Central American agouti

Short description: Species of rodent

Central American agouti

in Ecuador

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]

CITES Appendix III (CITES)[2]

Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Mammalia
Order:  | Rodentia
Family:  | Dasyproctidae
Genus:  | Dasyprocta
Species:  |

D. punctata

Binomial name
Dasyprocta punctata

J. E. Gray, 1842

The Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae.[3] The main portion of its range is from Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula (southern Mexico), through Central America, to northwestern Ecuador, Colombia and far western Venezuela. A highly disjunct population is found in southeastern Peru, far southwestern Brazil, Bolivia, western Paraguay and far northwestern Argentina. The disjunct population has been treated as a separate species, the brown agouti (Dasyprocta variegata),[4] but a major review of the geographic variation is necessary.[3] The Central American agouti has also been introduced to Cuba and the Cayman Islands.[3][5]

Though some populations are reduced due to hunting and deforestation, large populations remain[4] and it is not considered threatened.[1]

In an analysis of 240 species, agoutis came in fourth place for best sense of smell; better than dogs, which actually came out average. Their snouts are packed full of olfactory receptors.[6]

## Contents

* 1 Appearance
* 2 Behavior
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## Appearance

Central American agoutis from the main part of their range weigh 3–4.2 kg (6.6–9.3 lb) and are typically reddish, orange or yellowish grizzled with black.[4][7] In northern Colombia, western Venezuela, and on the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica and Panama the foreparts are brownish or blackish grizzled with tawny or olivaceous, the mid-body is orange, and the rump is black or cream.[4][7] In western Colombia and Ecuador some have tawny foreparts and yellowish to the rump.[4] Agoutis from the disjunct southern population (Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina) which sometimes are treated as a separate species, Dasyprocta variegata, weigh 3–5.2 kg (6.6–11.5 lb) and are grizzled brown, yellowish and black, or grizzled black and orange.[4]

* Error creating thumbnail:

in Ecuador

* in Guatemala

* searching for food

searching for food

## Behavior

Like other agoutis, Central American agoutis are diurnal and live in monogamous pairs.[7] They mainly feed on fruits and seeds, and are important seed dispersers.[1]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Emmons, L. (2016). "Dasyprocta punctata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T89497686A78319610.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/89497686/78319610. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
2. ↑ Template:Cite Species+
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Infraorder Hystricognathi". in Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1558. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=13400244.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Emmons, L. H. (1997). Neotropical Rainforest Mammals. Pp. 227–229. 2nd edition. ISBN 0-226-20721-8
5. ↑ Long, J. L. (2003). Introduced Mammals of the World: Their History, Distribution and Influence. Csiro Publishing, Collingwood, Australia. ISBN 9780643099166
6. ↑ "Scientists studied the DNA of 240 different animals. Here are some of the quirkiest findings" (in en). www.wbur.org. https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/05/02/animal-study-zoonomia-project-dna-broad-institute-mit-harvard-newsletter.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Reid, F. A. (1997). Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico. Pp. 243–244. ISBN 0-19-506400-3

## External links

| Wikispecies has information related to Central American Agouti

|

* Decker, J. 2000. "Dasyprocta punctata", Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 26, 2008

Template:Dasyproctidae nav Wikidata ☰ Q1762247 entry

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central American agouti. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Biology:Central_American_agouti&oldid=4253995"