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The capybaraTemplate:Efn or greater capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest living rodent,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> native to South America. It is a member of the genus Hydrochoerus. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (Hydrochoerus isthmius). Its close relatives include guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, the chinchilla, and the nutria. The capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests, and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species and can be found in groups as large as one hundred individuals, but usually live in groups of 10–20 individuals. The capybara is hunted for its meat and hide and also for grease from its thick fatty skin.<ref>Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) Template:Webarchive. ARKive.org</ref>
EtymologyEdit
Its common name is derived from Tupi {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a complex agglutination of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (leaf) + {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (slender) + {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (eat) + {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (a suffix for agent nouns), meaning "one who eats slender leaves", or "grass-eater".<ref>Ferreira, A. B. H. (1986) Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, 2nd ed., Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, p.344</ref> The genus name, hydrochoerus, comes from Greek {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "water") and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "pig, hog") and the species name, hydrochaeris, comes from Greek {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "water") and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "feel happy, enjoy").<ref name=msw3>Template:MSW3 Woods</ref><ref name="inDarwin">Template:Cite book
- In page 57, Darwin says "The largest gnawing animal in the world, the Hydrochærus Capybara (the water-hog), is here also common."
- See it also in The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online</ref>
Classification and phylogenyEdit
The capybara and the lesser capybara both belong to the subfamily Hydrochoerinae along with the rock cavies. The living capybaras and their extinct relatives were previously classified in their own family Hydrochoeridae.<ref name=r4/> Since 2002, molecular phylogenetic studies have recognized a close relationship between Hydrochoerus and Kerodon, the rock cavies,<ref name="Rowe 2002"/> supporting placement of both genera in a subfamily of Caviidae.<ref name=msw3/>
Paleontological classifications previously used Hydrochoeridae for all capybaras, while using Hydrochoerinae for the living genus and its closest fossil relatives, such as Neochoerus,<ref name="Vucetich 2005"/><ref name="Deschamp 2007"/> but more recently have adopted the classification of Hydrochoerinae within Caviidae.<ref name="Cerdeño 2019">Template:Cite journal</ref> The taxonomy of fossil hydrochoerines is also in a state of flux. In recent years, the diversity of fossil hydrochoerines has been substantially reduced.<ref name="Vucetich 2005"/><ref name="Deschamp 2007"/> This is largely due to the recognition that capybara molar teeth show strong variation in shape over the life of an individual. In one instance, material once referred to four genera and seven species on the basis of differences in molar shape is now thought to represent differently aged individuals of a single species, Cardiatherium paranense.<ref name="Vucetich 2005"/> Among fossil species, the name "capybara" can refer to the many species of Hydrochoerinae that are more closely related to the modern Hydrochoerus than to the "cardiomyine" rodents like Cardiomys. The fossil genera Cardiatherium, Phugatherium, Hydrochoeropsis, and Neochoerus are all capybaras under that concept.<ref name="Cerdeño 2019" />
DescriptionEdit
Template:Multiple image The capybara has a heavy, barrel-shaped body and short head, with reddish-brown fur on the upper part of its body that turns yellowish-brown underneath. Its sweat glands can be found in the surface of the hairy portions of its skin, an unusual trait among rodents.<ref name="r4" /> The animal lacks down hair, and its guard hair differs little from over hair.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Adult capybaras grow to Template:Convert in length, stand Template:Convert tall at the withers, and typically weigh Template:Convert, with an average in the Venezuelan llanos of Template:Convert.<ref name=Arkive>Capybara Template:Webarchive, Arkive</ref><ref name="Smithsonian"/><ref name="Palm Beach Zoo"/> Females are slightly heavier than males. The top recorded weights are Template:Convert for a wild female from Brazil and Template:Convert for a wild male from Uruguay.<ref name=r4/><ref name=r3/> Also, an 81 kg individual was reported in São Paulo in 2001 or 2002.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The dental formula is Template:DentalFormula. Capybaras have slightly webbed feet and vestigial tails.<ref name=r4/> Their hind legs are slightly longer than their forelegs; they have three toes on their rear feet and four toes on their front feet.<ref name="enchantedlearning.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Their muzzles are blunt, with nostrils, and the eyes and ears are near the top of their heads.
Its karyotype has 2n = 66 and FN = 102, meaning it has 66 chromosomes with a total of 102 arms.<ref name=msw3/><ref name=r4/>
EcologyEdit
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Capybaras are semiaquatic mammals<ref name="Palm Beach Zoo"/> found throughout all countries of South America except Chile.<ref name="Bristol"/> They live in densely forested areas near bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, swamps, ponds, and marshes,<ref name="Smithsonian"/> as well as flooded savannah and along rivers in the tropical rainforest. They are superb swimmers and can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes at a time. Capybara have flourished in cattle ranches. They roam in home ranges averaging Template:Convert in high-density populations.<ref name=r4/>
Many escapees from captivity can also be found in similar watery habitats around the world. Sightings are fairly common in Florida, although a breeding population has not yet been confirmed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2011, one specimen was spotted on the Central Coast of California.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> These escaped populations occur in areas where prehistoric capybaras inhabited; late Pleistocene capybaras inhabited Florida<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Hydrochoerus hesperotiganites in California and Hydrochoerus gaylordi in Grenada, and feral capybaras in North America may actually fill the ecological niche of the Pleistocene species.<ref>Erick J. Lundgren, Daniel Ramp, John Rowan, Owen Middleton, Simon D. Schowanek, Oscar Sanisidro, Scott P. Carroll, Matt Davis, Christopher J. Sandom, Jens-Christian Svenning, Arian D. Wallach, James A. Estes, 2020, Introduced herbivores restore Late Pleistocene ecological functions, PNAS, 117 (14), pp.7871-7878, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</ref>
Diet and predationEdit
Capybaras are herbivores, grazing mainly on grasses and aquatic plants,<ref name="Smithsonian"/><ref name="RevBiolTrop"/> as well as fruit and tree bark.<ref name="Palm Beach Zoo"/> They are very selective feeders<ref name="Quintana 1998"/> and feed on the leaves of one species and disregard other species surrounding it. They eat a greater variety of plants during the dry season, as fewer plants are available. While they eat grass during the wet season, they have to switch to more abundant reeds during the dry season.<ref name="Barreto 1998"/> Plants that capybaras eat during the summer lose their nutritional value in the winter, so they are not consumed at that time.<ref name="Quintana 1998"/> The capybara's jaw hinge is not perpendicular, so they chew food by grinding back-and-forth rather than side-to-side.<ref name="SFZoo"/> Capybaras are autocoprophagous,<ref name="taronga-zoo"/> meaning they eat their own feces as a source of bacterial gut flora, to help digest the cellulose in the grass that forms their normal diet, and to extract the maximum protein and vitamins from their food. They also regurgitate food to masticate again, similar to cud-chewing by cattle.<ref name="taronga-zoo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Lord-Rexford 1994"/> Like other rodents, a capybara's front teeth grow continually to compensate for the constant wear from eating grasses;<ref name="Bristol"/> their cheek teeth also grow continuously.<ref name="SFZoo"/>
Like its relative the guinea pig, the capybara does not have the capacity to synthesize vitamin C, and capybaras not supplemented with vitamin C in captivity have been reported to develop gum disease as a sign of scurvy.<ref name=r2/>
The maximum lifespan of the capybara is 8 to 10 years,<ref name=r6/> but in the wild capybaras usually do not live longer than four years because of predation from South American big cats such as jaguars and cougars and from non-mammalian predators such as harpy eagles, caimans, green anacondas and piranhas.<ref name="Bristol"/><ref name="SoundsandColours"/>
Social organizationEdit
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Capybaras are known to be gregarious. While they sometimes live solitarily, they are more commonly found in groups of around 10–20 individuals, with two to four adult males, four to seven adult females, and the remainder juveniles.<ref name="Alho 1987"/> Capybara groups can consist of as many as 50 or 100 individuals during the dry season<ref name="Lord-Rexford 1994"/><ref name="Macdonald 1981"/> when the animals gather around available water sources. Males establish social bonds, dominance, or general group consensus.<ref name="Macdonald 1981"/> They can make dog-like barks<ref name="Lord-Rexford 1994"/> when threatened or when females are herding young.<ref name="Murphey 1985"/>
Capybaras have two types of scent glands: a morrillo, located on the snout, and anal glands. Both sexes have these glands, but males have much larger morrillos and use their anal glands more frequently. The anal glands of males are also lined with detachable hairs. A crystalline form of scent secretion is coated on these hairs and is released when in contact with objects such as plants. These hairs have a longer-lasting scent mark and are tasted by other capybaras. Capybaras scent-mark by rubbing their morrillos on objects, or by walking over scrub and marking it with their anal glands. Capybaras can spread their scent farther by urinating; however, females usually mark without urinating and scent-mark less frequently than males overall. Females mark more often during the wet season when they are in estrus. In addition to objects, males also scent-mark females.<ref name="Macdonald 1984"/>
ReproductionEdit
When in estrus, the female's scent changes subtly and nearby males begin pursuit.<ref name="Herrera 1993">Template:Cite journal</ref> In addition, a female alerts males she is in estrus by whistling through her nose.<ref name="Lord-Rexford 1994"/> During mating, the female has the advantage and mating choice. Capybaras mate only in water, and if a female does not want to mate with a certain male, she either submerges or leaves the water.<ref name="Lord-Rexford 1994"/><ref name="Macdonald 1981"/> Dominant males are highly protective of the females, but they usually cannot prevent some of the subordinates from copulating. The larger the group, the harder it is for the male to watch all the females. Dominant males secure significantly more matings than each subordinate, but subordinate males, as a class, are responsible for more matings than each dominant male.<ref name="Herrera 1993"/> The lifespan of the capybara's sperm is longer than that of other rodents.<ref name=r1/> Capybara gestation is 130–150 days, and produces a litter of four young on average, but may produce between one and eight in a single litter.<ref name=r4/> Birth is on land and the female rejoins the group within a few hours of delivering the newborn capybaras, which join the group as soon as they are mobile. Within a week, the young can eat grass, but continue to suckle—from any female in the group—until weaned around 16 weeks. The young form a group within the main group.<ref name="Bristol"/> Alloparenting has been observed in this species.<ref name="Macdonald 1981"/> Breeding peaks between April and May in Venezuela and between October and November in Mato Grosso, Brazil.<ref name=r4/>
ActivitiesEdit
Though quite agile on land, capybaras are equally at home in the water. They are excellent swimmers, and can remain completely submerged for up to five minutes,<ref name="Smithsonian"/> an ability they use to evade predators. Capybaras can sleep in water, keeping only their noses out. As temperatures increase during the day, they wallow in water and then graze during the late afternoon and early evening.<ref name=r4/> They also spend time wallowing in mud.<ref name="enchantedlearning.com"/> They rest around midnight and then continue to graze before dawn.<ref name="r4" />
CommunicationEdit
Capybaras communicate using barks, chirps, whistles, huffs, and purrs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Conservation and human interactionEdit
Capybaras are not considered a threatened species;<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> their population is stable throughout most of their South American range, though in some areas hunting has reduced their numbers.<ref name="Smithsonian"/><ref name="Bristol"/> Capybaras are hunted for their meat and pelts in some areas,<ref name="inRich" /> and otherwise killed by humans who see their grazing as competition for livestock. In some areas, they are farmed, which has the effect of ensuring the wetland habitats are protected. Their survival is aided by their ability to breed rapidly.<ref name="Bristol" />
Capybaras have adapted well to urbanization in South America. They can be found in many areas in zoos and parks,<ref name="SFZoo" /> and may live for 12 years in captivity, more than double their wild lifespan.<ref name="Bristol" /> Capybaras are docile and usually allow humans to pet and hand-feed them, but physical contact is normally discouraged, as their ticks can be vectors to Rocky Mountain spotted fever.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria asked Drusillas Park in Alfriston, Sussex, England, to keep the studbook for capybaras, to monitor captive populations in Europe. The studbook includes information about all births, deaths and movements of capybaras, as well as how they are related.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Capybaras are farmed for meat and skins in South America.<ref name="SDzoo"/> The meat is considered unsuitable to eat in some areas, while in other areas it is considered an important source of protein.<ref name=r4/> In parts of South America, especially in Venezuela, capybara meat is popular during Lent and Holy Week as the Catholic Church (according to a legend) previously issued special dispensation to allow it to be eaten while other meats are generally forbidden.<ref name="NYSun"/><ref name="NYTimes2007">Template:Cite news</ref> There is widespread perception in Venezuela that consumption of capybaras is exclusive to rural people.<ref name="NYTimes2007"/>
In August 2021, Argentine and international media reported that capybaras had been disturbing residents of Nordelta, an affluent gated community north of Buenos Aires built atop the local capybara's preexisting wetland habitat. This inspired social media users to jokingly adopt the capybara as a symbol of class struggle and communism.<ref name="TheGuardian_20210822">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Brazilian Lyme-like borreliosis likely involves capybaras as reservoirs and Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus ticks as vectors.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
A Capybara café in St. Augustine, Florida allows visitors to interact with and give head scratches to the rodents.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In popular cultureEdit
Izu Shaboten Zoo and other zoos in Japan have prepared hot spring baths for capybaras.<ref name="reuters">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Video clips of the bathing capybaras have gained millions of views.<ref name="reuters"/> The capybaras have influenced an anime character named Kapibara-san, and a series of merchandise such as plush toys.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Capybaras have long been a figure in meme culture,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> particularly in the 2020s.<ref name="euronewsmeme">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2022, Peronists in Argentina presented them as figures of class struggle after the disturbances in Nordelta.<ref name=TheGuardian_20210822 /> Common meme formats pair capybaras with the song "After Party" by Don Toliver.<ref name="euronewsmeme"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Josephoartigasia monesi, an extinct species identified as the largest known rodent ever
- Kurloff cell, a type of cell found in capybaras and guinea pigs
- Capybara Walking, a historical animal locomotion film by Eadweard Muybridge
NotesEdit
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ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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