Hydrochoeris hydrochaeris Linnaeus 1766

Hydrochoeris hydrochaeris Linnaeus 1766, Syst. Nat., 12th ed., Vol. 1: 103.

Type Locality: "Habitat in Surinamo". Cabrera (1961:583) gave Perambuco, Brazil, but see Husson (1978:451) for restriction to Suriname.

Vernacular Names: Capybara.

Synonyms: Hydrochoeris capybara (Pallas 1766); Hydrochoeris cobaya (Buffon 1802); Hydrochoeris dabbeni Rovereto 1914; Hydrochoeris irroratus F. Ameghino 1889; Hydrochoeris notalis Hollister 1914; Hydrochoeris uruguayensis C. Ameghino and Roverto 1914 .

Distribution: E Colombia, E Venezuela, the Guyanas and Peru, south through Brazil, Paraguay, NE Argentina, and Uruguay.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc). Locally common and farmed for meat in some areas.

Discussion: Reviewed by Mones and Ojasti (1986). Karyotype has 2n=66 and FN=102 (Wurster et al., 1971).