Dasyproctidae
Temporal range: Late Oligocene (Deseadan)-Recent
~23–0 Ma
Central American agouti, D. punctata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Superfamily: Cavioidea
Family: Dasyproctidae
Gray 1825
Type genus
Dasyprocta
Illiger, 1811
Genera

See text

Dasyproctidae is a family of large South American rodents, comprising the agoutis and acouchis.[1] 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.[2]

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,[3] with modifications following Kramarz.[4]

The pacas (genus Cuniculus) are placed by some authorities[3][5] in Dasyproctidae, but molecular studies have demonstrated they do not form a monophyletic group.[6]

References

  1. ^ Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Infraorder Hystricognathi". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 1538–1600. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Bishop, Ian (1984). Macdonald, D. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. p. 701. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
  3. ^ a b McKenna, Malcolm C.; Bell, Susan K (1997). Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11013-8.
  4. ^ Kramarz, A. G. (2005). "A primitive cephalomyid hystricognath rodent from the early Miocene of northern Patagonia, Argentina". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 50 (2): 249–258.
  5. ^ Woods, C. A. (1993). "Hystricognathi". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  6. ^ Rowe, D. L.; Honeycutt, R. L. (2002). "Phylogenetic relationships, ecological correlates, and molecular evolution within the Cavioidea (Mammalia, Rodentia)". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 19 (3): 263–277. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a004080. PMID 11861886.

External links

Extant families in order Rodentia
Extant species of family Dasyproctidae
Taxon identifiers
Authority control databases: National
Categories