OCTODON, the generic name for a small South American rodent mammal (Octodon degus) locally known as the degu. It is the type of the family Octodontidae, the members of which — collectively termed octodonts — are exclusively Central and South American. Several of them, such as Echinomys and Loncheres, are rat-like creatures with spiny or bristly fur (see Rodentia).