THE COYPU RAT, 161 



the water is almost as salt as that of the sea. The 

 animal has but very little tail, the steering, as well as 

 the chief power evidently resting in the hind legs. 

 The average length of the Capybara is about three 

 feet seven inches ; and it is so stoutly made, that, 

 while it is on land, its abdomen nearly touches the 

 ground. It extends over a very considerable portion 

 of South America ; and wherever a river exists, there 

 will the Capybara be found. 



THE COYPU EAT (Myopotamus voypus) . 



In Chili there is an animal which has some relation- 

 ship to the capybara, and possesses many of its habits. 

 It is one of the Water Trespassers, spending a consider- 

 able portion of its time in that element, and propelling 

 itself almost wholly with its hind feet, which are 

 very broadly webbed. 



Like the capybara, it is protected by a double 

 coating of hair, by means of which the water is 

 excluded from actual contact with its skin. This 

 double coating is useful in commerce, and has of late 

 years attained quite a celebrity under the name of 

 Nutria, or American Otter. 



One of the most curious points in the structure of 

 the Coypu, is the manner in which the mouth is modi- 

 fied so as to enable the animal to become a temporary 

 denizen of the water. The incisor teeth are always 

 large in rodents, but in the Coypu they are simply 

 enormous when compared with the size of the animal. 

 They are, in fact, so large that the lips cannot be 



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