(paca), a genus of rodents of the family Dasy-proctidae. The legs and tail are short, and the body reaches 80 cm in length. The short pelage is dark brown with four longitudinal rows of white spots on each side. The back portions of the zygomatic arch have chambers that serve as resonators. There are two species, which inhabit the piedmont of the Cordillera Mérida from Venezuela to Ecuador. Pacas live along rivers in burrows of their own construction. They swim well. The female bears two young once a year. The flesh of these rodents is edible.