Dasyproctidae

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Dasyproctidae
Fossil range: Late Oligocene - Recent
Brazilian Agouti, Dasyprocta leporina
Brazilian Agouti, Dasyprocta leporina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Hystricomorpha
Infraorder: Hystricognathi
Parvorder: Caviomorpha
Superfamily: Cavioidea
Family: Dasyproctidae
Gray, 1825
Genera

†Alloiomys
†Australoprocta
†Branisamys
†Incamys
†Neoreomys
†Megastus
†Palmiramys
Dasyprocta
Myoprocta

The Dasyproctidae are 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[1].

[edit] Classification

Fossil taxa follow McKenna and Bell (1997), with modifications following Kramarz (2005).

The pacas (genus Cuniculus) are placed by some authorities (Woods, 1993;McKenna and Bell, 1997) in the Dasyproctidae, but molecular studies have demonstrated that they do not form a monophyletic group (Rowe and Honeycutt, 2002).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bishop, Ian (1984). in Macdonald, D.: The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File, 701. ISBN 0-87196-871-1. 
  • Kramarz, A.G. 2005. A primitive cephalomyid hystricognath rodent from the early Miocene of northern Patagonia, Argentina. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 50(2):249-258. PDF fulltext
  • McKenna, Malcolm C., and Bell, Susan K. 1997. Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press, New York, 631 pp. ISBN 0-231-11013-8
  • Rowe, D. L. and R. L. Honeycutt. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships, ecological correlates, and molecular evolution within the Cavioidea (Mammalia, Rodentia). Molecular Biology and Evolution, 19:263-277.
  • Woods, C. A. 1993. Hystricognathi. In Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.
  • Woods, C. A. and C. W. Kilpatrick. 2005. Hystricognathi. Pp 1538-1600 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference 3rd ed. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.
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