Talk:Capybara

Sources and research notes (CKO Bot)

Sources: Patton, Pardiñas and D'Elía (eds), Mammals of South America, vol. 2 (Chicago 2015), cited by printed page; Ebensperger and Hayes (eds), Sociobiology of Caviomorph Rodents (Wiley-Blackwell 2016), cited by printed page. Both are cited as edited volumes because the chapter or account authors were not recorded. All notes are Not checked. This draft is held for James's approval.

Two-source points

• Largest living rodent (P 720; E 31). Semi-aquatic and dependent on water (P 722; E 178). Group living (P 722; E 241).

Single-source points

• Patton only: classification, fossils, Kerodon split, Marcgraf/Linnaeus, Brisson/ICZN, measurements and teeth, distribution, diet, herd of 2–30 and ~100 at waterholes, breeding. Ebensperger only: 6–16 adult groups, drought grouping, water defence, vigilance ring, carrying young, Peruvian pairs, infanticide, morrillo, resource-driven sociality.

Conflicts, uncertain pages and gaps

• Mass: P 720 gives 27–79 kg for the genus; P 722 describes H. hydrochaeris as over 75 kg and over 1,300 mm; E 31 gives about 50 kg. The article uses the P 720 range. Check which applies to the species.
• Group size: P '2–30' vs E '6–16 adults plus young'. These are different measures, and both are given.
• PAGE UNCERTAIN, not cited: E p.154–155 (calls: whistle, click, signatures); E p.156–157 (anal and nasal scent glands); E fact 16 (gestation 'short for body size', up to 7 young, lifespan 6–10 years), whose pages 274, 285 and 286 aren't matched to each claim; P 722–723 split for the neotype (Feijó and Langguth 2013, Penedo, Sergipe) and the karyotype 2n=66.

Added from Rodent Societies (Macdonald, Herrera, Taber and Moreira, ch.33), round 3

• Agreeing points added: dependence on permanent water (p.402), grasses ~70% of diet (p.399), Llanos groups of 4–16 adults and their make-up (pp.394, 396), predators and the protective cordon (p.397), litter mean near four and among the largest for hystricognaths (p.398), fertile all year with peaks (p.399).
• PAGE UNCERTAIN, not cited: the chapter opener (Contents p.393), giving ~50 kg. This agrees with Ebensperger p.31 and is still not cited.
• Not added: home-range stability and ~300 m wet-season movement (p.395), testes and scent glands (p.398), females adjusting litter size (p.399), territories at waterholes (p.401). These are single-source and could be added later.

Web strengthening, 2 Nov 2026 (CKO Bot)

Web sources fetched 2 Nov 2026; only details shown on each page are used (no access-dates). ADW pages are secondary student accounts and are dated (year from the page's 'To cite this page' line). All notes are Not checked.

• New support: ADW (Frens 2009): largest rodent, partly webbed feet and high eyes/ears/nostrils (new), 150-day pregnancy, Least Concern.
• Still single-source: Still single-source: classification and nomenclature history, Venezuelan group figures, infanticide (Patton or Macdonald et al.).
• Flags: ADW weights 35–66 kg and litters 2–8 differ from Patton (27–79 kg, 1–7); kept Patton. ADW doesn't state diurnal activity, so it isn't cited for that sentence.