English

Noun

abrocomid ‎(plural abrocomids)

1. Any of the caviomorph rodents of the family Abrocomidae; a chinchilla rat.
   • 1982, Michael A. Mares, Hugh H. Genoways, Mammalian Biology in South America: A Symposium Held at the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, May 10-14, 1981, page 427,

     The Andean families (chinchillids, octodontids, abrocomids, and many ctenomyids) are not subject to the same climatological forces affecting species in the lowland tropics.

   • 1985, Francis Greenough Stehli, Sawney David Webb, The Great American Biotic Interchange, page 492,

     Caviids are grassland-scrubland species, while abrocomids are small herbivores of xeric Andean habitats.

   • 2005, Louise H. Emmons, A Revision of the Genera of Arboreal Echimyidae (Rodentia: Echimyidae: Echimyinae), With Descriptions of Two New Genera, Eileen A. Lacey, Philip Myers (editors), Mammalian Diversification: From Chromosomes to Phylogeography, page 262,

     This is likely to be the plesiomorphic state, as it is thus in capromyids, octodontids, abrocomids, and cuniculids.

Synonyms

• (any species of family Abrocomidae): chinchilla rat