Hydrochoerus species
Capybara
Family: Hydrochoeridae

Time
Pleistocene Epoch

SDNHM catalog no. 50000 Crushed skull of fossil capybara Hydrochoerus sp. Scale in cm.

SDNHM catalog no. 50000 Close-up of last upper molar showing characteristic transverse loph pattern of tooth crown. Scale in cm.

Description
Capybaras are the world's largest living rodents. Today, capybaras are restricted to the northern half of South America. However, fossil remains of extinct species of capybaras have been found in North America, Central America, and the West Indies, as well as in South America. Modern capybaras typically live in open grassland habitats near water. These semi-aquatic, gregarious rodents can get up to 24 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 145 pounds.

Capybaras evolved in South America when that land mass was an island continent. They first dispersed to North America following the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama during the Pliocene Epoch, approximately 3.5 million years ago. Capybaras became extirpated from North America at the end of the Pleistocene.

Fossil remains of capybaras were unknown from California until the discovery in 1995 of a partial skull in Pleistocene pond deposits in Oceanside, San Diego County. This unique fossil was found by SDNHM paleontologists during construction excavations for a new shopping center on the south side of the San Luis Rey River Valley. The Oceanside specimen represents an important new record and helps to extend our understanding of the ancient distribution of capybaras in North America

Text and photos by Dr. Tom Deméré
Illustration by Jim Melli

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