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]
Central American agoutis from the main part of their range weigh 3–4.2 kg (6.6–9.3 lb) and are typically reddish, orange or yellowish grizzled with black.[3][6] 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.[3][6] In western Colombia and Ecuador some have tawny foreparts and yellowish to the rump.[3] Agoutis from the disjunct southern population (Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina) which sometimes are treated as a separate species, Dasyprocta variegata, weigh 3–5.2 kg (6.6–11.5 lb) and are grizzled brown, yellowish and black, or grizzled black and orange.[3]
Like other agoutis, Central American agoutis are diurnal and live in monogamous pairs.[6] They mainly feed on fruits and seeds, and are important seed dispersers.[7]
^ abcdefEmmons, L. H. (1997). Neotropical Rainforest Mammals. Pp. 227–229. 2nd edition. ISBN0-226-20721-8
^Long, J. L. (2003). Introduced Mammals of the World: Their History, Distribution and Influence. Csiro Publishing, Collingwood, Australia. ISBN9780643099166
