The acouchis (genus ''Myoprocta'') are

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

s belonging to the family Dasyproctidae from the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

. They are generally smaller than

agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Middle America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced else ...

s and have very short tails (5 to 7 cm), while agoutis lack tails. For this reason the acouchis are also called tailed agoutis. The two species — the red acouchi (''M. acouchy'') in

the Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

of Amazonia and nearby parts of Brazil, and the green acouchi (''M. pratti'') in western Amazonia - differ in coloration and other characteristics. The

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

of the genus has historically been confused, with some authors applying the name ''M. acouchy'' to the green acouchi, in which case the red acouchi is called ''M. exilis''. Although this issue has now been resolved, other problems remain; in particular, the green acouchi may include more than one species. They are coloured brown or greenish, but with bright orange or red parts on their heads. Often, acouchis live in riverbanks, where they dig holes. Like the common agoutis, but unlike the much larger

paca A paca is a member of the genus ''Cuniculus'' of ground-dwelling, herbivorous rodents in South and Central America. It is the only genus in the family Cuniculidae. Pacas are large rodents with dots and stripes on their sides, short ears, and ...

s, acouchis are active at day and feed on fruit. Acouchis depend on their tails to convey their willingness and readiness to mate. Confident, ready males will hold their tails erect and begin to wag them, whereas the more timid, but still aroused, males will wag their tails in a downward position. Females will signal their interest by erecting their tails while simultaneously arching their backs downward. The litter size is generally two.

References

Literature cited

*Voss, R.S., Lunde, D.P. & Simmons, N.B. 2001. Mammals of Paracou, French Guiana: a Neotropical lowland rainforest fauna. Part 2. Nonvolant species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 263:1-236. {{Taxonbar, from=Q342190 Fauna of the Amazon Dasyproctidae Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas