Ctenomys fossil map
Where fossils of Ctenomys have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 3.8 million years ago to the present (Zanclean to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Ctenomyidae |
| Named by | de Blainville 1826 |
| Fossil records | 114 occurrences at 47 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Mexico |
| Rock formations | txn:42064, Tarija, UquĂa, Lujan, San Andres, Matadero Saldungaray |
About Ctenomys
A tuco-tuco is a neotropical rodent in the family Ctenomyidae found in South America from Peru and central Brazil southward. The only living genus of the family, Ctenomys, includes approximately 60 different species. The relationships among the species are debated by taxonomists. It has been described that they are in a state of "taxonomic chaos", but banded karyotypes have been used to help make progress on their taxonomic study. Their closest relatives are degus and other octodontids.
The common name, "tuco-tuco", comes from the "tuc-tuc" sound they make while they dig their burrows. In South America they have an ecological role equivalent to that of the pocket gophers of North America.
They occupy an ecological niche previously taken by gondwanatheres such as Patagonia earlier in the Cenozoic.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Tuco-tuco (revision 1381086203), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q908146.
