Paca
Conservation status
Least concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Dasyproctidae Genus: Agouti Species: A. paca
Binomial name
Agouti paca (Linnaeus, 1766)

For the village in Slovakia see Pača Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn2. ... Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in female mammary glands and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in... Suborders Sciuromorpha Castorimorpha Myomorpha Anomaluromorpha Hystricomorpha Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents. ... Genera Dasyprocta Myoprocta Agouti The Dasyproctidae are a family of South American rodents, comprising three genera. ... Species Agouti paca Agouti taczanowskii Species Paca, Agouti paca Mountain Paca, Agouti taczanowskii Categories: Stub | Rodents ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Location of Rožňava District in the KoÅ¡ice Region Pača is a village and municipality in the Rožňava District in the KoÅ¡ice Region of middle-eastern Slovakia. ...

The Paca (Agouti paca), also known as the Spotted Paca, is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from East-Central Mexico to Paraguay. It is called paca in most of its range, but tepezcuintle in Mexico and Guatemala, Conejo Pintado in Panamá, guanta in Ecuador, majás in Peru and boruga in Colombia. It is also known as the gibnut in Belize, where it is prized as a game animal and labba in Guyana. The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... Subtropical (or semitropical) areas are those adjacent to the tropics, usually roughly defined as the ranges 23. ... World map showing the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere historically considered to consist of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... Panama (Spanish: Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. ... Game is any animal hunted for food. ...

There is much confusion in the nomenclature of this and related species; see agouti. In particular, the popular term agouti or common agouti normally refers to species of the distinct Dasyprocta genus (such as the Brazilian cotia, Dasyprocta punctata). Sometimes the word agouti is also used for the whole family Dasyproctidae, which, besides the Paca and common agoutis, includes also the acouchis (Myoprocta). To avoid misunderstandings, some authors prefer to use Cuniculus instead of Agouti as the Paca's genus. Agouti refers to a number of species of rodents, as well as a number of genes affecting coat coloration in several different animals. ... Common Agoutis Categories: Stub ... Cotia is a city in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. ... Genera Dasyprocta Myoprocta Agouti The Dasyproctidae are a family of South American rodents, comprising three genera. ... Species Myoprocta acouchy Myoprocta exilis The Acouchis (genus Myoprocta) are rodents belonging to the Dasyproctidae family. ...

Description

The 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.

An adult paca weighs between 6 and 12 kg. It has two litters per year, each having usually one young, sometimes two; gestation lasts 115–120 days. Pacas are sexually mature at about 1 year. Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. ...

Habits

Pacas are mostly nocturnal and solitary and do not vocalize very much. They live in forested habitats near water, preferably smaller rivers, and dig simple burrows about 2 m below the surface, usually with more than one exit. Pacas are good swimmers and usually head for the water to escape danger. Their diet includes leaves, stems, roots, seeds, and fruit, especially avocados, mangos and zapotes. They sometimes store food. Binomial name Mill. ... Species About 35 species, including: Mangifera altissima Mangifera applanata Mangifera caesia Mangifera camptosperma Mangifera casturi Mangifera decandra Mangifera foetida Mangifera gedebe Mangifera griffithii Mangifera indica Mangifera kemanga Mangifera laurina Mangifera longipes Mangifera macrocarpa Mangifera mekongensis Mangifera odorata Mangifera pajang Mangifera pentandra Mangifera persiciformis Mangifera quadrifida Mangifera siamensis Mangifera similis Mangifera... Sapote or tzapotl is a Nahuatl language word for a soft, edible fruit. ...

Economical and ecological aspects

Pacas are considered agricultural pests for yam, cassava, sugar cane, corn and other food crops. Their meat has excellent flavor and is highly prized. They are plentiful in protected habitats, and hence not in danger of extinction, but overall their numbers have been much reduced because of hunting and habitat destruction. They are easily bred and raised in farms.

References

• Contreras (1996). Agouti paca. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 05 May 2006.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

External links

• ITIS database
• Animal Diversity Web
• (Spanish) Convenio Andrés Bello, archived
• Picture of Paca in Costa Rica