#pacarana

[vintagewildlife]

Pacarana (Dinomys branickii) By: New York Zoological Society From: Walker's Mammals of the World 1964

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Suggesting the pacarana (dinomys branickii) :3

Have you seen the pacarana (Dinomys branickii)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onDec 30, 2025

[jackson-imbecille]

Pacarana

Dinomys branickii

Family Dinomyidae, pavorder Caviomorpha, suborder Hystricomorpha, order Rodentia

This animal is called the pacarana because it looks a bit like a paca, another South American rodent.

They are the only living member of their taxonomic family. Some other members of this family grew to incredible sizes, like the bison sized Josephoartigasia, which is the largest known rodent. Pacaranas themselves are pretty large, weighing as much as 15 kg, or 33lbs.

Pacaranas are very slow moving and peaceful animals. They eat fruits, leaves, and stems of plants and eat sitting down while holding their food like they have hands. It’s very cute.

The males also stand on their hind legs when approaching females during courtship and there was a viral video of one of these guys standing on their hind legs a while back trying to remove soap from their fur. It has been confirmed by an expert that no, you should not put soap on a pacarana.

They’re mainly nocturnal and terrestrial, but they do a bit of climbing.

These animals are vulnerable to becoming endangered.

@jackalspine @fifiibibii

How do we feel about pacarana

I love pacarana

I hate pacarana

I feel indifferent about pacarana

Voting ended onOct 4, 2023

[indagold-orchid]

There's all types of discourse around rodent care and then there's pepe lucho

[deguarts]

Some more capybara and J. monesi (largest rodent to have ever existed, related to a pacarana).

[rodentcompetition]

Round 1.4

Pick the best rodent

Josephoartigasia monesi

Pacarana

Voting ended onMay 18, 2023

Art credit: @alphynix

Information about contestants below!

Giant pacarana (Josephoartigasia monesi)

Josephoartigasia is an extinct genus of enormous rodent from the Early Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of Uruguay.

The skull of J. monesi measures 53 cm, similar to a beef cow skull, equating to a full body length of 262.8 cm—though this is likely an overestimate—and a weight of about 480–500 kg. This makes J. monesi the biggest rodent ever discovered. Its skull was heavily reinforced to withstand high stresses far exceeding what bite force alone could exert, so it could have been using its teeth to crack nuts, excavate large burrows, dig up roots, or self defense against predators.

Josephoartigasia lived in a forested estuarine environment. Like other giant extinct rodents, it predominantly ate leaves or fruits, though the extreme bite force of J. monesi would have permitted it to consume a wide variety of different plants if necessary.

Pacarana is the closest living relative of Josephoartigasia.

Pacarana (Dinomys branickii)

Pacarana is large for a rodent, weighing up to 15 kg and measuring up to 79 cm in length, not including the thick, furry tail. It has a relatively large head with small ears and a thick neck. The fur is coarse black or brown with two white stripes grading to spots along the back and on the sides.

Pacaranas have a herbivorous diet that includes fruits, leaves, and plant shoots. They are social animals and usually live in family groups of 4 or 5 individuals. They are nocturnal and during the day they rest in caves between rocks or dens at the base of trees. Pacaranas spend most of their time on the ground, however, they are very adept climbers. They communicate with each other using various sounds, whines, songs, hisses, and tooth chattering.

In captivity pacaranas are docile and can live for 10 years or more.

[bonesthedestroyeroflegos]

The results of last week’s watercolor painting stream on twitch. This is my second piece in my rodents series.

[newsweekscience]

Video: 'Shower Rat' isn't showering and isn't a rat

This is not a rat washing itself like a person.

"With the large head size, bipedal position, flexible forelimbs, short stiff tail, and consistent coat color...this animal fits the ID of a pacarana," Dallas Krentzel, an evolutionary biologist who studies rodent diversity at the University of Chicago at the Field Museum, told Newsweek.