The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris [1][3][4]), also known as capivara in Portuguese,[5] and capibara, chigüire in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador ronsoco in Peru, chigüiro, and carpincho in Spanish,[6][5][7] is the largest living rodent in the world.[8] Its closest relatives are agouti, chinchillas, coyphillas, and guinea pigs.[9] Its common name, derived from Kapiÿva in the Guarani language,[5] means "master of the grasses"[10] while its
| Capybara | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Origin |
South America |
|
Habitat |
Rainforest |
|
Diet |
Capybaras are herbivores, grazing mainly on grasses and aquatic plants as well as fruit and tree bark. |
|
Combat status |
Will fight Black-footed ferret |
scientific name, both hydrochoerus and hydrochaeris, comes from Greek ὕδρω (eedro = water) + χοίρος (heeros = pig, hog)
Description[]
Capybaras have heavy, barrel-shaped bodies and short heads with reddish-brown fur on the upper part of their body that turns yellowish-brown underneath. Adult capybaras grow to 107 to 134 cm (3.51 to 4.40 ft) in length, stand 50 to 64 cm (20 to 25 in) tall at the withers and typically weigh 35 to 66 kg (77 to 150 lb), with an average in the Venezuelan llanos of 48.9 kg (108 lb).[11][12][13] The top recorded weight are 105.4 kg (232 lbs) for what was likely a zoo-kept specimen[original research?], 91 kg (200 lb) for a wild female from Brazil and 73.5 kg (162 lb) for a wild male from Uruguay.[14][15] Capybaras have slightly webbed feet, no tail and 20 teeth.[16] Their back legs are slightly longer than their front legs and their muzzles are blunt with eyes, nostrils, and ears on top of their head. Females are slightly heavier than males.
Its karyotype has 2n = 66 and FN = 102
Capybaras are very gregarious. While they do sometimes live solitarily they are more commonly found in groups that average 10-20 individuals, with 2-4 of them being adult males, 4-7 being adult females and the rest being juveniles.[27] Capybara groups can consist of as many as 50 or 100 individuals during the dry season,[21][28] when the animals gather around available water sources. Males are organized in stable, linear hierarchies. The dominant male in each group is significantly heavier than any of the subordinates, but among subordinates, status is not correlated with weight.[29] The dominant male is positioned in the center of the group while subordinates are on the periphery. These hierarchies are established early in life among the young with play fights and mock copulations.[27] The most dominant males have access to the best resources.[29] Capybaras are very vocal and, when in groups, chatter with each other to establish social bonds, dominance or general group census.[28] They can make a dog-like bark which is made when the animals are threatened or when females are herding young.[30] The bark of a capybara is often mistaken for that of a dog.[21]
Capybara have two different scent glands; a morillo, located on the snout, and an anal gland. Both sexes have those glands but males have larger morillos and their anal pockets can open more easily. The anal glands of males are also lined with detachable hairs. A crystalline form of scent secretion is coated on these hairs and are release when in contact with objects like plants. These hairs have a longer lasting scent mark and are tasted by other capybaras.[31] A capybaras marks by rubbing its morillo on an object or by walking over a scrub and marking with its anal gland. A cabypara can spread its scent further by urinating.[31] However females usually mark without urinating and mark less frequently than males overall. Females mark more often during the wet season when they are in estrus. In addition to objects, males will also mark females