Appearance
Central American agoutis from the main part of their range weigh 3–4.2 kg and are typically reddish, orange or yellowish grizzled with black. In northern Colombia, western Venezuela, and on the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica and Panama the foreparts are brownish or blackish grizzled with tawny or olivaceous, the mid-body is orange, and the rump is black or cream. In western Colombia and Ecuador some have tawny foreparts and yellowish to the rump. Agoutis from the disjunct southern population which sometimes are treated as a separate species, "Dasyprocta variegata", weigh 3–5.2 kg and are grizzled brown, yellowish and black, or grizzled black and orange.
Naming
A highly disjunct population is found in southeastern Peru, far southwestern Brazil, Bolivia, western Paraguay and far northwestern Argentina. The disjunct population has been treated as a separate species, the brown agouti, but a major review of the geographic variation is necessary. The Central American agouti has also been introduced to Cuba and the Cayman Islands.
Behavior
Like other agoutis, Central American agoutis are diurnal and live in monogamous pairs. They mainly feed on fruits and seeds, and are important seed dispersers.References:
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