Ctenomyidae

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Ctenomyidae (tuco-tucos; order Rodentia, suborder Hystricomorpha) A family of burrowing rodents in which the body is compact, the head large, the legs short and pentadactyl with strong claws, and the soles of the feet bordered with bristles. The eyes and ears are small. The skull is strong and flattened, the occipital crests prominent, the paroccipital processes curved beneath the bullae. The cheek teeth are hypsodont, the last molar being vestigial. There is one genus (Ctenomys) and about 26 species, distributed widely throughout southern S. America.

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