Agouti ( Dasyprocta )

Agouti [əgu′ti]

A rodent native to South American, Central American and West Indies' forests of the genus Dasyprocta. It is about 15 inches in length with four hoofed toes on the front feet and three on the hind. It has practically no tail. The hair is soft brown in color. It diet consists of roots, stems, leaves and blossoms of green plants.

It can run swiftly and usually able to escape predators either by flight or hiding in its burrow. The agouti typically delivers two litters per year with two or more young per litter.

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom	Animalia – Animal, animals
Phylum	Chordata – chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata – vertebrates
Class	Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758 – mammals
Subclass	Theria Parker and Haswell, 1897
Infraclass	Eutheria Gill, 1872
Order	Rodentia Bowdich, 1821 – rodents
Suborder	Hystricognatha Woods, 1976
Infraorder	Hystricognathi Brandt, 1855 – hystricognath rodents
Family	Dasyproctidae Bonaparte, 1838
Genus	Dasyprocta Illiger, 1811
Direct Children:
Species	Dasyprocta azarae Lichtenstein, 1823 – Azara's Agouti
Species	Dasyprocta coibae Thomas, 1902 – Coiban Agouti
Species	Dasyprocta cristata (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803) – Crested Agouti
Species	Dasyprocta fuliginosa Wagler, 1832 – Black Agouti
Species	Dasyprocta guamara Ojasti, 1972 – Orinoco Agouti
Species	Dasyprocta kalinowskii Thomas, 1897 – Kalinowski's Agouti
Species	Dasyprocta leporina (Linnaeus, 1758) – Red-rumped Agouti
Species	Dasyprocta mexicana Saussure, 1860 – Mexican Agouti
Species	Dasyprocta prymnolopha Wagler, 1831 – Black-rumped Agouti
Species	Dasyprocta punctata Gray, 1842 – Central American Agouti
Species	Dasyprocta ruatanica Thomas, 1901 – Roatán Island Agouti

References and Further Reading

Dasyprocta, Illiger, 1811, Taxonomic Serial No.: 584623

Collier's Encyclopedia, ©1960