Hydrochoerinae

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.

Hydrochoerinae

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
CaviidaePBDB
Diet
herbivorePBDB, for Caviidae
Life habit
ground dwellingPBDB, for Caviidae
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Eutheria

Time the record covers

At least 7.9 million years on record.

The record covers at least 8 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 11.63 Mya to 0 Mya.

Miocene — about 6 of 165 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 48 of 165 occurrencesPliocenePleistocene — about 100 of 165 occurrencesPleistoceneHolocene — about 10 of 165 occurrences12–11 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences11–11 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences11–11 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences11–10 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences10–9.7 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences9.7–9.3 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences9.3–8.9 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences8.9–8.5 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences8.5–8.1 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences8.1–7.7 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences7.7–7.3 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences7.3–6.9 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences6.9–6.5 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences6.5–6.1 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences6.1–5.7 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences5.7–5.3 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences5.3–4.9 Mya — about 2 occurrences4.9–4.4 Mya — about 7 occurrences4.4–4.0 Mya — about 7 occurrences4.0–3.6 Mya — about 7 occurrences3.6–3.2 Mya — about 11 occurrences3.2–2.8 Mya — about 10 occurrences2.8–2.4 Mya — about 7 occurrences2.4–2.0 Mya — about 7 occurrences2.0–1.6 Mya — about 6 occurrences1.6–1.2 Mya — about 6 occurrences1.2–809 ka Mya — about 7 occurrences809 ka–404 ka Mya — about 6 occurrences404 ka–0 Mya — about 75 occurrences8 Mya11.7 ka12.1 Mya0 Mya

165 occurrences of Hydrochoerinae on record, most of them in the Pleistocene. 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

165 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

39 formations

Monte Hermoso — 38.00°S, 61.00°WMonte Hermoso — 38.97°S, 61.70°WWando — 32.88°N, 80.10°WWando — 32.82°N, 80.03°WWando — 33.08°N, 79.94°WWando — 33.11°N, 79.95°WNuapua — 20.75°S, 63.07°WNuapua — 20.87°S, 63.07°WSopas — 30.43°S, 56.45°WSopas — 32.05°S, 56.12°WPuerto Belgrano — 38.98°S, 61.82°WRancho Viejo Beds — 21.03°N, 100.75°WRancho Viejo Beds — 21.10°N, 100.80°WTarija — 21.53°S, 64.73°WWaccamaw — 33.63°N, 78.95°WWaccamaw — 33.10°N, 80.31°WTouro Passo — 29.68°S, 56.86°WTouro Passo — 29.65°S, 56.87°WItuzaingo — 31.48°S, 60.23°WTamiami — 27.37°N, 82.45°WTamiami — 27.30°N, 80.80°WUmala — 18.83°S, 66.15°WUmala — 17.08°S, 68.00°WTen Mile Hills Beds — 32.91°N, 80.02°WChapadmalal — 38.12°S, 57.70°WSan Gregorio — 11.30°N, 70.24°WHuachipampa — 30.24°S, 68.75°WEntre Rios — 27.08°S, 64.47°WSt. David — 32.00°N, 110.20°WChapala — 20.30°N, 103.20°WFort Thompson — 27.80°N, 82.80°WSilver Bluff — 32.56°N, 80.29°WLujan — 34.60°S, 59.15°WAgua Blanca — 38.48°S, 61.80°WTen Mile Hill Beds — 32.98°N, 80.17°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Hydrochoerinae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 15 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 86 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Hydrochoerinae and its relatives

Pleistocene

Where Hydrochoerinae and its relatives were recorded in the Pleistocene.

Found in the same rock

1,648 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 116 sites for Hydrochoerinae, 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

96 references

Each of the 165 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. 84 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 Hydrochoerinae

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

No 3D scan was found. Smithsonian Open Access, MorphoSource and Sketchfab were all searched.

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 itCaviidae through timeFormations of the PleistoceneThe world it lived on

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