The Ruatan Island agouti (''Dasyprocta ruatanica''), also called the Roatán Island 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 ...

in 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 herbivore, herbivorous, often feeding on ripe fruit that falls from tree ...

Distribution

It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the island of

Roatán Roatán () is an island in the Caribbean, about off the northern coast of Honduras. It is located between the islands of Utila and Guanaja, and is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. The island was formerly known in English as Ruatan ...

, off the north coast of

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

Taxonomy

There are no known subspecies.

Description

Ruatan Island agoutis closely resemble the widespread

Central American agouti The Central American agouti (''Dasyprocta punctata'') is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae. The main portion of its range is from Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula (southern Mexico), through Central America, to northwestern Ecuad ...

s, but are noticeably smaller in size, being only around in head-body length. Their fur is orange brown over their entire bodies, fading to a paler, olivaceous shade on the underparts, and with grizzled black ticking over their backs. There is a white spot on the chin, and a yellowish patch on the belly. Unlike the naked ears of Central American agoutis, those of the Ruatan Island species bear a few dark hairs. The overall colour is said to be richer than that of Central American agoutis, although the differences are slight, so are less reliable than body size in distinguishing the two species.

Behaviour

From the few studies conducted on the animal, they appear to be active both day and night, and are not territorial. They are timid, and flee at the sight of humans.

Habitat

The animals inhabit brushy scrub forest across the island of

, where they feed on

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...

, and ''

Pentaclethra ''Pentaclethra'' is a small genus of trees from the tropics. They are flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. They belong to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The name ''Pentaclethra'' is derived from Ancient Greek, ''pent ...

'' pods.

Conservation

It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and hunting. As the tourist industry has grown on their native island, hotels and other buildings are encroaching on their native habitat. While some remain in developed areas, living under hotel buildings and feeding off chicken grain and similar resources, most are now found in the hilly interior of the island, away from the coast.

References

* Dasyprocta Rodents of Central America Endemic fauna of Honduras Mammals of the Caribbean Roatán Mammals described in 1901 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{rodent-stub