Nahuatl for marmot?

[David L. Frye]

Here is Santamaria on "tuza" (just a selection, he goes on for nearly a
page):

"(Del azt. tuzan o totzan. Geomys mexicanos; G. hispidus; Hetergeomys
hispidus.) Roedor del pais, muy conocido; de la familia de los geomideos,
cavador de la tierra,..." (etc.)

>From a quick web search I gather that geomys mexicanus is the Mexican
pocket gopher, "resembles the common pocket gopher of the Western United
States, but is larger" -- not a marmot, though.

Later on, Santamaria adds:

"Tuza real. Nombre con el cual se designa tambien comunmente el
tepezcuinte (Coelogenus paca)."

Elsewhere he derives tepezcuinte from "azt. tepetl, cerro e izcuintli,
perro". Coelogenus paca is also know as the paca or agouti, which I guess
is the same thing -- another large rodent, but not a marmot either.


David Frye