The red-rumped agouti (''Dasyprocta leporina''), also known as the golden-rumped agouti, orange-rumped agouti or Brazilian agouti, is a species of

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 ...

from the family

Dasyproctidae Dasyproctidae 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 liv ...

Distribution

It is native to northeastern South America, where found in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, Guyana, Suriname,

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

, northeastern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

and Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. It has also been introduced to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Grenada, and Dominica.

Names

Despite the alternative name Brazilian agouti, it is neither the only nor the most widespread species of agouti in Brazil. In Brazil all agoutis are often called "cutia" .

Habitat

It is found in a wide range of forests, including rainforest and secondary forest.

Description

Red-rumped agoutis weigh about . They are about long. The females are larger than males but otherwise look similar. They are brownish with darker spots on the upper body. The fur becomes more orange as it goes past (going down) the middle area of the animal. The ears are somewhat square in shape. The front feet have four toes and the back have three each. They can be distinguished from other agoutis by their distinct coloring. They have no distinct breeding season, but females come into season twice a year and generally have one to four young. The gestation period is 104 to 120 days. On average, it takes 20 weeks for the young to be

wean Weaning is the process of gradually introducing an infant human or another mammal to what will be its adult diet while withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk. The process takes place only in mammals, as only mammals produce milk. The infan ...

ed. They live in pairs or family groups of the parents and babies. They need large areas for food, breeding, and territory; because of this, keeping them in captivity is difficult. It lives 15-20 yrs in captivity.

Diet

Food mostly consists of seeds, pulp, leaves, roots and fruits. They also feed on insect larvae when plant resources are low. They are known to feed on and disperse ''

Astrocaryum aculeatissimum ''Astrocaryum aculeatissimum'' ( syn. ''Astrocaryum ayri'' Mart., ''Toxophoenix aculeatissima'' Schott) is a palm native to Atlantic Coast restingas vegetation, which is an ecosystem of Atlantic Forest biome in Brazil. This plant has a commer ...

'' seeds, as well as ''

Hymenaea courbaril ''Hymenaea courbaril'', the courbaril or West Indian locust, is a tree common in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. It is a hardwood that is used for furniture, flooring, and decoration. Its hard fruit pods have edible dry pulp ...

'' seeds.

References

* John F. Eisenberg and Kent H. Redford, 2000. ''Mammals of Neotropics: Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil''. * Bricklin, R. and P. Myers. 2004. "Dasyprocta leporina" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed December 12, 2006 a
ADW: Dasyprocta leporina: CLASSIFICATION

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q775170 Dasyprocta Mammals of the Caribbean Mammals of Brazil Mammals of French Guiana Mammals of Guyana Mammals of Suriname Mammals of Trinidad and Tobago Mammals of Grenada Mammals of Dominica Mammals of Venezuela Fauna of the Amazon Fauna of the Guianas Fauna of the Lesser Antilles Mammals described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus