Faunia Madrid Mexican Agoutis at Faunia

[MikeG]

On a different thread (about Adelie Penguins), TeaLovingDave made an aside about the Black Agoutis held at Faunia:
"By the by, the Black Agouti turned out to be Mexican Agouti last I heard"
Certainly Zootierliste now lists Faunia's animals as Mexican Agoutis - a species which is regarded as critically endangered in its native Mexico (though there is said to also be an introduced population in Cuba). So if Faunia's agoutis really are of the Mexican species then they could become the base of an important 'back-up' captive population in Europe.
Does anyone have more details about the Faunia specimens? - i.e. where they originated, number of founders, etc.

 

[KEEPER]

I asked about this in 'zoos del mundo' forum, waiting for answer...

 

[MikeG]

I asked about this in 'zoos del mundo' forum, waiting for answer...

Thanks, KEEPER. It seems we have a critically-endangered mammal species in Europe that nobody is taking much interest in. Is it because it's 'just' a rodent?

 

[Al]

Hi Mike G, this is very interesting news, I wasn't aware that these were actually Mexican agouti, and I ensure this is a species of interest to the Small mammal TAG! Do we know origins of the specimens or numbers?! There is no such thing as just a rodent

 

[MikeG]

There is no such thing as just a rodent

Agreed!
When I visited Faunia several years ago, these agoutis were labelled as being Dasyprocta fuliginosa (South American Black Agouti). However, they now seem to have been re-identified as D. mexicana, and appear as such on ZTL - but more than that, I don't know. Hopefully our Spanish ZooChatters might get more information.

 

[carlos55]

Mexican agoutis are critically endangered, really now who is responsible for this astounding classification. Agoutis in mexico are found in many protected areas and are often still hunted in non protected areas. Zoos that have and breed agoutis in Mexico include Chapultepec, Africam Puebla, leon, zacango,morelia,guadalajara, merida,and chetumal. Xcaret has free roaming agoutis on their grounds. Zoomat has agoutis both on exhibit and free roaming on the grounds, in the mornings there it is almost impossible not to find them. There are many highly endangered species in Mexico, but agoutis most certainly are not one of them.

 

[MikeG]

There are many highly endangered species in Mexico, but agoutis most certainly are not one of them.

There are 2 species of agouti in Mexico - Dasyprocta punctata is still quite common, and this may be the species you're thinking of?
However, the black species, D. mexicana, is classed as critically endangered by the IUCN with the following justification:
"Listed as Critically Endangered because of a drastic population decline, estimated to be more than 80% over the last three generations (10 years), inferred from destruction of its habitat due to agricultural and urban expansion. This species is confined to a relatively small area where remaining forest is being rapidly converted to a human dominated landscape."

 

[carlos55]

If someone from the IUCN had taken the time to visit Mexico he or she would have found that both species of agoutis are quite common in various protected areas or zoos. CONABIO ( comision nacional para el conocimiento de la biodiversidad) lists dasyprocta mexicana as found in Veracruz, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Chiapas. The species has a relatively wide range. From personal observation, i can tell you that in protected areas of Chiapas both species of agoutis are easy to find, however they are being overhunted in other areas. To classify dasprocta mexicana as critically endangered is bizarre to say the least.Curiously no information is given from Guatemala where the species perhaps also occurs.

I justed checked the Red List site and apparently the information on the mexican agouti comes only from the states of Oaxaca and veracruz. However, in veracruz the black agoutis can be found and seen at the Los Tuxtlas biosphere reserve.

 

[KEEPER]

In 'zoosdelmundo' a forumer told me that the agoutis in Faunia come from a Peruvian zoo, and were identified as Dasyprocta fuliginosa.

 

[Chlidonias]

just out of interest, does the zoo in question call them Mexican agouti or is it just that someone visiting the zoo thought "hey, they look more like Mexican agouti than black agouti" and changed the Zootierliste data on that basis?

 

[MikeG]

It's some time since I visited Faunia, but the agoutis were then labelled as D. fuliginosa - which would seem to be correct, in the light of KEEPER's information.
So the question is: on what basis did ZTL decide that the animals were Mexican Agoutis?

 

[vogelcommando]

Wouldn't it be possible to take some DNA from the Faunia animals and animals of known orgin ?
@ carlos55 : good to hear both species are still living in good numbers in Mexico ( I saw some free-living animals at Xcaret ) but it's always good to have a back-up population for the case that....

 

[TeaLovingDave]

So the question is: on what basis did ZTL decide that the animals were Mexican Agoutis?

Not sure; back when the entries for the two collections in question were altered, whoever made the alterations cited a personal communication in January 2014 as a reference.

I seem to recall that an entry for Mexican Agouti had to be created from scratch, which is something only ZTL administrators can do, so hopefully Animal or Hongabonga will see this thread and shed some light on the issue.

 

[lintworm]

@TLD, not only administrators can create a new species, there are more people who can do that (including myself).

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Have recieved correspondance from Markus giving the reason for the change in classification:

Hi Dave, the agouties in Madrid are re- identified by members of the Zootierliste and some german Animal-Experts. The back of D. mexicana is pure black, on the back of D. fuliginosa are silver stripes ...

He also drew my attention to the following images of a proven Black Agouti held at Dortmund in the 1990's, with comparison to images of one of the animals held at Madrid. I've found another photograph of Black Agouti online which further indicates the difference in appearance.

Black Agouti at Dortmund (rear view) - BioLib - Dasyprocta fuliginosa (Black Agouti) - Image
Black Agouti at Dortmund (side view) - BioLib - Dasyprocta fuliginosa (Black Agouti) - Image
Wild Black Agouti - https://www.flickr.com/photos/14603505@N00/3105281075

Mexican Agouti at Madrid (rear view) - BioLib - Dasyprocta mexicana (Mexican Agouti) - Image
Mexican Agouti at Madrid (side view) - BioLib - Dasyprocta mexicana (Mexican Agouti) - Image

It is possible, I suppose, that the animals in question are Mexican Agouti which had been held in a Peruvian collection, as looking at the thread over on Zoos del Mundo it appears the identification was based on the zoo they came from, and no DNA or morphological analysis has been undertaken.

 

[MikeG]

It is possible, I suppose, that the animals in question are Mexican Agouti which had been held in a Peruvian collection, as looking at the thread over on Zoos del Mundo it appears the identification was based on the zoo they came from, and no DNA or morphological analysis has been undertaken.

If the Small Mammal TAG is interested, as Al indicated earlier in this thread, maybe some DNA analysis could be arranged? I don't think anything less can really resolve this issue.