View source for Paca

{{short description|Genus of rodents}}
{{hatnote group|
{{redirect|Pacas|PACAS|Richard Dominguez#Professional Amigos of Comic Art Society}}
{{other uses}}
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{{More citations needed|date=July 2014}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Paca<ref name=msw3>{{Harvnb|Woods|Kilpatrick|2005}}</ref>
| image = Cuniculus paca.jpg
| image_caption = [[Lowland paca]]
| parent_authority = [[Gerrit Smith Miller Jr.|Miller]] & [[James W. Gidley|Gidley]], 1918<ref>{{Harvnb|Miller|Gidley|1918}}</ref>
| taxon = Cuniculus
| authority = [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson|Brisson]], 1762<ref>{{Harvnb|Brisson|1762}}</ref>
| display_parents = 4
| type_species = ''[[Cuniculus paca|Mus paca]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Linnaeus]], 1766
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Lowland Paca|Cuniculus paca]]''<br/>
''[[Mountain Paca|Cuniculus taczanowskii]]''<br/>
''[[Cuniculus hernandezi]]'' (validity questionable)
| synonyms =
For Cuniculidae:
*Agoutidae <small>Gray, 1821</small>
*Coelogenyidae <small>Gervais, 1849</small>
For ''Cuniculus'':
*''Agouti'' <small>Lacépède, 1799</small>
*''Caelogenus'' <small>Fleming, 1822</small>
*''Caelogenys'' <small>Agassiz, 1842</small>
*''Coelogenus'' <small>Cuvier, 1807</small>
*''Coelogenys'' <small>Illiger, 1811</small>
*''Mamcoelogenysus'' <small>Herrera, 1899</small>
*''Osteopera'' <small>Harlan, 1825</small>
*''Paca'' <small>Fischer, 1814</small>
*''Stictomys'' <small>Thomas, 1924</small>
}}

A '''paca''' (from [[Tupí language|Tupí]] ''paka''<ref name="Simp"/>) is a member of the [[genus]] '''''Cuniculus''''' of ground-dwelling, herbivorous [[rodent]]s in [[South America|South]] and [[Central America]].  It is the only genus in the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Cuniculidae'''.<ref>{{Paleodb|238368|Cuniculidae}}. Retrieved March 2013.</ref>  Pacas are large rodents with dots and stripes on their sides, short ears, and barely visible tails. Pacas are eaten by people in Belize, where they are known as "gibnut" and, having been served to [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]], "the royal rat".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://andrewzimmern.com/2014/01/29/bizarre-bites-rat/ |title=Bizarre Bites: Rat |last=Zimmern |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Zimmern|date=January 29, 2014 |website=andrewzimmern.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/bizarre-foods/video/feasting-on-a-royal-rat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411182856/https://www.travelchannel.com/videos/feasting-on-a-royal-rat-0162833|archive-date=11 April 2021 |title=Bizarre Foods: Feasting On A 'Royal Rat'|first=Andrew|last=Zimmern|website=Travel Channel}}</ref>  In the Amazon basin they are known as "majás". In [[Guyana|Guyanese]] English, it is known as '''labba''' from [[Arawak language|Arawak]].<ref name="Simp">{{cite journal |last1=Simpson |first1=George Gaylord |title=Vernacular Names of South American Mammals |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |date=February 1941 |volume=22 |issue=1 |page=6 |doi=10.2307/1374677|jstor=1374677 }}</ref> In [[Trinidad and Tobago|Trinidad]] they are known as '''lappe''' and are highly prized as game animals; the cooked meat being considered quite a delicacy among wildmeat enthusiasts.

==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]] {{Mya|3}}.  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.<ref name="Grzimek">{{Harvnb|Grzimek|2003| pp=417–21}}</ref>

==Description==
[[file:HumedoTepezc 01.jpg|thumb|left|Paca]]

Pacas are {{Convert|50|-|77|cm|abbr=on}} in length, excluding the {{Convert|13|-|23|cm|frac=2|abbr=on}} short tail, weigh {{Convert|6|-|14|kg|abbr=on}}, and are the [[List of largest rodents|fourteenth-largest rodents in the world]].  Similar to [[guinea pig]]s, they have square heads, small ears, sides patterned with spots and stripes, and virtually invisible tails.<ref name="Grzimek" />

With large hind limbs, small fore limbs, and cone-shaped bodies, pacas are similar in appearance to the deer-like, ungulate [[chevrotain]]s, and like them have four to seven horizontal lines of blotches and stripes along their flanks.  They have a heavy and robust appearance, though their legs are long and relatively tiny.  Their small ears are set high on their heads.  They have four toes on their fore feet and five on their hind feet (of which two are short and hardly touch the ground) and they have stout nails that resemble small hooves.  In young pacas, the skin is covered with horny scales about {{Convert|2|mm|abbr=on}} in diameter; perhaps these scales have a protective function against smaller predators.  There is virtually no difference between sexes.  They can live up to 13 years in the wild.<ref name="Grzimek" />

==Behavior==
Pacas inhabit [[rainforest]]s, [[cloud forest]]s, and sometimes more open habitats. They are great swimmers and prefer to be near water. They dive when threatened and can stay submerged up to 15 minutes. They can also jump up to {{Convert|1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and freeze for up to 45 minutes. They normally move along well-established paths and will create new paths when old ones are disturbed.<ref name="Grzimek" />

They are normally passive in daytime and forage in the morning and afternoon, but can be strictly nocturnal in areas with many predators. They live in burrows up to {{Convert|3|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} deep, normally with two entrances covered with leaves to hide the burrow and to serve as an early warning system.  Burrows are often near water, but always above the seasonal flood line.  Predators except humans include [[jaguar]], [[Cougar|puma]], [[ocelot]], [[margay]], [[jaguarundi]], [[bush dog]], [[boa constrictor]], and [[caiman]].<ref name="Grzimek" />

Pacas have resonating chambers in their cheeks and their growling noise is surprisingly loud for their size. Aside from making noises, territories are marked with urine. Population density can reach up to 70 adults per {{Convert|20|ha|acre|abbr=on}}, and pacas often constitute some 20% of the [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]] of terrestrial mammals.{{Dubious|Biomass|date=January 2023}}<ref name="Grzimek" />

==Feeding==
[[File:HumedoTepezc 02.jpg|thumb|left|Foraging pacas in Costa Rica]]
In the wild, pacas eat fruits from [[understory]] trees and fallen fruits from taller trees, but may also eat leaves, buds, flowers, fungi, and insects.  They play a vital role in seed dispersal, and, with seasonal adaptations, their home ranges are often centered on a group of fruit trees.  Pacas normally do not use their fore-paws to manipulate fruits (as do agoutis), instead using their powerful jaw muscles to break open hard-shelled fruits.  Unlike agoutis, pacas can store fat, and so are less dependent on the caching of seeds.  Competition from agoutis is avoided by a slight variation in activity cycles and food preferences.  Like rabbits, pacas are [[Coprophagy|coprophagous]] and absorb protein and carbohydrates from specially produced moist fecal pellets.  Before allowing their young to suckle, mothers lick them to stimulate them to defecate and urinate, and then lick the resulting product, both to feed herself and to prevent the odour from attracting predators.<ref name="Grzimek" />

==Reproduction==
Gestation lasts between 114 and 119 days with about 190 days between births.  Pacas are [[precocial]]; the young are born with fur and open eyes.  Normally, mothers give birth to one young, but she can give birth up to three times per year if conditions allow.  More than one birth per year results in lactation periods overlapping pregnancies.   [[Weaning]] begins after six weeks, but the young start to follow their mothers early and can do so for up to a year.<ref name="Grzimek" />

Sexual maturity is reached after 6–12 months, when females weigh about {{Convert|6.5|kg|abbr=on}} and males {{Convert|7.5|kg|abbr=on}}.  Pacas usually mate in water.  As the male approaches the female, she starts to hop enthusiastically, more so if he sprays her with urine.  Pacas have altered the common rodent strategy&nbsp;— safety in numbers&nbsp;— and mind their offspring carefully. At {{Convert|650|-|710|g|abbr=on}} at birth, the young are born in holes too small for both predators and the mother to enter, which are then covered with leaves and twigs.  To invite the young out of the hole, the mother uses a low rolling vocalization.  Suckling usually lasts for 90 days, after which the young weighs {{Convert|4|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Grzimek" />

==Distribution and habitat==
The lowland paca is found from southern Mexico to northern Argentina.  They primarily live in rainforests near streams, but can also be found in a wide variety of habitats, including mangrove swamps, [[gallery forest]]s near water currents, and even in public parks.  They have been observed up to {{Convert|2500|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.<ref name="Grzimek2">{{Harvnb|Grzimek|2003| pp=423–4}}</ref>

The smaller mountain paca lives in the northern [[Andes]] and the [[Páramo]] grasslands, with a peak occurrence between {{Convert|2000|and|3000|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.<ref name="Grzimek2" />

==Species==
The mountain paca has longer and darker fur than the lowland paca.  Observations indicate mountain pacas are found between {{Convert|1500|and|2800|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ríos-Uzeda|Wallace|Vargas|2004}}</ref>

* [[Lowland paca]], ''Cuniculus paca'' ([[Agouti paca]])
* [[Mountain paca]], ''Cuniculus taczanowskii''
* ''[[Cuniculus hernandezi]]''<ref>{{Harvnb|Castro|López|Becerra|2010}}</ref> (a recent and disputed ''[[nomen nudum]]'')<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ramírez–Chaves | first1 = Héctor E.| last2 = Solari | first2 = Sergio|year=2014 |language=es|title=Sobre la disponibilidad del nombre ''Cuniculus hernandezi'' Castro, López y Becerra, 2010 (Rodentia: Cuniculidae)|trans-title=On the availability of the name Cuniculus hernandezi Castro, López, and Becerra, 2010 (Rodentia: Cuniculidae)|journal=Actualidades Biológicas |volume=36 |issue=100 |pages=59–62 | doi = 10.17533/udea.acbi.329110| s2cid = 128367062|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Potential use by humans ==
The [[Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute]] in Panama has studied the possibilities of developing the paca as a food supply for people in the tropics.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=XF2016010015|title=Domestication and Husbandry of the Paca (Agouti Paca), FAO Conservation Guide 1995 No. 26|last1=Smythe|first1=N|last2=de Guanti|first2=O B|year=1995|publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]] of the United Nations|location=Rome, Italy|language=en|issn=0259-2452}} [https://www.fao.org/3/V4940S/V4940S00.htm Full text in Spanish.]</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | title=Regnum Animale in classes IX distributum, sive synopsis methodica | url=https://archive.org/details/regnumanimaleinc00bris | access-date= 3 March 2013 | year=1762 }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Brisson|1762}} -->
* {{Cite journal | last1=Castro | first1=José J | last2=López | first2=Juan Bautista | last3=Becerra | first3=Francisco | title=Una nueva especie de ''Cuniculus'' (Rodentia: Cuniculidae) de la Cordillera Central de Colombia | year=2010 | journal=Rev. Asoc. Col. Cienc.(Col.) | volume=22 | pages=122–131 | url=http://www.accbcolombia.org/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&Itemid=0&view=finish&cid=84&catid=7&m=0 | access-date= 3 March 2013 }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Castro|López|Becerra|2010}} -->
* {{Cite book | last=Grzimek | first= Bernhard | author-link=Bernhard Grzimek | title=Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, Vol 16, Mammals V | edition=2nd | editor1-last=Hutchins | editor1-first=Michael | editor2-last=Kleiman | editor2-first=Devra G | editor3-last=Geist | editor3-first=Valerius |display-editors = 3 | editor4-last=McDade | editor4-first=Melissa C | year=2003 | publisher=Gale Group | location=Farmington Hills, MI | isbn=0-7876-5362-4 }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Grzimek|2003}} -->
* {{cite journal | last1=Miller | first1=G.S. Jr. | author-link1=Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. | last2=Gidley | first2=J.W. | author-link2=James W. Gidley | title=Synopsis of the supergeneric groups of rodents | year=1918 | journal=Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences | volume=8 | pages=431–48 | doi=10.5962/bhl.part.6490 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/6490 }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Miller|Gidley|1918}} -->
* {{Cite journal | last1=Ríos-Uzeda | first1=Boris | last2=Wallace | first2=Robert B | last3=Vargas | first3=Julieta | title=La Jayupa de la altura (Cuniculus taczanowskii, Rodentia, Cuniculidae), un nuevo registro de mamífero para la fauna de Bolivia | year=2004 | journal=Mastozoología Neotropical | volume=11 | issue=1 | issn=1666-0536 | url=http://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?pid=s0327-93832004000100014&script=sci_arttext | access-date=3 March 2013 }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Ríos-Uzeda|Wallace|Vargas|2004}} -->
* {{Cite book | last1=Woods | first1=C. A. | last2=Kilpatrick | first2=C. W. | chapter=Infraorder Hystricognathi | editor1-last=Wilson | editor1-first=D. E. | editor2-last=Reeder | editor2-first=D. M. | title=Mammal Species of the World | edition=3rd | year=2005 | publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press | pages=1538–1600 | chapter-url=https://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=13400269 | access-date= 3 March 2013 | isbn=978-0-8018-8221-0 | oclc=62265494 }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Woods|Kilpatrick|2005}} -->
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* [https://sites.google.com/site/ctwsbelize/wetlands-animal-profiles/gibnuts Gibnuts] at Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary

{{Rodents}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q202697}}

[[Category:Cuniculus (genus)| ]]
[[Category:Caviomorpha]]
[[Category:Mammals of Guyana]]
[[Category:Coprophagous animals]]
[[Category:Rodents of Central America]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Mathurin Jacques Brisson]]