Capybara
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Capybara ( Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris ) |
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| Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1766) |
The capybara or capybara ( Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris ) is a mammal of the family of guinea pigs (Caviidae). Together with the Panama capybara ( Hydrochoerus isthmius ) it forms the genus Hydrochoerus and is the largest rodent living today . It lives in humid regions in South America and is ideally suited to its semi-aquatic (partly in water) way of life.
features
Capybaras are mainly in the water. The webbed feet between their toes help them move quickly there. Ears, eyes and nose run in a line in the upper head area, similar to the caiman . Capybaras can swim almost with their entire head below the surface of the water and are therefore hardly visible to any predators . The sex of the animals is not easy to determine because their sex organs are located inside the body and there is no pronounced sexual dimorphism .
Build and coat
The capybara is the largest rodent living today. It reaches a head-torso length of 100 to 134 centimeters and a shoulder height of 50 to 62 centimeters, whereby the females are slightly larger than the males. The weight can be more than 75 kilograms, the known maximum weight is 91 kilograms. The rear foot length is 21.8 to 25.2 centimeters. The body of the Capybaras is massive and plump with a stocky torso and short limbs. The front legs end in four and the rear legs in three toes, each arranged radially. The hoof-like thickened toes and nails are connected by small webbed feet . The tail is clearly regressed. The fur is long and rough, but in places so thin that the skin shows through. Its color varies from red-brown to gray on the upper side, the underside is yellowish-brown in color. Some animals have black spots on their faces, the outside of their limbs, and their bodies. The length of the hair is 30 to 120 millimeters.
Capybaras have a strikingly broad and massive head. Compared to other guinea pig relatives, the snout is enlarged and rounded, the nostrils are small and set wide apart and the small eyes are very far back on the sides of the head. In male animals, the tip of the snout is hairless and has a noticeable scent gland. The ears are small and round. As with many animals, some of which live in water, the eyes, ears and nostrils are high up on the head, so that the animals hardly stick out of the water when they breathe or look out.
The main difference between the Capybara and the Panama Capybara is its size, and there are also some features of the skull.
Skull and skeleton
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The skull of the Capybara is large and compact with an average skull length of 240.9 millimeters (ranges from about 210 to about 270 millimeters), while being flat and narrow when viewed without zygomatic arches . The zygomatic arches are strong, the zygomatic bone is broad and takes over part of the articular surface for the lower jaw .
The tooth formula of the animals is 1-0-1-3, which means that the animals have one incisor , one premolar and three molars per half of their jaw , for a total of 20 teeth. The white incisors are provided with a longitudinal furrow, they are enlarged , as in all rodents , and transformed into rootless incisor teeth , behind which there is a gap called the diastema . The molars are also rootless and have a complex structure: they consist of heart-shaped or strip-shaped enamel prisms , which are separated by layers of dental cement . The molar M3 is greatly enlarged and extends beyond the other three molars together.
Distribution area and habitat
The distribution area covers almost all of South America east of the Andes from eastern Colombia , Venezuela and the Guyana states via Ecuador , Peru , Brazil , Bolivia and Paraguay to Uruguay and in northeast Argentina to the province of Buenos Aires . It thus extends, among other things, over the basins of the Orinoco , the Amazon , the Rio São Francisco and the Río de la Plata , whereby the respective occurrence depends very much on the temperature and the occurrence of water. To the northwest of this area is the distribution area of the Panama Capybara, which extends from western Colombia to Panama .
The habitats of the capybaras are different, but the animals make some demands on their habitat. They are dependent on the proximity of lakes, ponds, rivers, swamps or mangrove forests . They also need solid ground as a place to sleep, ideally with thick vegetation as protection. They like to go to grassy savannah areas to eat . They reach their highest population densities in the extensive wetlands of South America such as the Pantanal and the Llanos region in the north of the continent, through which the Orinoco flows . Most of them live in the lowlands, but can also be found in areas up to 1,300 meters above sea level. Capybaras are relatively tolerant of habitat changes by humans compared to other South American species and can, to some extent, survive in areas that have been converted into plantations or pastures. In some parts of the distribution area, especially in the area of the Gran Chaco , enlargements of the distribution area are registered, since parts of the originally dry area are made agriculturally usable through irrigation and thus suitable habitats are created for the Capybara.
Way of life
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Capybaras are predominantly crepuscular . You spend the heat of the day in mud holes or shallow water. When they go to sleep, they retreat into the thicket. They don't dig burrows. In areas where they are disturbed by humans, however, they switch to a nocturnal way of life.
If there is danger, they can run quickly, but if possible flee into a body of water. They are excellent swimmers and submerge almost completely with only their eyes and the tip of their nose protruding from the water. Sometimes they are also hidden in dense aquatic vegetation. Capybaras can also cover long distances by diving. The deep water serves them only as an escape room. Most activities take place in shallow water or on land.
Social behavior
Capybaras live in herds , which can consist of a couple with offspring or a larger group of several adult animals. Such associations usually include around six to twenty animals. When solitary animals are encountered, they are almost always adult males.
The group size and the way of life depend on the season and the habitat. In the rainy season , capybaras spread over a large area, making the groups smaller. During this time, capybaras eat a lot and store fat . The rearing of the young takes place mainly during the rainy season. In the dry season , many animals gather around the larger rivers and lakes, forming larger groups. The mortality rate is significantly increased in this time when food shortages and disease increase and the animals because of the decline of the protective vegetation increasingly victims of robbers are. Studies from Venezuela show an average group size of 5.6 animals during the rainy season and 15.9 animals in the driest month of March. During periods of pronounced drought, herds of up to a hundred animals can form and gather around the remaining waters. Such alliances are short-lived.
A family group or herd is led by a dominant male who often holds his position for years. In addition, there are one or more females with their young. Subordinate males can also be part of a herd. The ranking is usually stable and hierarchically structured for both sexes. It is established with sometimes aggressive fights.
One group inhabits a territory of around 80 to 200 hectares . The animals mostly stay in a core area of around 10 hectares in size, which is defended against invading conspecifics. The territory is marked by scent glands; In the male, as mentioned, they are located above the nose and in both sexes in the anal region ( anal glands ).
Capybaras communicate with one another using a series of sounds . These include a purr-like sound that signals submission, a barking alarm call, clicks expressing satisfaction, high-pitched whistles and grunts.
food
The diet of the capybaras consists mainly of grasses that they eat on the mainland, occasionally supplemented by aquatic plants. Sometimes they invade plantations and eat sugar cane , watermelons or corn , for example . The occasional claim that fish are also part of their diet is wrong.
Capybaras have some adaptations to their diet in the construction of their digestive system . These include an elongated stomach and a sack-shaped enlarged appendix . Similar to some other rodents (e.g. guinea pigs but also rabbits ) they practice coprophagy , the repeated eating of the excrement : The appendix excrement , a soft, sticky form of the excrement, the material of which is fermented with the help of special bacteria in the appendix , becomes immediately consumed again after excretion. In this way, the animals can use the hard-to-digest, cellulose-containing food in the best possible way. The feces that arise after digestion are oval and dry, they are not taken up again.
Capybaras, like guinea pigs, cannot produce vitamin C themselves, so their needs must be met with food. Cases of scurvy have been observed in animals in captivity, apparently improperly fed .
Reproduction
The male initiates mating by following the female, first on land, later swimming in the water. Mating then takes place in shallow water . After six to ten quick thrusts, the act is complete. This process can be repeated up to 20 times with the same or a different partner within a short period of time.
Mating can take place all year round. Most births , however, occur in the rainy season (April to May in northern South America and October in the south of the continent). The female usually has one litter per year, but with favorable climatic conditions it can be two. The gestation period is around 110 days for the northern subspecies and around 150 days for the southern. Capybaras are multiparous , the litter size averages four newborns and can vary between one and eight. The females have ten teats , which are arranged in pairs on the belly .
The animals do not create nests . Birth can take place anywhere in their territory. The newborns are decidedly fleeing nests , have a birth weight of around 1.5 kilograms, are completely hairy and are born with their permanent teeth. The young can already eat grass shortly after birth. They are finally weaned at three to four months. Both sexes reach sexual maturity at around 15 to 18 months.
The life expectancy of the capybaras in the wild is eight to ten years. Animals in captivity can live to be more than twelve years old.
Natural enemies
The natural enemies of the capybaras include primarily cats such as the jaguar , the puma and the ocelot , as well as the forest dog , but also caimans and anacondas . Young animals sometimes fall prey to birds of prey such as the harpy and the vulture falcon (karakaras).
Taxonomy and systematics
The capybara was already known to Carl von Linné and was scientifically described by him in 1766 in the 12th edition of his Systema Naturae within pigs as Sus hydrochaeris . Mathurin-Jacques Brisson established the genus Hydrochoerus as early as 1762 , to which the Capybara with Linnaeus type was later assigned. There are also numerous synonyms by different authors starting with Cavia capybara Pallas , 1766 to Hydrochoerus cololoi Berro , 1968. In numerous publications the species is also referred to as Hydrochoeris hydrochaeris instead of Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris . For a long time there was controversy about the correct scientific generic name between the Hydrochoerus, coined by Brisson in 1762, and the Hydrochaeris, introduced by Brünnich in 1772 . Both names are derived from the ancient Greek words ὕδωρ hýdōr 'water' and χοῖρος choîros 'pig'. Brisson's designation was rejected for a long time because it did not correspond to the prescribed binomial nomenclature . However, the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) validated the name Hydrochoerus in 1998 due to its long use, so that Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris is the correct scientific name. Hydrochaeris can still be found to this day, for example in Wilson & Reader 2005.
External system
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Phylogenetic systematics of guinea pigs (Caviidae)
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The capybaras are often regarded as the only recent member of the giant rodent family (Hydrochoeridae). However, genetic studies have shown that the mountain guinea pig is more closely related to the capybara than to the guinea pigs , making them a paraphyletic group. More recent systematics such as Wilson & Reeder (2005) therefore assign the capybara to the guinea pigs and, together with the mountain guinea pigs, include them in the subfamily of Hydrochoerinae within the guinea pigs (Caviidae).
Internal system
In addition to the type, no subspecies are currently distinguished within the species, although a regional increase in body size and mass towards the south is emphasized. In some publications, three subspecies were distinguished on this basis: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris dabbenei from Paraguay to the southeast of Argentina, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris uruguayensis from Uruguay to the east of Argentina and the nominate form in the remaining part of the distribution area. In some publications, the Panama Capybara ( H. isthmius ) is contrasted with the nominate form as a northern subspecies, but according to the current system, it is regarded as an independent species.
designation
In German, there are two names for this species, Capybara and Wasserschwein. Since the term water “pig” could lead to the false assumption that the animal is related to the pigs , the neutral “capybara” is preferred today. This is derived from kapi'yva (also kapi'ygua ) from the indigenous language Guaraní and translates as "Lord of the grasses" because the animals were among the largest grass-eaters on the continent. It is named differently in the Spanish-speaking countries, in Argentina Carpincho , in Venezuela and Colombia Chigüire or Chigüiro , in Ecuador Capihuara and in Peru Ronsoco ; in Portuguese-speaking Brazil it is called Capivara . Cabiai is an outdated French name for capybara . In the current German translations of the novel Die Mysterious Insel by Jules Verne , this French term is not translated, but retained.
Capybaras and people
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Indians
Already the Indians hunted the Capybaras, ate their meat , processed their skin and used their incisor teeth for decorative purposes. They have also found their way into the mythology of these peoples. According to the traditional belief of the Yanomami , for every newborn human there is a doppelganger in the form of a capybara or tapir who shares their vitality: If the animal is killed, the person in question dies too.
Use and hunting
Capybaras are hunted for their skin and meat . In some regions there are professional hunters, called carpincheros , who hunt for commercial purposes. In many cases, however, the animals are also shot for personal use. Capybara leather is particularly valued in Argentina , it is light brown and covered with lighter small spots. In addition to gloves , belts and leather jackets, saddles and bridles are also made from them. In southern South America, the oil extracted from subcutaneous fat is considered a medicinal product.
The meat of the capybaras is not eaten everywhere, as the smell is perceived as strong and it is suspected of causing skin diseases . It is mainly eaten in Venezuela, where it is dried and cured and preferably eaten on fasting days . The claim, which is widespread in South America, that there is an official church document which classifies the Capybara as "fish" due to its way of life and its thinly hairy skin, is likely to be a legend, especially since similar stories in other regions of the world about other water-dwelling animals, for example beavers , are circulating.
In Argentina and Uruguay, sausages are mainly made from the meat. In the Llanos region in particular, there are already first attempts to breed capybaras on farms for commercial purposes due to this diverse use.
Another reason for hunting is the damage that the animals cause to agriculture . They can cause considerable devastation, especially on plantations, and in some places they are considered a plague. Especially during the dry season, the capybaras are viewed as food competitors of the grazing cattle and are therefore persecuted by the pasture owners.
Population development and threat
Many of the habitats suitable for capybaras are found in areas that are intensively used for pasture farming. As people provide water sources for grazing animals, minimize the number of predators through hunting and keep grass areas short by cattle, the capybara population has increased in some areas. Counts on large cattle farms in the Llanos region revealed a density of 50 to 300 animals per square kilometer.
They have become rare in areas where they are hunted on a commercial scale, for example in some regions of Venezuela. In other regions, too, such as Peru, they have disappeared or their number has fallen drastically. Overall, however, they are common and widespread, so that they are not endangered species.
literature
- Alvaro Mones, Juhani Ojasti: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris. in: Mammalian Species . No. 264, 1986, ISSN 0076-3519 , pp. 1-7, online (PF; 850 kB; PDF) .
- James L. Patton: Subfamily Hydrochoerinae Gray, 1825 and Genus Hydrochoerus Brisson, 1762 In: James L. Patton, Ulyses FJ Pardinas, Guillermo D'Elía (Eds.): Mammals of South America, Volume 2 - Rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2015; P. 720 ff. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
- Juan Manuel Campos Krauer: Landscape ecology of the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in the Chaco region of Paraguay , Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 2009, OCLC 426938461 (Philosophical dissertation Kansas State University 2009, 128 pages full text online PDF, free of charge, 128 pages , 3 MB, on: CiteSeerX ).
Web links
- Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris inthe IUCN 2015-4 Red List of Endangered Species . Posted by: D. Queirolo, E. Vieira, F. Reid, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Alvaro Mones, Juhani Ojasti: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris. in: Mammalian Species . No. 264, 1986, ISSN 0076-3519 , pp. 1-7, online (PF; 850 kB; PDF) .
- ↑ a b c d e f James L. Patton: Hydrochoeris hydrochoeris (Linnaeus, 1766) In: James L. Patton, Ulyses FJ Pardinas, Guillermo D'Elía (ed.): Mammals of South America, Volume 2 - Rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2015; Pp. 721-723. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
- ↑ a b James L. Patton: Subfamily Hydrochoerinae Gray, 1825 In: James L. Patton, Ulyses FJ Pardinas, Guillermo D'Elía (Ed.): Mammals of South America, Volume 2 - Rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2015; P. 720. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
- ^ Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2015-4. Posted by: D. Queirolo, E. Vieira, F. Reid, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ↑ a b James L. Patton: Hydrochoeris isthmius Goldmann 1912 In: James L. Patton, Ulyses FJ Pardinas, Guillermo D'Elía (Ed.): Mammals of South America, Volume 2 - Rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2015; Pp. 723-724. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
- ↑ Juan Manuel Campos Krauer, Samantha M. Wisely: Deforestation and cattle ranging drive rapid range expansion of Capybara in the Gran Chaco ecosystem. Global Change Biology 17 (1) January 2011; 206–218 doi: 10.1111 / j.1365-2486.2010.02193.x .
- ↑ Juan Manuel Campos Krauer :: Landscape ecology of the Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in the Chaco region of Paraguay. Dissertation University of Manhattan (Kansas) 2009 ( full text )
- ↑ Carl von Linné : Systema naturae ... 12th edition 1766, p. 103. ( digitized version )
- ↑ a b James L. Patton: Genus Hydrochoerus Brisson, 1762 In: James L. Patton, Ulyses FJ Pardinas, Guillermo D'Elía (Ed.): Mammals of South America, Volume 2 - Rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2015; Pp. 720-721. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6 .
- ^ A b Hydrochoeris ( Memento from January 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
- ^ A b Diane L. Rowe, Rodney L. Honeycutt: Phylogenetic Relationships, Ecological Correlates, and Molecular Evolution Within the Cavioidea (Mammalia, Rodentia). Molecular Biology and Evolution 19 (3), 2002; Pp. 263-277. ( Full text )
- ^ Antonio Guasch: Diccionario Castellano-Guarani, Ediciones Loyola. Asuncion 1978
