Plains Vizcachas - Biology and Evolution of a Peculiar Neotropical Caviomorph Rodent

RASIA LUCIANO LUIS; BARBEITO CLAUDIO GUSTAVO; ACUÑA FRANCISCO

Springer Nature

Lugar: Cham; Año: 2024 p. 390

9783031494864

More than 200 years have passed since the plains vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) was first mentioned by nineteenth-century naturalists such as Felix de Azara, Charles Darwin and William Henry Hudson, yet many aspects of the biology of this Neotropical rodent remain unknown. Moreover, considered an agricultural pest and hunted for its skin and meat, the specie´s range has been considerably reduced as a result of the expansion of agriculture and cattle frontier. Throughout the twentieth century, studies by Augusto Llanos, Jorge Crespo, Barbara Weir, Lyn Branch and John Jackson, among others, contributed greatly to our knowledge of the ecology, growth and reproduction of the plains vizcacha. Recent studies have revealed unique aspects of the morphology, physiology and evolutionary history of the plains vizcacha, highlighting the need for a meeting point for all these lines of research. The interaction with researchers from a wide range of disciplines has encouraged the edition of this book.