Chinchilla

Chinchillas
Chinchilla lanigera at the Wrocław Zoo in Poland
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Chinchillidae
Subfamily:	Chinchillinae
Genus:	Chinchilla Bennett, 1829
Species[1][2]
Chinchilla lanigera Chinchilla chinchilla
Range of Chinchilla lanigera and Chinchilla chinchilla.   Chinchilla chinchilla   Chinchilla lanigera

Chinchillas are either of two species (Chinchilla chinchilla and Chinchilla lanigera) of rodents. They are most active at dawn and dusk. They are slightly larger and more active than ground squirrels, and are found in the Andes mountains in South America.^[3] They live in colonies called "herds" at high elevations of up to 4,270 m (14,000 ft). Historically, chinchillas lived in an area that included parts of Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, and Chile, but today, colonies in the wild are known only in Chile.^[4] Along with their relatives, viscachas, they make up the family Chinchillidae.

The chinchilla has the densest fur of all mammals that live on land.^[5] The chinchilla is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who once wore its dense, velvet-like fur.^[6] By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become rare after being hunted for their soft fur.^[7] Most chinchillas currently used by the fur industry for clothing and other accessories are farm-raised.^[8] Domestic chinchillas come from C. lanigera are sometimes kept as pets.

1. ↑ Roach, N.; Kennerley, R. (2016). "Chinchilla chinchilla". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T4651A22191157. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T4651A22191157.en.
2. ↑ Woods, C. A. and Kilpatrick, C. W. (2005). Infraorder Hystricognathi. In: D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder (eds), Mammal Species of the World, pp. 1538–1599. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, USA.
3. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chinchilla" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 232.
4. ↑ Patton, James L.; Pardiñas, Ulyses F. J.; D'Elía, Guillermo (2015). Rodents. Mammals of South America. Vol. 2. University of Chicago Press. pp. 765–768. ISBN 9780226169576.
5. ↑ Harding, Naomi (June 8, 2016). "Which land mammal has the thickest fur?". animalanswers.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
6. ↑ "What Is A Chinchilla?". Davidson Chinchillas. Archived from the original on 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
7. ↑ "Chinchilla Facts – The Top 10 Interesting Facts About Chinchillas". Chinchilla.co. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
8. ↑ Jiménez, Jaime E. (1996). "The extirpation and current status of wild chinchillas Chinchilla lanigera and C. brevicaudata" (PDF). Biological Conservation. 77 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1016/0006-3207(95)00116-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-07-10. Retrieved 2021-05-13.