Myocastor coypus (Molina 1782)

[Mus] coypus Molina 1782, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chile: 287.

Type Locality: Chile, Santiago Prov., Rio Maipo.

Vernacular Names: Coypu.

Subspecies::

Subspecies Myocastor coypus subsp. coypus Molina 1782

Subspecies Myocastor coypus subsp. bonariensis Geoffroy 1805

Subspecies Myocastor coypus subsp. melanops Osgood 1943

Subspecies Myocastor coypus subsp. sanctaecruzae Hollister 1914

Distribution: S Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Boliva, Argentina, Chile.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc). Common.

Discussion: Widely introduced into North America, Europe, N Asia, and E Africa. The common name coypu is preferable to nutria, since nutria in Spanish means otter. The species and subspecies were reviewed by Woods et al. (1992).