agouti

American  

[uh-goo-tee] / əˈgu ti /

Rarely agouty

noun

plural

agoutis, agouties

1. any of several short-haired, short-eared, rabbitlike rodents of the genus Dasyprocta, of South and Central America and the West Indies, destructive to sugarcane.

2. an irregularly barred pattern of the fur of certain rodents.

3. an animal having fur of this pattern.

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agouti British  

/ əˈɡuːtɪ /

noun

1. any hystricomorph rodent of the genus Dasyprocta, of Central and South America and the Caribbean: family Dasyproctidae. Agoutis are agile and long-legged, with hooflike claws, and are valued for their meat

2. a pattern of fur in certain rodents, characterized by irregular stripes

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Etymology

Origin of agouti

First recorded in 1725–35; from French, from Spanish agutí, from Tupian agutí, agoutí, acutí

Example Sentences

But even the best-sniffing rodent, the Central American agouti, had fewer olfactory genes than three other species.

From Scientific American • Apr. 27, 2023

The agouti “turns out to have one of the best olfactory repertoires of any mammal, for totally unknown reasons,” Dr. Karlsson said.

From New York Times • Apr. 27, 2023

Having eaten an agouti, say, the cat will deposit the seeds that are sitting in the agouti’s stomach much farther away than the seeds would have gone on rodent power alone.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2020

One key souvenir from that mating: a jackrabbit version of agouti, the gene that normally revs up its activity and turns snowshoe fur white in the winter, the researchers report today in Science.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 21, 2018

Our golden agouti and spotted paca got along very well, contentedly huddling together and sleeping against each other until the first was stolen.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel