agouta, agouty

[South American native name.] One of the accepted English appellations of the South American and West Indian rodents belonging to the genus Dasyprocta of Illiger; another designation applied to some of them being Cavy. The scientific name Dasyprocta is from the Gr. δασύς ( das us ) shaggy with hair, and πρωκτός ( prōktos ) = the hinder parts. There are various species, THE BLACK AGOUTI (DASYPROCTA CRISTATA). the best known being the common Agouti (Dasyprocta Agouti ), called also the Long nosed or Yellow-rumped Cavy. The hair is brown, sprinkled with yellow or reddish, except the crupper, which is orange. The ears are short, and the tail rudimentary. The animal is nearly two feet long. It is found in Guiana, Brazil, Paraguay, and some of the Antilles. It feeds voraciously on vegetable food, especially preferring various kinds of nuts. One of the other species of Agouti is the Acouchy (q.v.). "On these same plains of La Plata we see the agouti and bizcacha, animals having nearly the sa ne habits as our hares and rabbits, and belonging to the same order."-Darwin: Origin of Species, ch. xi.