THE CAPYBARA, 



145 



eyes and ears, no tail, and both the fore and hind feet webbed. The upper incisor teeth have a 

 broad and shallow groove down the front, and the molars present very remarkable characters. In the 

 upper jaw the first three molars are each composed of two lobes united by cement, and on the outside 

 of each of these lobes there is a fold of enamel which passes deeply into the tooth. The last molar 

 consists of one lobe similar to those of the preceding teeth, but in place of the second there are ten or 

 a dozen transverse plates. The first 

 two molars of the lower jaw exhibit 

 complex lobes and folds of enamel ; 

 the third and fourth a combination 

 of folded lobes and transverse plates. 



In its general form the Capy- 

 bara is more pig-like than any of 

 its relatives, and, indeed, its generic 

 name, Hydrochoeras, Water-pig, re- 

 calls this resemblance, and at the 

 same time intimates its aquatic 

 habits. Its coat is composed of long 

 and coarse hairs, often five or six 

 inches long on the hinder parts, of 

 a reddish-brown colour above, and 

 a dirty brownish - yellow beneath. 

 It is distributed OA r er the whole 

 eastern part of South America, 

 from Guiana southwards to the 

 Rio de la Plata, and ranges west- 

 wards into the lower parts of Peru 

 and Bolivia. 



The Capybaras frequent the bordej-s of the lakes and rivers, with which all this part of the 

 South American continent abounds, and, according to Mr. Darwin, they used to frequent the islands 

 in the mouth of the La Plata, where the water is quite salt. In this part of America they are called 

 " Carpinchos." They never wander far from the watei--side, and show a marked preference for the 

 larger rivers, among the reeds and other plants fringing which they take up their abode. In populous 

 districts they seem to pass the day in concealment, coming forth in search of food only at morning and 

 evening, but where they are less in danger of pursuit they come out freely in the day-time. Seen 

 from a little distance when walking they have much the appearance of Pigs, but they lose this when 

 they sit, like the other Cavies, on their haunches. When danger threatens they emit a short, sharp 

 bark, and immediately plunge into the water, where they swim about with little more than the nostrils 

 above the surface ; but under pressing circumstances they can dive and swim for a considerable distance 

 under water. When swimming, the female is said to take her young ones 011 her back. About 

 Maldonado Mr. Darwin observed that the Capybaras were usually to be seen only three or four 

 together, but they are more numerous and go in larger companies more in the interior of the country. 

 They constitute the ordinary food of the Jaguar, and are also eaten by the Indians, although their flesh 

 is said not to be very good. The female produces five or six young at a birth, but has only one litter 

 in the year. The young follow their mother about at a very early age. 



MOLARS OF THE CAPYBAKA. 



SUB-ORDER II DOUBLE-TOOTHED RODENTS. 



With the Cavies concludes the long series of simple-toothed Rodents, and some of them, as we 

 have seen, present no small resemblance to the Hares and Rabbits which constitute the greater part 

 of the second great group into which we have divided the order. The chief peculiarity of this section, 

 as has been already stated, consists in the presence in the upper jaw of a pair of minute incisor 

 teeth, placed immediately behind the large effective incisors ; and in the newly-born animal the 

 number of these teeth is even greater, there being six incisors in the upper jaw, two of which fall 



