Summary ²

The pacarana (Dinomys branickii) is a rare and slow-moving hystricognath rodent indigenous to South America. Native peoples of the region 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 (31 in) in length, not including the thick, furry tail.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Mammals, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=mammals&irn=7005198
2. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinomys_branickii

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• ASM Mammal Diversity Database
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• iNaturalist Mammal Working Group
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• VertNet

iNat Map