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 herbivorous, often feeding on ripe fruit that falls from trees.
They live in burrows, and, like squirrels, 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 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 and flat-crowned.
Classification
Fossil taxa follow McKenna and Bell, with modifications following Kramarz.
Family Dasyproctidae
Genus †Alloiomys
Genus †Australoprocta
Genus †Branisamys
Genus †Incamys
Genus †Neoreomys
Genus †Megastus
Genus †Palmiramys
Genus Dasyprocta
Azara's agouti, D. azarae
Coiban agouti, D. coibae
Crested agouti, D. cristata
Black agouti, D. fuliginosa
Orinoco agouti, D. guamara
Kalinowski's agouti, D. kalinowskii
Red-rumped agouti, D. leporina
Mexican agouti, D. mexicana
Black-rumped agouti, D. prymnolopha
Central American agouti, D. punctata
Ruatan Island agouti, D. ruatanica
Genus Myoprocta
Green acouchi, M. pratti
Red acouchi, M. acouchy
The pacas (genus Cuniculus) are placed by some authorities in Dasyproctidae, but molecular studies have demonstrated they do not form a monophyletic 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
