Central American agouti
Central American agouti | |
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Suchitepéquez Department, Guatemala | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Dasyproctidae |
Genus: | Dasyprocta |
Species: | D. punctata
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Binomial name | |
Dasyprocta punctata J. E. Gray, 1842
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The Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) is a
Though some populations are reduced due to hunting and deforestation, large populations remain[3] 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.[5]
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][6] 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][6] 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
References
- ^ . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ OCLC 62265494.
- ^ ISBN 0-226-20721-8
- ISBN 9780643099166
- ^ "Scientists studied the DNA of 240 different animals. Here are some of the quirkiest findings". www.wbur.org.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-506400-3
- ^ Less, E.; Ojeda, R.; Bidau, C.; Timm, T.; Samudio, R. & Emmons, L. (2008). "Dasyprocta punctata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
External links
- Decker, J. 2000. "Dasyprocta punctata", Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 26, 2008