A Nutria swimming through a Beaver pond on a cold, overcast winter day. In these pictures the Nutria has stopped just next a Beaver lodge.

Wikipedia has this to say about Nutria:

The coypu was first described by Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782 as Mus coypus, a member of the mouse genus. The genus Myocastor, assigned in 1792 by Robert Kerr, is derived from the Greek mys and kastor, or “mouse-beaver”. Geoffroy, independently of Kerr, named the species Myopotamus coypus, and it is occasionally referred to by this name.

Four subspecies are generally recognized:

  • M. c. bonariensis: northern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil
  • M. c. coypus: central Chile, Bolivia
  • M. c. melanops: Chiloé Island
  • M. c. santacruzae: Patagonia

M. c. bonariensis, the subspecies present in the northernmost (subtropical) part of the coypu’s range, is believed to be the type of coypu most commonly introduced to other continents.

Nutria - In a Beaver Pond

Nutria - In a Beaver Pond

Nutria - In a Beaver Pond

Nutria - In a Beaver Pond

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