NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Golden Viscacha Rat
Pipanacoctomys aureus Mares, Braun, Barquez & Diaz, 2000
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The golden viscacha rat or golden vizcacha rat (Pipanacoctomys aureus) is the single species of the genus Pipanacoctomys of the rodent family Octodontidae. It has 92 chromosomes and has been regarded as tetraploid (4x = 2n). This octodontid and its sister-species, the plains viscacha rat (Tympanoctomys barrerae) (2n = 102), may have arisen from the diploid mountain viscacha rat (Octomys mimax), (2x = 2n = 56) as a result of the doubling and subsequent loss of some chromosomes. However, some genetic studies have rejected any polyploidism in mammals as unlikely, and suggest that amplification and dispersion of repetitive sequences best explain the large genome size.
Wikipedia contributors, Golden viscacha rat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:16:42.348251+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pipanacoctomys aureus Mares, Braun, Barquez & Diaz, 2000
- Name authority
- Mares, Braun, Barquez & Diaz, 2000
- Common name
- Golden Viscacha Rat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Octodontidae
- Genus
- Pipanacoctomys
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderHystricomorpha Brandt, 1855
- infraorderHystricognathi Brandt, 1855
- familyOctodontidae Waterhouse, 1840
- genusPipanacoctomys Mares, Braun, Barquez & Diaz, 2000
- speciesPipanacoctomys aureus Mares, Braun, Barquez & Diaz, 2000
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=825335 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4J2ZN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.