h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Chinchillas - A55871742
Author: 2legs --- I anoint my feet with soya sauce, so that you do not have to.. The (new improved) Origional Uber Floostrel now with added Baconality. - U169793

I Wrote this as part one in a series all about chinchillas. I've not wroten the other ones yet though, the next will probably be on 'keeping a chinchilla as a pet', or some such.
Its all been researched off of this ere internet thing, but I've used multiple sites so hopefully I've avoided plagerising any single source too heavily. There seems to be some confussion on the net, even with more reliable sources esp about some of the stuff to do with species classification... but I've tried not to complicate the article too much, but have included somethign in on these descrepancies where I found them.

I'm going to look for edited guide entrys to link to from this a bit later on, so I'll be adding them as I find them...

Anyone who suggests that the only reason I wrote this was just to be able to get a picture of a chinchilla I could put on my PS and alter the 'alt' text to say 'greg the chinchilla', is... well... err yeh.

Looks good.

mini

2legs, if that was the sole prupose, I applaud you for your stubborn motivation

Right, the nitty gritty. i hope you dont mind me getting right to the point?

* At the beginning, you mention that there are three species. Perhaps name them here? It doesn't sound quite complete... Or move the 'species' bullet point up to here, not sure, whichever works best.

* 3rd paragraph, you've written 'sort' when you meant 'sought'

* At the start of the description paragraph you mention the length but not whether this is in inclusive or exclusive of the tail. You also swap between inches and centimeters here. Perhaps having one or the other or both, not a mix would be better?

* In the names of the species section you're using capitals for some reason for animal, perhaps for future links? Anyway, you have capitalised IS as well, I dont know if you meant to...

* In the History section, you have missed the T off the start of Travelled. you also put a comma between chinchillas and 'and' which I dont think needs to be there when talking about the natives wearing them.

* Footnote 1 has a single bracket in it, I think it's a close bracket.

* Plant name Puya Bertroniana... you have missed the capital I assume should be on the second word?

* Short-tailed chinchilla. you have only one bracket in the title.

* 'Lanigera' has a hyphen after it, I dont think it should be there.

* Discussing a fourth chinchilla species, you have spelled it as in the forth of firth...

* you have spelled 'bred' as 'bread'.

and lastly, you repeat yourself when discussing the lineage of the domesticated chinchilla... You say pretty much the same thing tice, once in discussion of the species and once in your summing up at the end. I would pick just one.

Erm, is that alright? I dont want to be nasty but you know, if you're going to do a job with an ulterior motive in mind, you may as well do it properly!

Oh yeah you need a section on eating a chinchilla

I think that should come in the 'caring for' section. You should cover how to properly pay your respects to your chinchilla, dead and alive. And when dead, it has to be through the medium of good cooking!

so, dearly beloved, as we roast our dearly departed friend, lettuce remember on the good times we had with our companiaon, as we eat their roasted mortal body (I could have been a Vicar don't you thinkP)?
Just added in some links I'll try address the points you've raised in a moment.

Yes. I relaly am that stuborn, I had* to go to the whole length of writing and researching this entry, and now getting it through PR just so I can get a chinchilla pic to put on my PS

Hrm, shall I start a campaign for non-sequiteur blobs I wonder...

can someone talk to mala and tell her not to put on a picture of a chinchilla jsut for spite

That's my general theory but I think we'll have to go higher than Mala alone

there should so be a smiley just for that but the coding should be

sort of with a and a bit of but with the coding you wrote

Thank you 2legs! What a pleasure to read!

I had some friends who kept some a long time ago, but never really knew anything about them until now.



oh and btw, in post 3, Robyn suggests capitalising the second word in a plant name. Conventions only capitalise the first of one of a latin plant name. So you are correct as you wrote it.


I'm looking forward to your next piece already!

I didn't know that!

'Convention on International Trade of Endangered Animals'

Shouldn't that be Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (which is CITES)

... and is there a reason for trhe captals here?...

'The ANIMAL IS named after the Chincha Indians, who used THE ANIMALS as a source of both food and clothing.'

Nice one, 2legs

So it means 'Little Chincha'? I'll have to realign my outlook on life. I was always led to believe that the Peruvians used to skin them, pack the skins with Andean snow then tie them around the lower part of their face.

Balls..... a lot of it was all in caps... as I didn't notice the caps lock was on... thought I'd gotten rid of it all though

NO blob? no chinchilla pic = no finished guide entry
Now, some people... might... want to say that this is blackmail... but blackmail is such a dirty word... I prefer bribery... or Samantha... much nicer words...

can't decidde what to write for my next article; I was planning on doing the keeping chins as pets one... but in looking for links for this, I kept noticing other articles that weren't* there to link to... E.\G., there isn't an edited article on Peru, but there are several unedited entrys, and quite a few that came up obviously connected to Peru that could link with a Peru article... I'd have to mention paddington bear wouldn't i?: that oughta mean it'd get a Paddington bear pic

I'm off this weekend coming for a week or so, plan on taking enough matterial with me to at least get a decent rough draft of the chins as pets article done... but I'll try do as much to this one as I can by the time I go away...

hmm PEOPLE do we mind not having this guide entry in return for 2legs not having his pic?
Now i have to go hide as 2legs spends his week hunting for me
how about we let u have your picture if you write a full entry about how to eat chinchillas?

... and following on from what lanza has said (re Linnean nomenclature), there is this section to deal with:



i.e. they s/b Chinchilla brevicaudata etc etc

(Also, I think they should be italicised - if this is the convention we've been using on hootoo )

Fascinating Entry, 2legs

... and following up what lanza said (concerning Linnean nomenclature) there is this section to deal with:



i.e. they s/b Chinchilla brevicaudata etc etc

(Also, I think they should be italicised - if this is the convention we've been using on hootoo )

Fascinating Entry, 2legs