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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 barely visible tails. Pacas are eaten by people in Belize, where they are known as "gibnut" and, having been served to Queen Elizabeth II, "the royal rat". In the Amazon basin they are known as "majás". The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama has studied the possibilities of developing the paca as a viable high-priced food supply for the tropics. Evolutionary background Pacas originated in South America and are one of the few mammal species that successfully emigrated to North America after the Great American Interchange . They were formerly grouped with the agoutis in the family Dasyproctidae, subfamily Agoutinae, but were given full family status because they differ in the number of toes, the shape of the skull, and co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lowland Paca
The lowland paca (''Cuniculus paca''), also known as the spotted paca, is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from east-central Mexico to northern Argentina, and has been introduced to Cuba and Algeria. The animal is called ''paca'' in most of its range, but ''tepezcuintle'' (original Aztec language name) in most of Mexico and Central America, ''guardatinaja'' in Nicaragua, ''pisquinte'' in northern Costa Rica, ' in the Yucatán peninsula, ''conejo pintado'' in Panama, ''guanta'' in Ecuador, ''majás'' or ''picuro'' in Peru, ''jochi pintado'' in Bolivia, and ''boruga'', ''tinajo'',Fauna y flora de la cuenca media del Río Lebrija en Rionegro, Santander - [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuniculus Paca
The lowland paca (''Cuniculus paca''), also known as the spotted paca, is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from east-central Mexico to northern Argentina, and has been introduced to Cuba and Algeria. The animal is called ''paca'' in most of its range, but ''tepezcuintle'' (original Aztec language name) in most of Mexico and Central America, ''guardatinaja'' in Nicaragua, ''pisquinte'' in northern Costa Rica, ' in the Yucatán peninsula, ''conejo pintado'' in Panama, ''guanta'' in Ecuador, ''majás'' or ''picuro'' in Peru, ''jochi pintado'' in Bolivia, and ''boruga'', ''tinajo'',Fauna y flora de la cuenca media del Río Lebrija en Rionegro, Santander - [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lowland Paca
The lowland paca (''Cuniculus paca''), also known as the spotted paca, is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from east-central Mexico to northern Argentina, and has been introduced to Cuba and Algeria. The animal is called ''paca'' in most of its range, but ''tepezcuintle'' (original Aztec language name) in most of Mexico and Central America, ''guardatinaja'' in Nicaragua, ''pisquinte'' in northern Costa Rica, ' in the Yucatán peninsula, ''conejo pintado'' in Panama, ''guanta'' in Ecuador, ''majás'' or ''picuro'' in Peru, ''jochi pintado'' in Bolivia, and ''boruga'', ''tinajo'',Fauna y flora de la cuenca media del Río Lebrija en Rionegro, Santander - [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain Paca
The mountain paca (''Cuniculus taczanowskii'') is a small burrow-dwelling rodent whose habitats are high altitude South American forests. Pacas are nocturnal, sedentary, and solitary animals with territorial tendencies. It eats mostly fruits and seeds. The mountain paca primarily inhabits higher Andean montane forest regions in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. This 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. The mountain paca is hunted for its meat, which is high in calories and is considered a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuniculus Hernandezi
The mountain paca (''Cuniculus taczanowskii'') is a small burrow-dwelling rodent whose habitats are high altitude South American forests. Pacas are nocturnal, sedentary, and solitary animals with territorial tendencies. It eats mostly fruits and seeds. The mountain paca primarily inhabits higher Andean montane forest regions in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. This 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. The mountain paca is hunted for its meat, which is high in calories and is considered a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 native to all major land masses except for New Zealand, Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity. Rodents are extremely diverse in their ecology and lifestyles and can be found in almost every terrestrial habitat, including human-made environments. Species can be arboreal, fossorial (burrowing), saltatorial/richochetal (leaping on their hind legs), or semiaquatic. However, all rodents share several morphological features, including having only a single upper and lower pair of ever-growing incisors. Well-known rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Rabbits, hares, and pikas, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great American Interchange
The Great American Biotic Interchange (commonly abbreviated as GABI), also known as the Great American Interchange and the Great American Faunal Interchange, was an important late Cenozoic paleozoogeographic biotic interchange event in which land and freshwater fauna migrated from North America via Central America to South America and vice versa, as the volcanic Isthmus of Panama rose up from the sea floor and bridged the formerly separated continents. Although earlier dispersals had occurred, probably over water, the migration accelerated dramatically about 2.7 million years ( Ma) ago during the Piacenzian age. It resulted in the joining of the Neotropic (roughly South American) and Nearctic (roughly North American) biogeographic realms definitively to form the Americas. The interchange is visible from observation of both biostratigraphy and nature ( neontology). Its most dramatic effect is on the zoogeography of mammals, but it also gave an opportunity for reptiles, amphibians ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bush Dog
The bush dog (''Speothos venaticus'') is a canine found in Central and South America. In spite of its extensive range, it is very rare in most areas except in Suriname, Guyana and Peru; it was first identified by Peter Wilhelm Lund from fossils in Brazilian caves and was believed to be extinct. The bush dog is the only living species in the genus ''Speothos'', and genetic evidence suggests that its closest living relative is the maned wolf of central South America or the African wild dog. The species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. In Brazil it is called ''cachorro-vinagre'' ("vinegar dog") or ''cachorro-do-mato'' ("bush dog"). In Spanish-speaking countries it is called ''perro vinagre'' ("vinegar dog"), ''zorro vinagre'' ("vinegar fox"), ''perro de agua'' ("water dog"), or ''perro de monte'' ("mountain dog"). Description Adult bush dogs have soft long brownish-tan fur, with a lighter reddish tinge on the head, neck and back and a bushy tail, while the undersid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southern subregion of a single continent called America. South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. The continent generally includes twelve sovereign states: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela; two dependent territories: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; and one internal territory: French Guiana. In addition, the ABC islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ascension Island (dependency of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a British Overseas Territory), Bouvet Island ( dependency ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agoutis
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 elsewhere in the West Indies. They are related to guinea pigs and look quite similar, but they are larger and have longer legs. The species vary considerably in colour, being brown, reddish, dull orange, greyish, or blackish, but typically with lighter underparts. Their bodies are covered with coarse hair, which is raised when alarmed. They weigh and are in length, with short, hairless tails. The related pacas were placed by some authorities in a genus called ''Agouti'', though ''Cuniculus'' has priority and is the correct term. In West Africa (especially Ivory Coast), the name "agouti" designates the greater cane rat which, while an agricultural pest, is often sought as a bushmeat delicacy. The Spanish term is ''agutí.'' In Mexico, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agoutinae
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 live in burrows, and, like squirrels, will bury some of their food for later use. Dasyproctids exist in Central and South America, which are the tropical parts of the New World. The fossil record of this family can be traced back to the Late Oligocene (Deseadan in the SALMA classification). As with all rodents, members of this family have incisors, pre-molars, and molars, but no canines. The cheek teeth are hypsodont and flat-crowned. Classification Fossil taxa follow McKenna and Bell, with modifications following Kramarz. * Family Dasyproctidae ** Genus †'' Alloiomys'' ** Genus †''Australoprocta'' ** Genus †'' Branisamys'' ** Genus †'' Incamys'' ** Genus †'' Neoreomys'' ** Genus †'' Megastus'' ** Genus †'' Palmiramys'' ** ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 live in burrows, and, like squirrels, will bury some of their food for later use. Dasyproctids exist in Central and South America, which are the tropical parts of the New World. The fossil record of this family can be traced back to the Late Oligocene (Deseadan in the SALMA classification). As with all rodents, members of this family have incisors, pre-molars, and molars, but no canines. The cheek teeth are hypsodont and flat-crowned. Classification Fossil taxa follow McKenna and Bell, with modifications following Kramarz. * Family Dasyproctidae ** Genus †'' Alloiomys'' ** Genus †'' Australoprocta'' ** Genus †'' Branisamys'' ** Genus †'' Incamys'' ** Genus †'' Neoreomys'' ** Genus †'' Megastus'' ** Genus †'' Palmiramys'' * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_Cuniculus_paca.jpg "Click for more on -> Lowland Paca")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Agoutis")