The acouchis (genus ''Myoprocta'') are

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s belonging to the family

Dasyproctidae Dasyproctidae is a family of large South American rodents, comprising the agoutis and acouchis. Their fur is a reddish or dark colour above, with a paler underside. They are herbivore, herbivorous, often feeding on ripe fruit that falls from tree ...

from the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

. They are generally smaller than

agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Central America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced else ...

s and have very short tails (5 to 7 cm), while agoutis lack tails. For this reason the acouchis are also called tailed agoutis. The two species – the red acouchi (''M. acouchy'') in

the Guianas The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch, and French Guiana respectiv ...

of Amazonia and nearby parts of Brazil, and the green acouchi (''M. pratti'') in western Amazonia - differ in coloration and other characteristics. The

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

of the genus has historically been confused, with some authors applying the name ''M. acouchy'' to the green acouchi, in which case the red acouchi is called ''M. exilis''. Although this issue has now been resolved, other problems remain; in particular, the green acouchi may include more than one species. They are coloured brown or greenish, but with bright orange or red parts on their heads. Often, acouchis live in riverbanks, where they dig holes. Like the common agoutis, but unlike the much larger

paca A paca ia a rodent in South and Central America. Paca or PACA may also refer to: People * William Paca (1740–1799), a Founding Father of the United States * Paca Blanco (Francisca Blanco Díaz, born 1949), Spanish activist * Paca Navas (Franc ...

s, acouchis are active at day and feed on fruit. Acouchis depend on their tails to convey their willingness and readiness to mate. Confident, ready males will hold their tails erect and begin to wag them, whereas the more timid, but still aroused, males will wag their tails in a downward position. Females will signal their interest by erecting their tails while simultaneously arching their backs downward. The litter size is generally two.

References

Literature cited

*Voss, R.S., Lunde, D.P. & Simmons, N.B. 2001. Mammals of Paracou, French Guiana: a Neotropical lowland rainforest fauna. Part 2. Nonvolant species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 263:1-236. {{Taxonbar, from=Q342190 Fauna of the Amazon Dasyproctidae Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas