Central American agouti
| Central American agouti | |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Dasyproctidae |
| Genus: | Dasyprocta |
| Species: |
D. punctata
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| Binomial name | |
| Dasyprocta punctata (Gray, 1842)
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The Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae.[2] 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),[3] but a major review of the geographic variation is necessary.[2] The Central American agouti has also been introduced to Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica, Hispaniola and the Cayman Islands.[4][2]
Though some populations are reduced due to hunting and deforestation, large populations remain[3] and it is not considered threatened.[1]
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.[3][5] 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.[3][5] In western Colombia and Ecuador some have tawny foreparts and yellowish to the rump.[3] 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.[3]
Behavior
Like other agoutis, Central American agoutis are diurnal and live in monogamous pairs.[5] They mainly feed on fruits and seeds, and are important seed dispersers.[1]
References
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Wikispecies has information related to: Central American Agouti |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Less, E., Ojeda, R., Bidau, C., Timm, T., Samudio, R. & Emmons, L. (2008). Dasyprocta punctata. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Emmons, L. H. (1997). Neotropical Rainforest Mammals. Pp. 227-229. 2nd edition. ISBN 0-226-20721-8
- ↑ Long, J. L. (2003). Introduced Mammals of the World: Their History, Distribution and Influence. Csiro Publishing, Collingwood, Australia. ISBN 9780643099166
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Reid, F. A. (1997). Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico. Pp. 243-244. ISBN 0-19-506400-3
External links
- Infonatura
- Decker, J. 2000. "Dasyprocta punctata", Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 26, 2008
