Plains Vizcachas

Part I: Evolutionary History.- Chapter 1: Two hundred years of studies on plains vizcachas.- Chapter 2: Pan-Chinchillidae, a once diverse clade.- Chapter 3: The fossil record of Lagostomus: a 10 million years story.- Chapter 4: Morphological variation in the cranium of Lagostomus maximus along its geographic distribution.- Chapter 5: Genetic variation across Lagostomus maximus' geographical distribution in Argentina.- Chapter 6: The chancy history of a supposedly vanished South American rodent, Lagostomus crassus, with remarks on recent extinctions in caviomorphs.- Chapter 7: Use of the vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) by indigenous societies in the Pampas ecoregion (Argentina).- Chapter 8: From pest to vulnerable species: combining ecological and behavioural knowledge for the conservation and management of Lagostomus maximus.- Chapter 9: Plains vizcacha endoparasites: an exploration of diversity, health and ecology.- Part II: Morphology, Development and Physiology.- Chapter 10: Skull ontogeny and sexual dimorphism.- Chapter 11: Morphophysiological characteristics of the female reproductive system.- Chapter 12: Poly-implantation and embryonic death.- Chapter 13: Placentation and placenta.- Chapter 14: Neuroanatomy and brain histological atlas of the South American plains vizcacha.- Chapter 15: Post-implantation embryo development in the South American plains vizcacha, Lagostomus maximus (Rodentia, Caviomorpha).- Chapter 16: Reproductive neuroendocrinology of the female South American plains vizcacha, Lagostomus maximus.- Chapter 17: Synchronization of the pineal and pituitary morphophysiology by photoperiodic environmental signals.- Chapter 18: Histological changes in the male reproductive system during the annual reproductive cycle.- Chapter 19: Histological and histochemical characteristics of the intestinal tract: Morpho-functional specializations to herbivory.

Luciano Luis Rasia is a PhD in Natural Sciences. He is Assistant Researcher of CONICET (National Scientific and Technical Research Council) since 2019, working at the Vertebrate Paleontology Division of the Museo de La Plata, Argentina. He is a vertebrate paleontologist specialized in caviomorph rodents. In his PhD dissertation he studied the extinct chinchillids of Argentina. Now he is working mainly with extinct chinchillioids, with focus in the evolution, paleoecology, paleobiogeography and biostratigraphy of the group. He has collaborated in the study of many Cenozoic faunas of Argentina. He has been teaching Compared Anatomy at the Faculty of Natural Sciences (FCNYM - UNLP) since 2011.

Claudio Gustavo Barbeito is a PhD in Veterinary Sciences. He is Principal Researcher of CONICET (National Scientific and Technical Research Council), and his research focuses on the placenta and comparative placentation at the Laboratory of Histology and Descriptive, Experimental and Comparative Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata (FCV-UNLP). He is a Full Professor in Histology, Cellular Biology, Developmental Biology and General Pathology at FCV-UNLP.Francisco Acuña is a PhD in Veterinary Sciences. He is Assistant Researcher of CONICET (National Scientific and Technical Research Council), and his research focuses on reproductive and developmental biology at the Laboratory of Histology and Descriptive, Experimental and Comparative Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata (FCV-UNLP). He teaches Histology, Cellular Biology, Developmental Biology, and General Pathology at FCV-UNLP.