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The capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is a large rodent of the genus ''Hydrochoerus'' of which the only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmius''). The capybara is the largest rodent in the world. Close relatives are guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, chinchillas, and the coypu. Native to South America, the capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species and can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually lives in groups of 10–20 individuals. The capybara is not a threatened species and is hunted for its meat, hide and also for a grease from its thick fatty skin which is used in the pharmaceutical trade.〔(Capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') ). ARKive.org〕 ==Etymology== Its common name is derived from Tupi ''ka'apiûara'', a complex agglutination of ''kaá'' (leaf) + ''píi'' (slender) + ''ú'' (eat) + ''ara'' (a suffix for agent nouns), meaning "one who eats slender leaves", or "grass-eater".〔Ferreira, A. B. H. (1986) ''Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa'', 2nd ed., Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, p.344〕 The scientific name, both ''hydrochoerus'' and ''hydrochaeris'', comes from Greek ὕδωρ (''hydor'' = water) + χοίρος (''choiros'' = pig, hog).〔 * In page 57, Darwin says "The largest gnawing animal in the world, the ''Hydrochærus Capybara'' (the water-hog), is here also common." * See it also in (The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「capybara」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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