---
title: "What the sources say about the Coypu | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "46 claims from the Coypu profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/coypu-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/coypu/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Coypu (*Myocastor coypus*)

> 46 claims from the Coypu profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Coypu](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/coypu/)

## Myocastor coypus (nutria). USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database.

https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=1089

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A webbed-footed marsh rodent with its eyes, ears and nostrils on top of its head. | The first four toes of the hind feet are webbed for swimming (note: tagline; eyes/ears/nostrils below) |
| its eyes, ears and nostrils on top of its head | The eyes, ears, and nostrils of M. coypus are all located superiorly (towards the top) on the cranium, reflecting their aquatic life history (note: tagline) |
| Eyes, ears and nostrils all sit on top of the skull | The eyes, ears, and nostrils of M. coypus are all located superiorly (towards the top) on the cranium, reflecting their aquatic life history (note: stats.superpower) |
| a layout that suits a life spent in the water | The eyes, ears, and nostrils of M. coypus are all located superiorly (towards the top) on the cranium, reflecting their aquatic life history (note: stats.superpower) |
| Its eyes, ears and nostrils all sit towards the top of the skull, which suits a life in the water. | The eyes, ears, and nostrils of M. coypus are all located superiorly (towards the top) on the cranium, reflecting their aquatic life history |
| The coypu, called the nutria in the United States, is a big semi-aquatic rodent | Nutria ( Myocastor coypus) are large, semi-aquatic rodents |
| Webbing joins four toes on each hind foot for swimming, while the fifth toe stays free for grooming. | The first four toes of the hind feet are webbed for swimming, while the fifth digit is free and used for grooming |
| A wild adult measures 47 to 57 centimetres from nose to rump, and its tail averages 37 centimetres. | The body length of wild adult Myocastor coypus (excluding the tail) was documented by Woods et al. (1992) to range in size from 47 to 57 centimeters (cm). The tails of M. coypus in this size range averaged a length of 37 cm |
| Males can reach 9.1 kilograms (20 pounds) and females 8.2 kilograms (18 pounds). | Male M. coypus may grow to 9.1 kg (20 pounds), while females reach a lower weight of 8.2 kg (18 pounds) |
| It looks like a beaver, but white whiskers and a big, rounded tail give it away. | The most conspicuous identifying features of M. coypus are their white whiskers, and large, rounded tail. |
| A beaver's tail is broad and flat. | The tail differs from Beavers, which have broad, flat tails |
| Its native range covers South America south of latitude 23 degrees, taking in parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. | Myocastor coypus is native to South America south of the 23° latitude in the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chili, Paraguay, and Uruguay |
| It prefers freshwater marshes, but it lives in many types of wetlands, including bayous, drainage canals, swamps and coastal brackish and saltwater marshes. | While freshwater marshes are their preferred habitat (Holm et al. 2011), M. coypus inhabit many types of wetlands such as bayous, rivers, impoundments, farm ponds, drainage canals, and swamps, as well as brackish and saltwater marshes in coastal regions |
| Freshwater marshes and many other wetlands. | M. coypus inhabit many types of wetlands |
| It mostly eats roots, rhizomes and tubers, which it digs up with dexterous forepaws | Myocastor coypus use their dexterous forepaws to excavate the roots and stems of plants while grazing. Although they occasionally consume the entire plant, their primary forage are roots, rhizomes, and tubers |
| Roots, rhizomes and tubers, dug up with its forepaws, plus other marsh plants. | They are opportunistic feeders that forage on emergent, floating, and submersed plant species |
| it eats insects incidentally as it feeds | M. coypus incidentally consume insects as they feed on plants |
| When food is plentiful it tends to be nocturnal, with activity peaking near midnight. | When food is abundant, M. coypus tend to be nocturnal with peak activity occurring near midnight. |
| The first recorded US introduction was in California in 1899, but that population failed to reproduce and establish. | The first recorded introduction of Myocastor coypus within the United States was in 1899, in Elizabeth Lake, California, for the purpose of fur farming; however, this population failed to reproduce and establish |
| Later populations took hold in Louisiana and California | Myocastor coypus later established populations in the wetlands of Louisiana and California |
| businesses selling them as "weed cutters" spread them further across the country | Dispersal of M. coypus throughout the U.S. was amplified by businesses selling them as “weed cutters” to control undesirable vegetation |
| When the fur market crashed in the 1980s, far fewer were trapped in Louisiana, which left the population's growth largely unchecked. | The crash of the fur market in the 1980‘s lowered the demand and value of pelts, and in turn greatly reduced the number M. coypus harvested. This left the growth of M. coypus populations largely unchecked |
| each animal removes about 15.1 kilograms of carbon from a marsh every year | It is estimated that the amount of carbon removed from a marsh by one M. coypus each year is approximately 15.1 kg. |
| its burrows can damage levees and irrigation canals | Levees and irrigation canals used for water control are often damaged from burrows created by M. coypus |
| The USGS uses the common name nutria for Myocastor coypus | Myocastor coypus (Molina, 1782)
Common name: nutria |
| Wild adults run 47 to 57 centimetres long without the tail, with a tail that averages 37 centimetres. | to range in size from 47 to 57 centimeters (cm). The tails of M. coypus in this size range averaged a length of 37 cm |
| Males may reach 9.1 kilograms, and females about 8.2 kilograms. | Male M. coypus may grow to 9.1 kg (20 pounds), while females reach a lower weight of 8.2 kg (18 pounds) |
| Its burrows can weaken levees, roadways and irrigation canals | Burrows can weaken the structure of highway bridges, culverts, roadways, and building foundations |
| Its burrows can weaken levees, roadways and irrigation canals | Levees and irrigation canals used for water control are often damaged from burrows created by M. coypus (note: faq 4: levees and canals; roadways in the claim above) |
| its grazing reduces the diversity of plant species in the wetlands it lives in | Their grazing has been documented to reduce the diversity and richness of plant species within the wetlands they inhabit |
| A coypu's eyes, ears and nostrils all sit towards the top of the skull, which suits a life in the water | The eyes, ears, and nostrils of M. coypus are all located superiorly (towards the top) on the cranium, reflecting their aquatic life history (note: vibe.reason) |

## Myocastor coypus (coypu). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Myocastor_coypus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The front teeth, the incisors, are broad and orange. | The incisors are broad, with orange-pigmented anterior surfaces. |
| Native to South America; escapees now live in North America and Europe. | is native to South America |
| escapees now live in North America and Europe | As a result of escapes and liberations from fur farms, feral populations now occur in Europe, Asia, and North America. |
| Demand for its fur led people to introduce it almost worldwide | A demand for nutria fur developed in the early 19th century and has continued to the present. For this reason, nutria have been introduced almost worldwide. |
| escapes and releases from fur farms left wild populations in Europe, Asia and North America | As a result of escapes and liberations from fur farms, feral populations now occur in Europe, Asia, and North America. |
| Animal Diversity Web lists the coypu under the same scientific name with nutria as the alternative name. | Myocastor coypus
coypu
(Also: nutria) |

## AnAge entry for Myocastor coypus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Myocastor_coypus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Females are sexually mature at 152 days | Female sexual maturity
152 days |
| a newborn weighs about 225 grams | Weight at birth
225 g |
| The longevity database AnAge lists a record of 19 years in captivity, set by one zoo animal. | Maximum longevity
19 years (captivity) (note: Observations: one zoo specimen lived for 19 years) |
| AnAge gives a maximum of 19 years in captivity, based on one zoo specimen. | Maximum longevity
19 years (captivity) (note: Observations: One zoo specimen lived for 19 years) |
| weightKg: 7.85 | Adult weight 7,850 g (note: task #1246; AnAge adult weight; ADW males 9.1 kg, females 8.2 kg, all Light (0.1 to 10 kg). Name guess would have been Medium.) |

## Gosling & Baker (1989). The eradication of muskrats and coypus from Britain. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1989.tb01561.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Britain had its own escapees, introduced in the 1920s for their pelts. | Both specks were introduced in the 1920s to be farmed for pelts and feral populations became established following escapes. |
| The eradication campaign that began in 1981 used a long study of the animal's ecology, and added an incentive bonus scheme for trappers, who would otherwise be reluctant to work themselves out of a job. | The eradication campaign which started in 1981, was based on a long tem study of population ecology. |
| added an incentive bonus scheme for trappers, who would otherwise be reluctant to work themselves out of a job | An incentive bonus scheme was designed to overcome the problem that trappers would be reluctant to work themselves out of a job. |

## Ojeda, Bidau & Emmons (2016). Myocastor coypus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T14085A115119712.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-3.rlts.t14085a78321087.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: GBIF copy of the Red List) |