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CAPYBARA

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Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 297 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CAPYBARA , or CARPINCxo (Hydrochaerus capybara), the largest living rodent mammal, characterized by its moderately See also:

long limbs, partially-webbed toes, of which there are four in front and three behind, hoof-like nails, sparse See also:hair, See also:short ears, cleft upper See also:lip and the See also:absence of a tail. The dentition is See also:peculiar on See also:account of the See also:great See also:size and complexity of the last upper molar, which is composed of about twelve plates, and exceeds in length the three See also:teeth in front. The front See also:surface of the incisors has a broad, shallow groove. Capybaras are aquatic rodents, frequenting the See also:banks of lakes and See also:rivers, and being sometimes found where the See also:water is brackish. They generally See also:associate in herds, and spend most of the See also:day in covert on the banks, feeding in the evening and See also:morning. When disturbed they make for the water, in which they swim and dive with expertness, often remaining below the surface for several minutes. Their usual See also:food consists of water-See also:plants and bark, but in cultivated districts they do much harm to crops. Their cry is a See also:low, abrupt grunt. From five to eight is the usual number in a See also:litter, of which there appears to be only one in the See also:year; and the See also:young are carried on their See also:parent's back when in the water. See also:Extinct See also:species of capybara occur in the See also:tertiary deposits of See also:Argentina, some of which were considerably larger than the living See also:form. Capybaras belong to the See also:family Caviidae, the leading characteristics of which are given in See also:RODENTIA. When full-grown the entire length of the See also:animal is about 4 ft., and the girth 3 ft.

Their See also:

geographical range extends from See also:Guiana to the See also:river See also:Plate. Capybaras can be easily tamed; See also:numbers are killed on See also:land by jaguars and in the water by caimans—the alligators of See also:South See also:America.

End of Article: CAPYBARA

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