The Paca (Agouti paca) is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from East- Central Mexico to ParaguayThe Republic of Paraguay is a landlocked republic in South America. Lying on both banks of the Paraguay River, it borders Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the northeast and Bolivia to the northwest. The name "Paraguay" is derived from the G. It is called paca in most of its range, but tepezcuintle in Mexico.
There is much confusion in the nomenclature of this and related species; see agoutiThe word Agouti has the following possible meanings: A kind of rodent: Any of the rodents popularly called Agouti or Common Agouti (genus Dasyprocta ; Any rodent of the genus Agouti (also called Cuniculus ; mainly Agouti paca the Paca; Any rodent of the f. In particular, the popular term agouti or common agouti normally refers to species of the distinct Dasyprocta genus (such as the BrazilThis article is about Brazil, the country. For other article subjects named Brazil see Brazil (disambiguation). The Federative Republic of Brazil Republica Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America.ian cotiaCotia is a city in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2003 is 161,782, its density is 499. 33/kmē and the area is 324 kmē. North Carapicuiba, Itapevi, Jandira, Osasco West Vargem Grande Paulista, Sao Roque Cotia East Itapecerica da Serra,, Dasyprocta punctata). Sometimes the word agouti is also used for the whole family Dasyproctidae, which, besides the Paca and common agoutis, includes also the acouchiMyoprocta acouchy ''Myoprocta exilis The Acouchis (genus Myoprocta are rodents belonging to the Dasyproctidae family. They are generally smaller than the Common Agoutis and have a very short tail (5 to 7 cm), while the Common Agoutis lack a tail. For thiss (Myoprocta). To avoid misunderstandings, some authors prefer to use Cuniculus instead of Agouti as the Paca's genus.
1 Description
The paca has coarse fur without underfur, dark brown to black on the upper body and white or yellowish on the underbelly. It usually has three to five rows of white spots along its sides, against a dark grey background. It has thick strong legs, with four digits in the forefeet and five in the hind feet (the first and fifth are reduced); the nails function as hooves. The tail is short and hairless. The zygomatic arch is expanded laterally and dorsally and is used as a resonating chamber - a unique feature among mammals.
An adult paca weights between 6 and 12 kg, which makes it the second-largest rodent species (after the CapybaraThe capybara Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris is the largest of living rodents (the now extinct rodent Phoberomys pattersoni was significantly bigger. They are native to most of the tropical and temperate parts of South America east of the Andes, always near wat). It has two litters per year, each having usually one young, sometimes two; gestation lasts 115120 days. Pacas are sexually mature at about 1 year.
