MammalBase - Accepted taxon: Microcavia australis

Accepted taxon: Microcavia australis
Taxon:	Microcavia australis
Rank:	Species
Higher Classification:	RODENTIA \| HYSTRICOMORPHA \| HYSTRICOGNATHI \| Caviidae \| Caviinae \| Microcavia
Reference:	Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), JHU Press, 2005.

Fig.1 - Ternary plot of the proximate analysis for the Microcavia australis diet.
CF (Crude Fibre) 23, ASH (Ash contents) 7, NFE (Nitrogen-Free-Extract) 54, CP (Crude Protein) 12, EE (Ether Extract) 4. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 1. List of Diet Items for Microcavia australis.
TSN Complete name	Part	Ratio ^a.	Reference(s)
Magnoliopsida	LEAF	70.00	Damuth, J…
Magnoliopsida	SEED	15.00	Grzimek,B…
Poaceae	STEM	10.00	Grzimek,B…
Magnoliopsida	SHOOT	5.00	Grzimek,B…

^a. Standardized values. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 2. List of Standard Traits for Microcavia australis.
Trait	Selected Value	All Value(s)	Reference(s)
Dietary category: Miljutin 2009	Herbivore	Herbivore	– Cofre, H. and Marquet, P.A., 1999. Conservation status, rarity, and geographic priorities for conservation of Chilean mammals: an assessment. Biological Conservation, 88(1), pp.53-68., Ricardo A. Ojeda, Pedro G. Blendinger, Roland Brandl, 2000, 'Mammals in South American drylands: faunal similarity and trophic structure', Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 115-123
Dietary category: Eisenberg 1981	Herbivore-Browser	Herbivore-Browser	–

Table 3. List of Standard Measurements for Microcavia australis.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
Body Mass (BM)	Chile	g	-	-	-	-	-	286.1	-	-	Cofre, H.…
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	5	5	-	-	-	298.26	-	-	Engelman,…
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	-	-	-	-	119	-	500	-	Freudenth…
Head-Body Length (HBL)	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	218.15	-	-	Engelman,…
Occipital condyle width (OCW)	nan	mm	5	5	-	-	-	9.27	-	-	Engelman,…

Table 4. List of other Measurements ^b. for Microcavia australis.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
brainmass	nan	g	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	Engelman,…
skull_length	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	51	-	-	Engelman,…
femur diameter	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	Nelson, A…
humerus diameter	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	Nelson, A…

^b. other Measurements. Source Measurements which are not listed on or mapped with the Standard Traits..

Table 5. List of Data Sources for Microcavia australis.
Taxon	Reference	Match	Status
Microcavia australis	Cofre,H., 1999, Conservation status, rarity, and geographic priorities for conservation of Chilean mammals: an assessment, Biological Conservation	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Microcavia australis	Nowak,R. M., 1991, Walker's mammals of the world,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Microcavia australis	Ojeda,R. A., 2001, Mammals in South American drylands: faunal similarity and trophic structure, Global Ecology and Biogeography	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Microcavia australis	Damuth, J. 2010. ABSOLUT 6 a mammalian database compiled by the national center for ecological analysis and synthesis (NCEAS ) workshop on mammalian communities.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Microcavia australis	Grzimek,B., 2003, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia: Mammals I-V,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Microcavia australis	Engelman, R.K., 2022. Occipital condyle width (OCW) is a highly accurate predictor of body mass in therian mammals. BMC biology, 20(1), p.37.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Microcavia australis	DeMers, A.C., 2023. Functional Significance of the Mandible, Tooth Roots, and Tooth Crowns, and their Implications for Fossil Dietary Inference (Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University).	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Microcavia australis	Nelson, A., Engelman, R.K. and Croft, D.A., 2023. How to weigh a fossil mammal? South American notoungulates as a case study for estimating body mass in extinct clades. Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 30(3), pp.773-809.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Microcavia australis	Freudenthal, M. and Martín-Suárez, E., 2013. Estimating body mass of fossil rodents. Scripta Geologica, 145, pp.1-513.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted

Citation for this page: [The MammalBase community 2026. / CC BY 4.0. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7462864 Microcavia australis , Accessed 30th April 2026 at https://mammalbase.net/me/9928]