Dasyproctidae (from Ancient Greek δασύς (), meaning "hairy", and πρωκτός (), meaning "anus") 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 Orange agouti, D. croconota Black agouti, D. fuliginosa Orinoco agouti, D. guamara Iack's agouti, D. iacki 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 Brown agouti, D. variegata 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