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In Images: 4 Tuco-Tuco Species Discovered in Bolivia
Smile for the camera
Ctenomys conoveri inhabit the lowland plains, or Chaco, of Bolivia and Paraguay.
Playing hard to get
Ctenomys lewisi inhabits a small area north-west of the Bolivian city of Tarija.
Twinkle toes
Ctenomys conoveri has cteniform, or comb-like, bristles on its toes that help the animal kick out soil from its burrow system. The genus name Ctenomys means "comb foot.”
A toothy grin
Ctenomys conoveri uses its long, orange-enameled incisors to gnaw through roots when burrowing.
Lewis' tuco-tuco
Ctenomys lewisi, or Lewis’s tuco-tuco, roams the Bolivian grasslands.
Erika's tuco-tuco
Ctenomys erikacuellarae, or Erika’s tuco-tuco, was named for Erika Cuellar, a conservation biologist from Bolivia who helped catalogue tuco-tuco species as a student in the 1990s.
Ctenomys yatesi
Ctenomys yatesi inhabits the Chiquitano forest of eastern Bolivia.
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Ctenomys andersoni
Ctenomys andersoni, inhabits the dry Andean valleys of Cerro Itahuaticua, in the Bolivian state of Santa Cruz.
Ctenomys lessai
Ctenomys lessai was named for Enrique P. Lessa, an expert in Latin American mammalogy, evolution and the biology of tuco-tucos.