A large Amazonian rodent (genus Dasyprocta) similar to an agouti, found in South America.
From Quechua or Amazonian indigenous language sources; the word entered English from Spanish. The exact etymology is unclear but reflects indigenous South American naming of local fauna.
Chontaquiros are one of the few rodents large enough to be hunted for food by indigenous Amazonian peoples, and they're so important to rainforest ecology that jaguars and pumas rely on them as prey—losing these rodents would cascade through the entire food chain.
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