Hydrochoeridae

Hydrochoerinae is a subfamily of Caviidae, consisting of two living genera, Hydrochoerus, the capybaras, and Kerodon, the rock cavies. In addition, a number of extinct genera related to capybaras should also be placed in this subfamily. The taxonomy of Hydrochoerinae is confused because, until 2005, living capybaras and their extinct relatives were placed in their own family, Hydrochoeridae. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies recognize a close relationship between Hydrochoerus and Kerodon, supporting placement of both genera in a subfamily of Caviidae. The taxonomy of fossil hydrochoerines is in a state of flux. In recent years, the diversity of fossil hydrochoerines has been substantially reduced. This is largely due to the recognition that capybara molar teeth show strong variation in shape over the life of an individual. In one instance, material once referred to four genera and seven species on the basis of differences in molar shape is now thought to represent differently aged individuals of a single species, Cardiatherium paranense.

Hydrochoeridae

Adrian Pingstone · Public Domain · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
CavioideaPBDB
Diet
grazerPBDB
Life habit
amphibiousPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Eutheria

Time the record covers

At least 11 million years on record.

The record covers at least 11.63 Mya to 129 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 13.82 Mya to 0 Mya.

Miocene — about 39 of 53 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 8 of 53 occurrencesPliocenePleistocene — about 6 of 53 occurrencesPleistocene14–13 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences13–13 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences13–12 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences12–12 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences12–11 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences11–11 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences11–11 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences11–10 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences10–9.5 Mya — about 2 occurrences9.5–9.1 Mya — about 2 occurrences9.1–8.6 Mya — about 2 occurrences8.6–8.1 Mya — about 2 occurrences8.1–7.6 Mya — about 4 occurrences7.6–7.2 Mya — about 4 occurrences7.2–6.7 Mya — about 4 occurrences6.7–6.2 Mya — about 4 occurrences6.2–5.7 Mya — about 4 occurrences5.7–5.3 Mya — about 4 occurrences5.3–4.8 Mya — about 2 occurrences4.8–4.3 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences4.3–3.8 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences3.8–3.3 Mya — about 2 occurrences3.3–2.9 Mya — about 2 occurrences2.9–2.4 Mya — about 1 occurrence1.9–1.4 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences1.4–955 ka Mya — about 0.8 occurrences955 ka–477 ka Mya — about 0.6 occurrences477 ka–0 Mya — about 4 occurrences11.63 Mya129 ka14.3 Mya0 Mya

53 occurrences of Hydrochoeridae on record, most of them in the Miocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

53 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

20 formations

Ituzaingo — 31.48°S, 60.23°WItuzaingo — 31.68°S, 60.42°WItuzaingo — 31.57°S, 60.25°WArroyo Chasicó — 38.62°S, 62.98°WArroyo Chasicó — 38.60°S, 62.50°WSolimoes — 10.93°S, 69.92°WSolimoes — 10.94°S, 69.34°WSolimoes — 7.66°S, 72.54°WSolimoes — 10.12°S, 66.88°WPuerto Madryn — 42.83°S, 63.82°WPuerto Madryn — 42.78°S, 63.68°WRío Negro — 41.11°S, 62.99°WRío Negro — 41.15°S, 63.13°WUrumaco — 11.18°N, 70.23°WCerro Azul — 37.73°S, 63.53°WKiyu — 34.68°S, 56.76°WPampean — 37.27°S, 64.57°WCaloosahatchee — 27.04°N, 81.82°WBermont — 27.70°N, 82.50°WSan Gregorio — 11.30°N, 70.24°WEpecuén — 37.22°S, 63.55°WLoma de Las Tapias — 31.10°S, 68.48°WLas Floras — 31.14°S, 69.51°WAndalhuala — 27.22°S, 66.93°WParana — 31.88°S, 60.65°WRio de los Pozos — 34.90°S, 69.64°WCorral Quemado — 27.22°S, 66.93°WRío de los Pozos — 33.30°S, 69.07°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Hydrochoeridae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 8 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Hydrochoeridae and its relatives

Miocene

Where Hydrochoeridae and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

740 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 33 sites for Hydrochoeridae, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

34 references

Each of the 53 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 22 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Hydrochoeridae

Credit
Adrian Pingstone
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Hydrochoeridae was found in MorphoSource and Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itCavioidea through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Gill 1872