Lesser capybara | |
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Conservation status | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Suborder: | Hystricomorpha |
Family: | Caviidae |
Subfamily: | Hydrochoerinae |
Genus: | Hydrochoerus |
Species: | H. isthmius Goldman, 1912 |
Binomial name | |
Hydrochoerus isthmius Mones, 1991 |
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The range of the lesser capybara |
The lesser capybara (Hydrochoerus isthmius)[2] is a large semiaquatic rodent of the family Caviidae found in eastern Panama, northwestern Colombia and western Venezuela.[3] It was recognized as a distinct subspecies of capybara in 1912, and was elevated to species status in 1991. It breeds year-round, with an average litter size of 3.5.[1] It is threatened by subsistence hunting, the destruction of gallery forests and swamp drainage, specifically the swamp drainage of the Magdalena River.[1] It's karyotype has 2n = 64 and FN = 104.[3]
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