chinchilla

plural chinchillas

1. countableA small, crepuscular rodent of the genus Chinchilla, native to the Andes Mountains, prized for their very soft fur and often kept as pets.

   It's important to put a lot of thought into owning a chinchilla since they have a considerably long lifespan of 10 to 20 years. Chinchillas are most widely known for their exceptional fur coat.

   2004, Jamie Huggins, Chinchillas - from Pets to Profession, page 3

   2 more examples

   Chinchillas inhabit high elevations (3,000–5,000m) of the Chilean Andes Mountains. The chinchillas kept as pet or research animals in North America are all descendents^([sic]) of 13 founders wild caught in 1927.

   2008, Jeff Wyatt, “Chapter 17: Anesthesia and Analgesia in Other Mammals”, in Richard E. Fish, Marilyn J. Brown, Peggy J. Danneman, Alicia Z. Karas, editors, Anesthesia and Analgesia in Laboratory Animals, page 469

   Chinchillas are long-lived rodents that are native to South America, primarily Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. The chinchilla is a hystricomorph (hedgehoglike) rodent closely related to guinea pigs, porcupines, and agoutis (Hrapkiewicz et al., 1998).

   2009, Ron E. Banks, Julie M. Sharp, Sonia D. Doss, Deborah A. Vanderford, Exotic Small Mammal Care and Husbandry, page 125

2. uncountableThe fur of a chinchilla, used for clothing.
3. countableuncountableA variety of Persian cat with white fur and green eyes.

plural Chinchillas

1. A surname from Spanish.