Mountain paca Cuniculus taczanowskii Near threatened
Where the mountain paca lives – recorded in 2 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.
Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 315 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See mice, rats & other rodents on the world map
| Scientific name | Cuniculus taczanowskii |
|---|---|
| Group | Mice, rats & other rodents |
| Status | Near threatened (Wikidata, IUCN category label) |
| Found in | 2 countries |
| Continents | South America |
| Class | Mammal |
| Order | Rodentia |
| Family | Cuniculidae |
Where does the mountain paca live?
Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the mountain paca in 2 countries and territories across South America.
Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.
Is the mountain paca endangered?
The mountain paca’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Near threatened” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the mountain paca?
The mountain paca (Cuniculus taczanowskii) is a mammal in the order Rodentia and the family Cuniculidae, genus Cuniculus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)
About the mountain paca
The mountain paca (Cuniculus taczanowskii) is a small burrow-dwelling rodent whose habitats are high altitude South American forests. Pacas are nocturnal, sedentary, and solitary animals with territorial tendencies. It eats mostly fruits and seeds. The mountain paca primarily inhabits higher Andean montane forest regions in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
This paca has coarse fur without underfur, dark brown to black on the upper body and white or yellowish on the underbelly. It usually has three to five rows of white spots along its sides, against a dark grey background. It has thick strong legs, with four digits in the forefeet and five in the hind feet (the first and fifth are reduced); the nails function as hooves. The tail is short and hairless. The zygomatic arch is expanded laterally and dorsally and is used as a resonating chamber—a unique feature among mammals.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Mountain paca (revision 1349964291), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1034944 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).
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