THE CAVIES 1357 



plants as grow near their burrows. Of their reproduction, it is only known that 

 the female produces twice in the year from two to five young, which are born and 

 nurtured in the burrow. They have been introduced by Sir E. G. L,oder into his 

 park near Horsham, having bred there several times. 



Maras are among the few Mammals that habitually enjoy basking in the full 

 sunshine. When thus reposing it usually lies stretched out on its side or flat on its 

 belly, and in the latter posture, as shown in the central figure of our engraving, 

 bend the fore-foot backward in a manner unlike any other Rodent. When dis- 

 turbed, they at once assume a sitting position, resting on their fore-feet and heels, 

 and raising their heads as high as possible in order to see whence the danger comes. 

 After taking to flight, they generally stop when they have run fifty or a hundred 

 paces, and turn to look round; repeating this process after having again run a short 

 distance. When caught young, they can be tamed without much difficulty, al- 

 though they require to be tethered. By the natives maras are hunted for their flesh; 

 but this, although white when cooked, is described as being dry and tasteless. 



Fossilized remains of three species of these animals have been obtained from the 

 caves of L,agoa Santa, in Brazil; one of these being probably inseparable from the 

 existing form. 



The carpincho or capivara (Hydrochcerus capivara), which takes its 

 second name from a Spanish modification of the native term capugua, 

 is the largest of living Rodents, reaching a length of about four feet, and weighing 

 ninety-eight pounds. From this large size, coupled with its bristly hair and grunt- 

 ing cry, the animal is often designated the water hog. It is a Rodent of bulky 

 build, with moderately-long legs, small ears, cleft upper lip, no tail, and short webs 

 between the short-nailed toes. The neck is short; the head long, broad, and much 

 flattened above; the eyes large and widely separated, and the ears with a notch in 

 their hinder border. The hind-legs are considerably longer than the front pair. 

 The skin is clothed somewhat sparsely with long and coarse hair, of a reddish- 

 brown color above, and brownish yellow beneath; the bristles around the mouth 

 being black. The upper incisor teeth are marked with a broad and shallow groove 

 in front; while the molars are characterized by the great complexity of the last 

 tooth of the series. Thus in the upper jaw the last molar comprises some twelve 

 transverse plates, and exceeds the united length of the three teeth in front of it; 

 while in the lower jaw the corresponding tooth is somewhat less complex, although 

 still much larger than either of the others. This complexity of the last molar, 

 which is quite unparalleled elsewhere among the Rodents, presents a condition 

 analogous to that existing in the wart hogs. 



The carpincho is distributed over the whole of Eastern South Amer- 

 ica, as far south as the Rio de la Plata, and also extends westward 

 into the lowlands of Bolivia and Peru. The existing species occurs in the caverns 

 of Brazil; while in the Tertiary deposits of Argentine fossil remains indicate an ex- 

 tinct species of five feet in length, and another considerably larger. 



This gigantic cavy is thoroughly aquatic in its habits, frequenting 



the margins of lakes and rivers, and swimming and diving with great 



speed. Darwin, for instance, writes that these Rodents "occasionally frequent the 



