Dasyprocta ruatanica is endemic to Roatán Island, which is approximately 48 kilometers off the coast of Honduras. A population occurs on Fantasy Island, which is about 30 meters off the middle south shore of Roatán Island. Roatán Island is a fault block, so it is unlikely that this species populated the island via land bridge. The original human inhabitants of the island, Payans, used agoutis as a food source, so this species was probably either there before the natives or brought with them. (Cox et al., 2005; Jacobson, 1992; Lee et al., 2000)

 

Biogeographic Regions: Neotropical; Neotropical :: Native

Other Geographic Terms: Island endemic