Editing Paca (section)

{{short description|Genus of rodents}}
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{{redirect|Pacas|PACAS|Richard Dominguez#Professional Amigos of Comic Art Society}}
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{{More citations needed|date=July 2014}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Paca<ref name=msw3>{{Harvnb|Woods|Kilpatrick|2005}}</ref>
| image = Cuniculus paca.jpg
| image_caption = [[Lowland paca]]
| parent_authority = [[Gerrit Smith Miller Jr.|Miller]] & [[James W. Gidley|Gidley]], 1918<ref>{{Harvnb|Miller|Gidley|1918}}</ref>
| taxon = Cuniculus
| authority = [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson|Brisson]], 1762<ref>{{Harvnb|Brisson|1762}}</ref>
| display_parents = 4
| type_species = ''[[Cuniculus paca|Mus paca]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Linnaeus]], 1766
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Lowland Paca|Cuniculus paca]]''<br/>
''[[Mountain Paca|Cuniculus taczanowskii]]''<br/>
''[[Cuniculus hernandezi]]'' (validity questionable)
| synonyms =
For Cuniculidae:
*Agoutidae <small>Gray, 1821</small>
*Coelogenyidae <small>Gervais, 1849</small>
For ''Cuniculus'':
*''Agouti'' <small>Lacépède, 1799</small>
*''Caelogenus'' <small>Fleming, 1822</small>
*''Caelogenys'' <small>Agassiz, 1842</small>
*''Coelogenus'' <small>Cuvier, 1807</small>
*''Coelogenys'' <small>Illiger, 1811</small>
*''Mamcoelogenysus'' <small>Herrera, 1899</small>
*''Osteopera'' <small>Harlan, 1825</small>
*''Paca'' <small>Fischer, 1814</small>
*''Stictomys'' <small>Thomas, 1924</small>
}}

A '''paca''' (from [[Tupí language|Tupí]] ''paka''<ref name="Simp"/>) is a member of the [[genus]] '''''Cuniculus''''' of ground-dwelling, herbivorous [[rodent]]s in [[South America|South]] and [[Central America]].  It is the only genus in the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Cuniculidae'''.<ref>{{Paleodb|238368|Cuniculidae}}. Retrieved March 2013.</ref>  Pacas are large rodents with dots and stripes on their sides, short ears, and barely visible tails. Pacas are eaten by people in Belize, where they are known as "gibnut" and, having been served to [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]], "the royal rat".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://andrewzimmern.com/2014/01/29/bizarre-bites-rat/ |title=Bizarre Bites: Rat |last=Zimmern |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Zimmern|date=January 29, 2014 |website=andrewzimmern.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/bizarre-foods/video/feasting-on-a-royal-rat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411182856/https://www.travelchannel.com/videos/feasting-on-a-royal-rat-0162833|archive-date=11 April 2021 |title=Bizarre Foods: Feasting On A 'Royal Rat'|first=Andrew|last=Zimmern|website=Travel Channel}}</ref>  In the Amazon basin they are known as "majás". In [[Guyana|Guyanese]] English, it is known as '''labba''' from [[Arawak language|Arawak]].<ref name="Simp">{{cite journal |last1=Simpson |first1=George Gaylord |title=Vernacular Names of South American Mammals |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |date=February 1941 |volume=22 |issue=1 |page=6 |doi=10.2307/1374677|jstor=1374677 }}</ref>