MAMMALIA 



133 



found outside South America, Central America, and the West 

 Indies. 



(3) The family made up of the Chinchillas and their allies is 

 distinguished by the soft fur, well-developed tail, elongated hind- 

 legs, and transversely-ridged crowns to the grinding teeth. The 

 Common Chinchilla {Chinchilla lanigerd) (fig. 94), a valuable 



Fig. 93. — The Degu {Octodon degus) 



fur-bearing animal inhabiting the mountains of Chili and Bolivia, 

 is a very active squirrel-like creature in which there are five toes 

 on the fore- and four toes on the hind-foot. The allied Viscacha 

 {Lagostomus trichodactylus) is a stoutly-built burrowing form, of 

 which the communities are common in the pampas of South 

 America. 



(4) The Agoutis and Pacas together constitute a South 

 American family of which the members attain a considerable size. 

 The claws are blunt and hoof-like. The short-tailed Common 

 Agouti {Dasyprocta agouti') inhabits the forest regions of South 

 America, and the tailless Paca {Coelogewys paca), distinguished 



