Cuniculus fossil map
Where fossils of Cuniculus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 2.58 million years ago to the present (Gelasian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Quaternary |
| Family | Cuniculidae |
| Named by | Brisson 1762 |
| Fossil records | 44 occurrences at 19 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Panama |
| Rock formations | txn:238368 |
About Cuniculus
A paca (from Tupà paka) is a member of the genus Cuniculus of ground-dwelling, herbivorous rodents in South and Central America. It is the only genus in the family Cuniculidae. 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 also, having been served to Queen Elizabeth II, as "the royal rat"). In the Amazon basin they are known as majás. In Guyanese English they are known as labba, from the Lokono language. In Trinidad they are known as lappe and are highly prized as game animals, the cooked meat being considered quite a delicacy among wildmeat enthusiasts.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Paca (revision 1375866357), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q202697.
