Editing Lowland paca (section)

{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Lowland paca<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Woods|pages = 1u38–1600 |id=134p0270}}</ref>
| image = Cuniculus paca.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Emmons, L. |date=2016 |title=''Cuniculus paca'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T699A22197347 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T699A22197347.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| taxon = Cuniculus paca
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|1766]])
| range_map = Spotted (Lowland) paca Cuniculus paca distribution map.png
| range_map_caption = Lowland paca range<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />
| synonyms = ''Mus paca'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1766}}
}}

The '''lowland paca''' ('''''Cuniculus paca'''''), also known as the '''spotted paca''', is a large rodent found in [[tropical]] and [[sub-tropical]] [[Americas|America]], from east-central [[Mexico]] to northern [[Argentina]], and has been introduced to [[Cuba]] and [[Algeria]].<ref>Long, J. L. (2003). Introduced Mammals of the World: Their History, Distribution and Influence. Csiro Publishing, Collingwood, Australia. {{ISBN|9780643099166}}</ref>{{Citation needed|reason=there doesn’t seem to be anything about Algeria|date=August 2024}}

The animal is called '''''paca''''' in most of its range, but '''''tepezcuintle'''''  (original Aztec language name) in most of [[Mexico]] and Central America, tepesquintle in Guatemala, '''''guardatinaja''''' in [[Nicaragua]], '''''pisquinte''''' in northern Costa Rica, '''''{{lang|yua|jaleb}}''''' in the Yucatán peninsula, '''''conejo pintado''''' in [[Panama]], '''''guanta''''' in [[Ecuador]],  '''''majás''''' or '''''picuro''''' in [[Peru]], '''''jochi pintado''''' in [[Bolivia]], and '''''boruga''''',<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9r9E_HBDAF0C&q=paca+boruga&pg=PA7 | title=Domestication and Husbandry of the Paca (Agouti Paca)| isbn=9789251036402| last1=Nations| first1=Food Agriculture Organization of the United| year=1995| publisher=Food & Agriculture Org.}}</ref> '''''tinajo''''',<ref name=HumboldtLebrija>{{in lang|es}} [http://i2d.humboldt.org.co/ceiba/resource.do?r=rionegro_faunaflora_2014 Fauna y flora de la cuenca media del Río Lebrija en Rionegro, Santander] - [[Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute|Humboldt Institute]]</ref> or '''''guartinaja''''' in [[Colombia]]. It is also known as the '''''gibnut''''' in [[Belize]], where it is prized as a [[game animal]], '''''labba''''' in [[Guyana]], '''''lapa''''' in Venezuela, and '''''lappe''''' on the island of [[Trinidad]]. Although lowland pacas are not in danger of being extinct, local extinctions have occurred due to [[habitat destruction]].

There is much confusion in the nomenclature of this and related species; see [[agouti]]. In particular, the popular term ''agouti'' or ''common agouti'' normally refers to species of the distinct  genus ''[[Dasyprocta]]'' (such as the [[Central American agouti]], ''Dasyprocta punctata''). Sometimes the word ''agouti'' is also used for a [[polyphyly|polyphyletic]] grouping uniting the families [[Cuniculidae]] and [[Dasyproctidae]], which, besides the pacas and common agoutis, includes also the [[acouchi]]s (''Myoprocta''). ''Cuniculus'' is the appropriate genus name instead of ''Agouti'' based on a 1998 ruling of the [[International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature]] as the lowland paca's genus.<ref name=msw3_2>{{MSW3 Woods|id=13400269}}</ref>