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viscacha

 - 3 dictionary results

vis⋅ca⋅cha

[vi-skah-chuh]
–noun
1. a burrowing rodent, Lagostomus maximus, about the size of a groundhog, inhabiting the pampas of Paraguay and Argentina, allied to the chinchilla.
2. Also called mountain viscacha. a related rodent of the genus Lagidium, of the Andes, about the size of a squirrel, having rabbitlike ears and a squirrellike tail.
Also, vizcacha.


Origin:
1595–1605; < Sp < Quechua wisk’acha
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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vis·ca·cha   (vĭ-skä'chə)   
n.  Any of several gregarious, burrowing South American rodents of the genera Lagostomus and Lagidium, related to and resembling the chinchilla.

[Spanish vizcacha, from Quechua wiskácha.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

viscacha

any of four species of slender yet fairly large South American rodents similar to chinchillas. They have short forelimbs, long hindlimbs, and a long, bushy tail. The soft fur is long and dense, and the soles of the feet have fleshy pads.[how about a brief comment on interesting social structure, vocalizations, and hunting for fur/meat/extermination in all 4 species?]

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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