarana lives – recorded in 3 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.
Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 36 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See mice, rats & other rodents on the world map
| Scientific name | Dinomys branickii |
|---|---|
| Group | Mice, rats & other rodents |
| Status | Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label) |
| Found in | 3 countries |
| Continents | South America |
| Mass | 615 g (birth weight); 12.5 kg (adult weight) |
| Class | Mammal |
| Order | Rodentia |
| Family | Dinomyidae |
Where does the pacarana live?
Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the pacarana in 3 countries and territories across South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia.
Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.
How big is a pacarana?
Wikidata records the following for the pacarana: mass 615 g (birth weight); 12.5 kg (adult weight).
Is the pacarana endangered?
The pacarana’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the pacarana?
The pacarana (Dinomys branickii) is a mammal in the order Rodentia and the family Dinomyidae, genus Dinomys. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)
About the pacarana
The pacarana (Dinomys branickii) is a rare and slow-moving hystricognath rodent indigenous to South America. Native Tupi people call it the pacarana (false paca) because it is superficially similar to the paca, a different rodent which is not in the same family. The pacarana has a chunky body and is large for a rodent, weighing up to 15 kg (33 lb) and measuring up to 79 cm (2 ft 7 in) in length, not including the thick, furry tail.
The pacarana is nocturnal and is found only in tropical forests of the western Amazon River basin and adjacent foothills of the Andes Mountains. It ranges from northwestern Venezuela and Colombia to western Bolivia, including the Yungas. It is common in Cotapata National Park in Bolivia.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Pacarana (revision 1371824332), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q284417 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).
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