Dinomys branickii
The pacarana is a rare and slow-moving rodent, the third largest of all living rodents. It has a chunky body that reaches up to 79 cm (2 ft 7 in) in length, not including its tail. The pacarana is nocturnal and is found only in tropical forests of the western Amazon River basin and adjacent foothills of the Andes Mountains. It ranges from northwestern Venezuela and Colombia to western Bolivia. This animal typically lives in family groups of four or five.
In captivity, pacaranas are noticeably calm, non-aggressive, and peaceful animals. There is still not enough known about their lives in the wild.
The pacarana is the sole extant member of the rodent family Dinomyidae.
The above picture was taken in the zoo of Cali, Colombia, in July 2022.
Family Dinomyidae
Order Rodentia
Subclass Eutheria
Class Mammalia
Subphylum Vertebrata
Phylum Chordata
Kingdom Animalia
Life on Earth
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