Lesser capybara explained

The lesser capybara (Hydrochoerus isthmius)^[1] is a semiaquatic rodent in the family Caviidae found in eastern Panama, northwestern Colombia, and western Venezuela.

Taxonomy

The lesser capybara was described as a species in 1912, but was later re-categorized as a subspecies of the capybara (H. hydrochaeris). Following studies of anatomy and genetics in the mid-1980s, it was recommended that it again should be recognized as a separate species,^[2] and this gained more widespread recognition in 1991,^[3] although some continue to consider it a subspecies.^[4]

Physical description

The lesser capybara closely resembles the capybara, but adult lesser capybara typically weigh up to about, while adult capybara proper weigh at least and often much more.^{[2] [5]} The lesser capybara breeds year-round, with an average litter size of 3.5. Individuals may be diurnal or nocturnal and solitary or social depending on season, habitat, and hunting pressure. This species is reported to be common in Panama, but rare in Venezuela. It is threatened by subsistence hunting, the destruction of gallery forests, and swamp drainage, specifically that of the Magdalena River. Its karyotype has 2n = 64 and FN = 104, compared to 2n = 66 and FN = 102 for H. hydrochaeris.^[6]

Notes and References

1. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Hydrochoerus_isthmius.html Hydrochoerus isthmius (lesser capybara).
2. Book: José Roberto Moreira . Martin R. Alvarez . Teresa Tarifa . Víctor Pacheco . Andrew Taber . Diego G. Tirira . Emilio A. Herrera . Katia Maria P.M.B. Ferraz . Juanita Aldana-Domínguez . David W. Macdonald . Capybara . 2013 . Taxonomy, Natural History and Distribution of the Capybara . J.R. Moreira . K.M.P.M.B. Ferraz . E.A. Herrera . D.W. Macdonald . Springer . 3–37 . 10.1007/978-1-4614-4000-0_1 . 978-1-4614-3999-8 .
3. Book: Mones, Alvaro. Monografía de la familia Hydrochoeridae (Mammalia: Rodentia): sistemática, paleontología, filogenía, bibliografía. 1991. Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft. 978-3924500634. es. 243776591.
4. Juan Carrascal V . Juan Linares A . Julio Chacón P . 2011 . Comportamiento del Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris isthmius it is a good boi en un sistema productivo del departamento de Córdoba, Colombia . es. Revista MVZ Córdoba. 16. 3. 10.21897/rmvz.276. free.
5. Harold Trapido . 1949 . Gestation period, young, and maximum weight of the isthmian capybara, Hydrochoerus isthmius Goldman . Journal of Mammalogy . 30 . 4 . 433 . 10.1093/jmammal/30.4.433 .
6. . 264. 1–7. 16 June 1986. Mones. A.. Álvaro Mones. Ojasti. J.. Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris. 10.2307/3503784 . 3503784. 250991487. free.