View source for Agouti

{{Short description|Genus of mammals}}
{{About|the rodent genus ''Dasyprocta''|agouta|Hispaniolan solenodon|other uses}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Agouti_Tulum_Take_2.jpg
| image_caption = [[Central American agouti]] (''Dasyprocta punctata'') in Tulum, Mexico.
| taxon = Dasyprocta
| authority = [[Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger|Illiger]], 1811
| type_species = ''[[Dasyprocta leporina|Mus aguti]]''<ref name=MSW3a>{{MSW3|id=13400224}}</ref>
| type_species_authority = [[Linnaeus]], [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|1766]]<br /> (=''Mus leporinus'' Linnaeus, [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision = See text
}}

The '''agouti''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|g|uː|t|iː|audio=en-us-agouti.oga}}, {{respell|ə|GOO|tee}}) or '''common agouti''' is any of several [[rodent]] species of the [[genus]] '''''Dasyprocta''''', from [[Ancient Greek]] δασύς (''dasús''), meaning "hair", and πρωκτός (''prōktós''), meaning "anus". They are native to [[Central America]], northern and central [[South America]], and the southern [[Lesser Antilles]]. Some species have also been [[Introduced species|introduced]] elsewhere in the [[West Indies]].<ref name = MSW3a/> They are related to [[guinea pig]]s 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 {{convert|2.4|-|6|kg|abbr=on}} and are {{convert|40.5|-|76|cm|abbr=on}} in length, with short, hairless tails.<ref>Emmons, L. H. (1997). ''Neotropical Rainforest Mammals.'' Pp. 226–230. 2nd edition. {{ISBN|0-226-20721-8}}</ref>

The related [[paca]]s were formerly included in genus ''Agouti'', but these animals were reclassified in 1998 as genus ''Cuniculus''.<ref name = MSW3b>{{MSW3 Hystricognathi | id = 13400269 | pages = | heading = Genus ''Cuniculus''}}</ref>

The Spanish term is ''agutí.'' In Mexico, the agouti is called the ''{{Wikt-lang|es|sereque}}''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pelicanfreepress.com/whats-in-a-name-sereque-or-agouti-like-a-rose-still-smells-the-same/|title=What's in a name? Sereque or agouti, like a rose, still smells the same|publisher=Pelican Free Press|date=2010-06-30|access-date=2016-09-29|archive-date=2016-09-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901050257/http://pelicanfreepress.com/whats-in-a-name-sereque-or-agouti-like-a-rose-still-smells-the-same/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[Panama]], it is known as the ''{{Wikt-lang|es|ñeque}}''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stri.si.edu/espanol/visitenos/barro_colorado/que_hay_alli.php|title=Smithsonian Institution of Tropical Studies}}</ref> and in eastern [[Ecuador]], as the ''{{Wikt-lang|es|guatusa}}''.<ref name=palmweb>{{cite web |url=https://palmweb.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/941668af-f8ba-4fbc-8826-97943b00acd8 |title=''Astrocaryum urostachys'' Burret, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 35: 151 (1934) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2011 |website=Palmweb: Palms of the World Online |publisher=[[Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum]] |access-date=30 January 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Dasyprocta leporina (Guyane).jpg|thumb|Red-rumped agouti ''(Dasyprocta leporina)'']]

==Etymology==
The name "agouti" is derived from either [[Guarani language|Guarani]] or [[Tupi language|Tupi]], both South American indigenous languages, in which the name is written as ''akuti''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simpson |first1=George Gaylord |title=Vernacular Names of South American Mammals |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |date=February 1941 |volume=22 |issue=1 |page=6 |doi=10.2307/1374677|jstor=1374677 }}</ref> The Portuguese term for these animals, ''cutia'', is derived from this original naming.

==Description==
[[File:Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) Los Tarrales.jpg|thumb|left|A Central American agouti with food.]]
Agoutis have five toes on their front feet and three toes on their hind feet; the first toe is very small. The tail is very short or nonexistent and hairless. The [[Molar (tooth)|molar]] teeth have cylindrical crowns, with several islands and a single lateral fold of [[Tooth enamel|enamel]]. Agoutis may grow to be up to {{convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|4|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight. Most species are brown on their backs and whitish or buff on their bellies; the fur may have a glossy appearance and then glimmers in an orange colour. Reports differ as to whether they are [[Diurnality|diurnal]] or [[Nocturnality|nocturnal]] animals.<ref name="f&w">{{cite book|title=The Funk & Wagnalls Wildlife Encyclopedia|author1=Burton, Maurice  |author2=Burton, Robert|year=1974|publisher=Funk and Wagnalls|volume=1|location=New York, N.Y.|oclc=20316938}}</ref>

===Behaviour and habits===
In the wild, they are shy animals and flee from humans, while in captivity they may become trusting. In [[Trinidad]], they are renowned for being very fast runners, able to keep hunting dogs occupied with chasing them for hours.<ref>{{Cite book
 | last = Mendes | first = John
 | year = 1986
 | title = Cote ce Cote la: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary | page= 2
 | publisher = Superb Inc | location = [[Arima]], Trinidad
 | asin = B000EVO8JE}}</ref>

Agoutis are found in forested and wooded areas in Central and South America. Their habitats include [[rainforest]]s, [[savanna]]s, and cultivated fields. They conceal themselves at night in hollow tree trunks or in burrows among roots. Active and graceful in their movements, their pace is either a kind of trot or a series of springs following one another so rapidly as to look like a gallop. They take readily to water, in which they swim well.

When feeding, agoutis sit on their hind legs and hold food between their forepaws. They may gather in groups of up to 100 to feed.<ref name="f&w"/> They eat fallen fruit, leaves and roots, although they may sometimes climb trees to eat green fruit.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} They hoard food in small, buried stores. They sometimes eat the eggs of ground-nesting birds and even shellfish on the seashore. They may cause damage to [[sugarcane]] and [[banana]] plantations. They are regarded as one of the few species (along with [[macaw]]s) that can open [[Brazil nut]]s without tools, mainly thanks to their strength and exceptionally sharp teeth. In southern Brazil, their main source of energy is the nut of ''[[Araucaria angustifolia]]''.

==Breeding==
Agoutis give birth to litters of two to four young (pups) after a [[gestation]] period of three months. Some species have two litters a year in May and October, while others breed year round. The pups are born in burrows lined with leaves, roots and hair. They are well developed at birth and may be up and eating within an hour. Fathers are barred from the nest while the young are very small, but the parents [[pair bond]] for the rest of their lives. They can live for as long as 20 years, a remarkably long time for a rodent.<ref name="f&w"/>

==Species==
*[[Azara's agouti]], ''Dasyprocta azarae''
*[[Coiban agouti]], ''Dasyprocta coibae''
*[[Crested agouti]], ''Dasyprocta cristata''
*[[Black agouti]], ''Dasyprocta fuliginosa''
*[[Orinoco agouti]], ''Dasyprocta guamara''
*[[Kalinowski's agouti]], ''Dasyprocta kalinowskii''
*[[Red-rumped agouti]], ''Dasyprocta leporina''
*[[Mexican agouti]], ''Dasyprocta mexicana''
*[[Black-rumped agouti]], ''Dasyprocta prymnolopha''
*[[Central American agouti]], ''Dasyprocta punctata''
*[[Ruatan Island agouti]], ''Dasyprocta ruatanica''
*[[Brown agouti]], ''Dasyprocta variegata'' (previously lumped with ''D. punctata'')

==See also==
* [[Paca]]
* [[Lowland paca]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikispecies|Dasyprocta|Common agouti}}
* [http://www.mexiconewsnetwork.com/adventure/sereque-mexico/ Sereque: The Cutest Mexican Rodent You’ll Ever Meet. Mexico News Network.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606154513/http://www.mexiconewsnetwork.com/adventure/sereque-mexico/ |date=2017-06-06 }}
*[http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/rodents/agouti_azaras.html Video, photos and information of Azara's agouti]
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Agouti |short=x}}
*{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Dasyprocta |short=x}}

{{Dasyproctidae nav}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q193966}}

[[Category:Dasyprocta| ]]
[[Category:Dasyproctidae]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger]]
[[Category:Rodents]]