Carterodon

Carterodon is a genus of rodents in the family Echimyidae, the spiny rats, and contains a single species, Owl's spiny rat (Carterodon sulcidens), which is found in Brazil. The species has evolved characteristics such as a heightened ability to dig in open grasslands during times of environmental change. Phylogenetic work treats the genus Carterodon as the sister group to the family Capromyidae, the hutias, and this clade shares evolutionary affinities with some genera of spiny rats belonging to the subfamily Euryzygomatomyinae. Analyses of craniodental characters have proposed an association of Carterodon with the genera Clyomys and Euryzygomatomys, although molecular data suggest that this assemblage of fossorial genera is polyphyletic, so its relationships are not fully settled.