NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Mexican Agouti
Dasyprocta mexicana Saussure, 1860
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Dasyprocta mexicana
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Open encyclopedia reference
The Mexican agouti, (Dasyprocta mexicana), also known as the Mexican black agouti, is a species of rodent in the genus Dasyprocta. This species was first discovered in 1860 in Veracruz, Mexico and described by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure.
Wikipedia contributors, Mexican agouti; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:43:22.168322+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dasyprocta mexicana Saussure, 1860
- Name authority
- Saussure, 1860
- Common name
- Mexican Agouti
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Dasyproctidae
- Genus
- Dasyprocta
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderHystricomorpha Brandt, 1855
- infraorderHystricognathi Brandt, 1855
- familyDasyproctidae Bonaparte, 1838
- genusDasyprocta Illiger, 1811
- speciesDasyprocta mexicana Saussure, 1860
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dasyprocta. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Azara's AgoutiDasyprocta azarae Lichtenstein, 1823 | DasyproctidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Coiban AgoutiDasyprocta coibae Thomas, 1902 | DasyproctidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kalinowski's AgoutiDasyprocta kalinowskii Thomas, 1897 | DasyproctidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Common Red-rumped AgoutiDasyprocta leporina (Linnaeus, 1758) | DasyproctidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Central American AgoutiDasyprocta punctata Gray, 1842 | DasyproctidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Orange AgoutiDasyprocta croconota Wagler, 1831 | DasyproctidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black AgoutiDasyprocta fuliginosa Wagler, 1832 | DasyproctidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Orinoco AgoutiDasyprocta guamara Ojasti, 1972 | DasyproctidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-rumped AgoutiDasyprocta prymnolopha Wagler, 1831 | DasyproctidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Roatán Island AgoutiDasyprocta ruatanica Thomas, 1901 | DasyproctidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Middle America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584732 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:349R4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.