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Citation: Emmons, L. 2016. Cuniculus paca. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016:
e.T699A22197347. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T699A22197347.en
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Synonym(s):
• Agouti paca (Linnaeus, 1766)
Common Name(s):
• English: Spotted Paca
• French: Agouti
• Spanish: Paca, Tepezquintle
Taxonomic Notes:
Formerly Agouti paca.
Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1
Justification:
Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, occurrence in a
number of protected areas, and because it is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to
qualify for listing in a threatened category. However, local extinctions have occurred in the southeast of
its range due to habitat destruction.
Geographic Range
Range Description:
Occurs in eastern and southern Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia,
Paraguay, and most of Brazil, and has also been introduced into Cuba and the lesser Antilles (Patton
2015). There are two new records in Tamaulipas and Hidalgo (Northeastern Mexico) (Rodriguez-Ruiz et
al. 2012). It has a widespread distribution in Puebla, Mexico--16 records (Ramirez-Bravo and Hernandez
Santin 2012).
Country Occurrence:
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cuniculus paca – published in 2016. 1
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Native: Argentina; Belize; Bolivia, Plurinational States of; Brazil; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; El
Salvador; French Guiana; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Paraguay; Peru;
Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago; Uruguay; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cuniculus paca – published in 2016. 2
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Distribution Map
Cuniculus paca
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cuniculus paca – published in 2016. 3
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Population
Widespread and locally common in the northern part of its range; scarce in the south of its distribution.
Local extinctions of the species have occurred due to habitat destruction in the southeast of its range
(Quierolo pers. comm.).
This rodent occurs at population densities of 84 to 93 individuals per square kilometer in suitable
habitat in Colombia (Eisenberg and Redford 1999). Populations range from 25-70 adults per square km
depending on the habitat (Patton 2015). It makes up to 16% of biomass of non-volent mammals in their
communities (Patton 2015). Santos-Moreno and Perez-Irineo (2013) found the population 0.492 +/-
0.361 per hectare with variation probably due to precipitation; they also found an inverse statistically
significant relationship between paca and their predators and competitors.
Current Population Trend: Stable
Systems: Terrestrial
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cuniculus paca – published in 2016. 4
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1997.
Credits
Assessor(s): Emmons, L.
Reviewer(s): Amori, G.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cuniculus paca – published in 2016. 5
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Bibliography
Aquino,R., Gil and D. Pezo,E. 2009. Ecological aspects and hunting sustainability of paca (Cuniculus paca)
in the Itaya river basin, Peruvian Amazonia. Revista Peruana de Biologia 16(1): 67-72.
Asprilla-Perea, J., Lopez-Perea ,J.J., Viveros-Riveros, J.A. and Jiminez-Ortega, A.M. 2011. Relationship
between relative abundance and use of Cuniculus paca (guagua, tepezcuintle) in black communitits of
the Atrato river basin, Colombia. Mastozoologia neotropical 18(2): 301-306.
Eisenberg, J.F. and Redford, K.H. 1999. Mammals of the Neotropics. The Central Neotropics. The
University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.
Gallina, S., Perez-Torres, J. and Guzman-Aguirre,C.C. 2012. Use of the paca, Cuniculus paca (Rodentia:
Agoutidae) in the Sierra de Tabasco State Park, Mexico. Revista de Biologia Tropical 60(3): 1345-1355.
IUCN. 2016. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016-2. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 04 September 2016).
Patton, J.L. 2015. Family Cuniculidae G.S. Miller and Gidley, 1918. In: Patton, J.L., Pardiñas, U.F.J. and
D'Elía, G. (eds), Mammals of South America, pp. 726-733. University of Chicago Press, Chicago and
London.
Ramirez-Bravo, O.E. and Hernandez-Santin, L. 2012. New records of tepezcuincle (Cuniculus paca ) in
Puebla, Central Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. 83(3): 872-874.
Rodriguez-Ruiz, E.R., Castro-Arellano, I. and Valencia-Herveth, J. 2012. New Records and Proposed
Geographical Range of Pacas (Cuniculus paca ) in Northeastern Mexico. The Southwestern Naturalist
57(2): 219-221.
Valsecchi, J., El Bizri, H.R. and Figueria, J.E.C. 2014. Subsistence hunting of Cuniculus paca in the middle
of the Solimões River, Amazonas, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 74(3): 560-568.
Citation
Emmons, L. 2016. Cuniculus paca. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T699A22197347.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T699A22197347.en
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External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cuniculus paca – published in 2016. 6
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T699A22197347.en
Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Major
Habitat Season Suitability
Importance?
Threats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
In-Place Education
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Cuniculus paca – published in 2016. 7
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The IUCN Red List Partnership
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership.
The IUCN Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International;
Conservation International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of
Rome; Texas A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.