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Hydrochoerus
Sign in to saveAlso known as capybara, capybara genus
The genus Hydrochoerus contains two living (the lesser and greater capybaras) and three extinct species of rodents from South America, the Caribbean island of Grenada, California and Panama. Capybaras are the largest living rodents. The name of the genus is derived from Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdor), meaning "water", and χοῖρος (khoîros), meaning "pig".
Species
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderRodentia
- FamilyCaviidae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 81
- With media
- 1
- Family
- Caviidae
- Collections
- SDNHM, USNM, UF, YPM, ROM, MSU
- Recorded in
- United States, Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Characteristics
- Behavior
- Phylogeny and taxonomy
- Species
- Extant Species
- Fossils
- Distribution
- References
- Bibliography
- Further reading
The genus Hydrochoerus contains two living (the lesser and greater capybaras) and three extinct species of rodents from South America, the Caribbean island of Grenada, California and Panama. Capybaras are the largest living rodents. The name of the genus is derived from Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdor), meaning "water", and χοῖρος (khoîros), meaning "pig".
== Characteristics == Capybaras are semiaquatic, found in and near lakes, rivers, swamps, and flooded savanna. Their diets are dominated by grasses. Adults weigh up to . The gestation period is 130–150 days, with two to eight (most commonly four) young born to females.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Hydrochoerus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.