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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Unique and Weird Rodents in the World


There are hundred different species of rodents from all over the world. Take a look at the freakiest and weirdest rodent species on the planet.

1.) North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)


The North American Porcupine is a large odd-looking rodent slightly smaller than the Beaver. It is also known as Canadian Porcupine or Common Porcupine.

2.) Pacarana (Dinomys branickii)


The Pacarana is cool-looking but rare and slow-moving nocturnal rodent found only in tropical forests of the Andes Mountains. It has a chunky body and is large for a rodent, weighing up to 15 kg and measuring up to 79 cm length, excluding its thick, furry tail.

3.) Northern Viscacha (Lagidium peruanum)


The Northern Viscacha is an awesome-looking rodent species with very long furry tail that makes it look adorable. It can be found in Chile and Peru in South America. It can be found too in Bolivia.

4.) Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)


The unique-looking Capybara has a heavy, barrel-shaped body and short head with reddish-brown fur on the upper part of its body that turns yellowish-brown underneath. It can grow up to 130 cm or 4.3 ft in length and can attain a weight of up to 105.4 kg or 232 lb.This animal is preyed upon by Green Anacondas.

5.) Bi-colored-spined Porcupine (Coendou bicolor)


The Bi-colored-spined Porcupine is a weird-looking rodent endemic to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The body of the South American rodent is covered with dense spines that make it looks weird. The color is pale yellow at the base and black-tipped, and significantly darker on the mid-back. Its tail is free of spines.

6.) Prehensile-tailed Hutia (Mysateles prehensilis)


The Prehensile-tailed Hutia is a unique-looking rodent species native to Cuba. It is a threatened species.

7.) Desmarest's Hutia (Capromys pilorides)

Desmarest's Hutia is the largest hutia species growing up to 60 cm. It is endemic to Cuba hence it is also known as the Cuban Hutia. These animals were traditionally hunted for food. In a few places they were raised in barns and used as a minor stock animal. It is now illegal to hunt or kill hutias without a permit.

8.) Jamaican Coney (Geocapromys brownii)



The Jamaican Coney is a pretty terrestrial land mammal found in the rocky, forested areas of Jamaica. It is also known as the Jamaican Hutia and is native to the island and is the only extant native land mammal on Jamaica besides bats.

9.) Southern Viscacha (Lagidium viscacia)


The attractive-looking Southern Viscacha, scientifically named Lagidium viscacia, is a rodent species native to the South American countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru.

10.) Patagonian Mara (Dolichotis patagonum)


The Patagonian Mara is a large rodent which is also known as the Patagonian Cavy or Patagonian Hare. It is an herbivore that resembles a rabbit and can be found in Argentina and parts of Patagonia.

11.) Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata)


The Central American Agouti is a handsome-looking rodent Native to Central America from Chiapas, Yucatan Peninsula to Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.

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