Stats

Lifespan

6-8 yrs

Size

Large

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Crepuscular

Social

Colony

Biome

Freshwater wetland

Range

South America

Movement

Swimming

Breeding

Live Birth

Defense

Burrowing

Status

Common

About

A large semiaquatic rodent native to South America, also known as the nutria, with bright orange-yellow incisors and webbed hind feet for swimming.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   newborn pup

   A blind, hairless pup nurses in the nest and is unable to regulate its own warmth.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   A weaned juvenile is fully furred, leaves the nest, and begins foraging on solid food.
3. 3.
   adult

   Fully grown and self-sufficient.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Echimyidae

Genus

Myocastor

Species

Myocastor coypus