Types of Chinchillas

The long-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera), also called the Chilean, coastal, common chinchilla, or lesser chinchilla, is one of two species of rodents from the genus Chinchilla, the other species being Chinchilla chinchilla.

C. chinchilla was recently recorded in pellets from Bubo magellanicus in the province of Salta (Ortiz et al 2010; Fig. 1.). Camera trapping efforts from 2011 registered a C. chinchilla colony at Parque Nacional Nevado Tres Cruces, a second colony was detected further north in Santa Rosa, the northern area of the park. The species appears to be more common than originally thought (Augustin Iriate Walton pers. comm.).