Paca
A paca is a member of the genus Cuniculus of ground-dwelling, herbivorous rodents in South and Central America. It is the only genus in the family Cuniculidae. They are large rodents with dots and stripes on their sides, short ears, and barely visible tails.
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama has studied the possibilities of developing the paca as a viable high-priced food supply for the tropics.
Evolutionary background
Pacas originated in South America and are one of the few mammal species that successfully emigrated to North America after the Great American Interchange 3 million years ago. They were formerly grouped with the agoutis in the family Dasyproctidae, subfamily Agoutinae, but were given full family status because they differ in the number of toes, the shape of the skull, and coat patterning.
Description
Pacas are 50–77 cm (20–30 in) in length, excluding the 13–23 cm (5.1–9.1 in) short tail, weigh 6–14 kg (13–31 lb), and are the sixth-largest rodents in the world. Similar to guinea pigs, they have square heads, small ears, sides patterned with spots and stripes, and virtually invisible tails.
