Terrestrial animal Terrestrial animal The term terrestrial is typically applied for species that live primarily on the ground, in contrast to arboreal species, which live primarily in trees. There are other less common terms that apply to specific groups of terrestrial animals: Terrestrial invasion is one of the most important events in the history of life. Terrestrial lineages evolved in several animal phyla, among which vertebrates, arthropods, and mollusks are representatives of more successful groups of terrestrial animals. Terrestrial animals do not form a unified clade; rather, they share only the fact that they live on land. The transition from an aquatic
Asháninka arboreal chinchilla rat and lips, large claws, and a line of white fur running down its head. It is in length, with a tail of . It weighs . Ashaninka arboreal chinchilla rats live in dwarf forest and are hunted by long-tailed weasels. When described, it was placed in the family Abrocomidae, but was considered different enough from existing species for the creation of the genus "Cuscomys". Since then, the Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat ("Cuscomys oblativus"), a species of chinchilla rats originally placed in the genus "Abrocoma", has been shown to be a member of "Cuscomys". Although it was considered extinct by