Coypu
Myocastor coypus
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Capromyidae
- distributed in the southern part of South America from Bolivia and southern Brazil to Land of Fire (Tierra del Fuego);
- longevity is 5-6 years;
- because of a semi-aquatic way of life, nostrils are provided with an obturator muscle and they can tightly close. Lips are separated in the anterior part and tightly close up behind the cutting teeth what allows coypu to bite off plants under the water, without permitting water to penetrate into the oral cavity;
- coypus live in groups of 2-13 specimens which consist of adult females, their offspring and a male.