Dasyproctidae is a family of large

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

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, comprising the

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

acouchi The acouchis (genus ''Myoprocta'') are rodents belonging to the family Dasyproctidae from the Amazon basin. They are generally smaller than agoutis and have very short tails (5 to 7 cm), while agoutis lack tails. For this reason the acouchi ...

s. Their fur is a reddish or dark colour above, with a paler underside. They are

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

, often feeding on ripe

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

that falls from trees. They live in burrows, and, like

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

s, will bury some of their food for later use. Dasyproctids exist in Central and South America, which are the tropical parts of the New World. The fossil record of this family can be traced back to the Late Oligocene (

Deseadan The Deseadan () age is a period of geologic time (29.0–21.0 Ma) within the Oligocene epoch of the Paleogene to the Early Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification of South America. It follows the Tingu ...

in the SALMA classification). As with all rodents, members of this family have incisors, pre-molars, and molars, but no canines. The cheek teeth are

hypsodont Hypsodont is a pattern of dentition characterized by with high crowns, providing extra material for wear and tear. Some examples of animals with hypsodont dentition are cows and horses; all animals that feed on gritty, fibrous material. The oppos ...

and flat-crowned.

Classification

Fossil taxa follow McKenna and Bell, with modifications following Kramarz. * Family Dasyproctidae ** Genus †'' Alloiomys'' ** Genus †''

Australoprocta ''Australoprocta'' is an extinct genus of dasyproctid rodent that lived during the Early Miocene of what is now Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area ...

'' ** Genus †'' Branisamys'' ** Genus †''

Incamys ''Incamys'' is an extinct genus of chinchillid rodent that lived during the Late Oligocene (Deseadan) in what is now South America. Fossils of this genus have been found in the Salla Formation of Bolivia and the Agua de la Piedra and Sarmiento ...

'' ** Genus †'' Neoreomys'' ** Genus †'' Megastus'' ** Genus †'' Palmiramys'' ** Genus '' Dasyprocta'' ***

Azara's agouti Azara's agouti (''Dasyprocta azarae'') is an agouti species from 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 pal ...

, ''D. azarae'' ***

Coiban agouti The Coiban agouti (''Dasyprocta coibae'') is a species of rodent in the family Dasyproctidae. It is endemic to the island of Coiba (Panama) and resembles the more widespread Central American agouti. It is threatened by habitat loss Habita ...

, ''D. coibae'' ***

Crested agouti The crested agouti (''Dasyprocta cristata'') is a species of rodent in the family Dasyproctidae. Found in Guyana and Suriname. Its taxonomic status is uncertain and it may be synonymous with '' Dasyprocta leporina'', leading the IUCN The Int ...

, ''D. cristata'' ***

Black agouti The black agouti (''Dasyprocta fuliginosa'') is a South American species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae. Distribution and habitat It is found in the northwestern Amazon in southern Venezuela, eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, wester ...

, ''D. fuliginosa'' ***

Orinoco agouti The Orinoco agouti (''Dasyprocta guamara'') is a species of rodent in the family Dasyproctidae. It is endemic to Delta Amacuro in Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of ...

, ''D. guamara'' *** Kalinowski's agouti, ''D. kalinowskii'' ***

Red-rumped agouti The red-rumped agouti (''Dasyprocta leporina''), also known as the golden-rumped agouti, orange-rumped agouti or Brazilian agouti, is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae. Distribution It is native to northeastern South America, ma ...

, ''D. leporina'' ***

Mexican agouti The Mexican agouti, (''Dasyprocta mexicana)'', also known as the Mexican black agouti, is a species of rodent in the genus '' Dasyprocta''. This species was first discovered in 1860 in Veracruz, Mexico and described by Henri Louis Frédéric de S ...

, ''D. mexicana'' ***

Black-rumped agouti The black-rumped agouti (''Dasyprocta prymnolopha'') is an agouti species from the family Dasyproctidae. It is endemic to Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the worl ...

, ''D. prymnolopha'' ***

Central American agouti The Central American agouti (''Dasyprocta punctata'') is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae. The main portion of its range is from Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula (southern Mexico), through Central America, to northwestern Ecuad ...

, ''D. punctata'' ***

Ruatan Island agouti The Ruatan Island agouti (''Dasyprocta ruatanica''), also called the Roatán Island agouti, is a species of agouti in the family Dasyproctidae. It is endemic to the island of Roatán, off the north coast of Honduras. Taxonomy There are no known s ...

, ''D. ruatanica'' ** Genus '' Myoprocta'' *** Green acouchi, ''M. pratti'' *** Red acouchi, ''M. acouchy'' The

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 (genus ''Cuniculus'') are placed by some authorities in Dasyproctidae, but molecular studies have demonstrated they do not form a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

group.

References

External links

Central American agouti at Smithsonian

Dasyproctidae at Animaldiversity.org

2014 - Figueira et al. - Carrion consumption by Dasyprocta leporina (Rodentia: Dasyproctidae) and a review of meat use by agoutis
{{Authority control Caviomorpha Rodent families Extant Chattian first appearances Mammals described in 1825