MAMMALS: SOCIAL RODENTS [MANY
FOSSORIAL], RESEARCH NEEDED, INCLUDING, EXPERIMENTS, SIMULATIONS &
MODELING
Suborder Hystricognathi
Bathyergidae: social mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber;
Cryptomis damarensis)
Chinchilidae: plains viscacha [Lagostomus]
Caviidae: guinea pig & guinea pig-like species [e.g., Patagonian
mara: Dolichotis]
Hydrochaeridae: capybara [seasonal aggregations: Do aggregations have
structure? Any possibility of seasonal “multi-level”
organization?]
Ctenomyidae: tuco-tucos [note details of burrow
systems—compare/contrast; social “grades?]
Octodontidae: degus, cururos, rock rats [less specialized than
ctenomyids—compare/contrast; “grades”?]
Abrocomidae: “chinchilla” rats [colonial? Communal?—this group
poorly known]
Notes: Some of these taxa could be transported into the laboratory
for investigation; might be productive to compare Cape porcupine with
bonobos [sexual signals/behavior employed in interindividual
interactions]; Asian porcupine [Atherurus macrourus &/or A.
assamensis], NSE Asia: nocturnal & social; Asiatic
brush-tailed porcupines: extensive parental care