[4] The genus name Octodon comes from the Latin octo, eight, with reference to their teeth, molars and premolars having the shape of the number 8.

The coat color is grayish, or dull with orange highlights, and turns creamy yellow on the belly.

The lower limbs are suitable for jumping, with pads on the soles of the paws that prevent slipping.

This provides them with a nutritional supplement thanks to the microbial fermentation that takes place in the cecum and optimizes the digestion of fibrous foods.

[6] These social animals dig a burrow made of a series of tunnels where they live in small to large groups composed of both males and females.