These nimble rodents are important seed dispersers for many species of trees.

Statistics
Body length: 415-620mm, Tail length: 10-35mm, Weight: 1.3-4.0kg.

Physical description
Central American agoutis have a slender body with glossy fur, and have short ears. They range in colour from pale orange to brown or black, with a yellow/white underside. The rump is a contrasting colour, and in some individuals, faint stripes may be present.

Distribution
The Central American agouti is found from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. They have been introduced to the Cayman Islands.

Habitat
They inhabit tropical rainforest, tropical deciduous forest, tropical scrub forest, tropical savannah and grasslands.

Diet
Agoutis mainly feed on fruits, and they are able to hear fruit falling from trees from far away. They will often follow troops of monkeys to pick up the fruit that they drop from trees. Agoutis bury seeds for when fruit is scarce or not in season, which is an important method of seed dispersal for many species of tree. They will also sometimes feed on crabs, vegetables and other succulent plants.

Behaviour
They are diurnal, although will become nocturnal if they suffer from human distrubance and hunting. Agoutis mate for life, and each pair occupies a territory of approximately 1-2 hectares, which contains fruiting trees and a source of water. They will defend the territory vigorously from other agoutis. They live on the forest floor, and when feeding, they sit in an upright position, from which they can break into a fast run if necessary. Central American agoutis use odour to communicate, and both sexes have anal scent glands.

Reproduction
During courtship, the male sprays the female with urine, which causes her to go into a 'frenzy dance', before she will allow him to approach. They breed throughout the year, but the majority of the young are born in March and July when fruit is most abundant. After a gestation period of 104-120 days, females give irth to an average of two young. They are born fully furred, with their eyes open, and can run about within an hour of birth. The young live in a small den, separate from the mother. They are weaned after 20 weeks.

Conservation status
They are not listed by the IUCN Red List 2002.

Voice
When defending their territory they emit a number of sounds, one of which sounds like a small dog barking.