Agouti

This article is about the rodent genus Dasyprocta. For agouta, see Hispaniolan solenodon. For other uses, see Agouti (disambiguation).

Agouti
Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Dasyproctidae
Genus: Dasyprocta
Illiger, 1811
Type species
Mus aguti[1]
Species

See text

The agouti (/əˈɡuːtiː/ ⓘ, ə-GOO-tee) or common agouti is many of several rodent species of the genus Dasyprocta. They are native to Middle America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced elsewhere in the West Indies.[1] They are related to guinea pigs and look quite similar, but they are larger and have longer legs. The species vary considerably in colour, being brown, reddish, dull orange, greyish, or blackish, but typically with lighter underparts. Their bodies are covered with coarse hair, which is raised when alarmed. They weigh 2.4–6 kg (5.3–13.2 lb) and are 40.5–76 cm (15.9–29.9 in) in length, with short, hairless tails.[2]

The related pacas were formerly included in genus Agouti, but these animals were reclassified in 1998 as genus Cuniculus.[3]

The Spanish term is agutí. In Mexico, the agouti is called the sereque.[4] In Panama, it is known as the ñeque[5] and in eastern Ecuador, as the guatusa.[6]

Red-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta leporina)
  1. ^ a b Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Emmons, L. H. (1997). Neotropical Rainforest Mammals. Pp. 226-230. 2nd edition. ISBN 0-226-20721-8
  3. ^ Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Genus Cuniculus". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  4. ^ "What's in a name? Sereque or agouti, like a rose, still smells the same". Pelican Free Press. 2010-06-30. Archived from the original on 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  5. ^ "Smithsonian Institution of Tropical Studies".
  6. ^ "Astrocaryum urostachys Burret, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 35: 151 (1934)". Palmweb: Palms of the World Online. Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum. 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2022.