Dasyprocta_punctata
Central American agouti
Species of rodent
The Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae.[2] The main portion of its range is from Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula (southern Mexico), through Central America, to northwestern Ecuador, Colombia and far western Venezuela. 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 (Dasyprocta variegata),[3] but a major review of the geographic variation is necessary.[2] The Central American agouti has also been introduced to Cuba and the Cayman Islands.[2][4]
Though some populations are reduced due to hunting and deforestation, large populations remain[3] and it is not considered threatened.[1]
In an analysis of 240 species, agoutis came in fourth place for best sense of smell; better than dogs, which actually came out average. Their snouts are packed full of olfactory receptors.[5]