Coypu

Open encyclopedia reference

The nutria () or coypu () (Myocastor coypus) is an herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent native to South America.

Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, Myocastor has since been included within Echimyidae, the family of the spiny rats.

The nutria lives in burrows alongside stretches of water and feeds mainly on aquatic and riparian vegetation. In its native range it forms part of South American wetland food webs and can contribute to the dispersal of aquatic plants and spores.

Native to subtropical and temperate South America, it was introduced to North America, Europe and Asia, primarily by fur farmers. Although it is still hunted and trapped for its fur in some regions, introduced populations can damage wetland vegetation and infrastructure through feeding and burrowing, and the species is considered invasive in several countries. Some populations can carry some zoonotic pathogens, including pathogenic Leptospira, although their epidemiological significance is scarce and region-specific.

Wikipedia contributors, Nutria; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:20:07.147964+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Myocastor coypus (Molina, 1782)

Name authority

(Molina, 1782)

Common name

Coypu

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Echimyidae

Genus

Myocastor

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderHystricomorpha Brandt, 1855
13. infraorderHystricognathi Brandt, 1855
14. familyEchimyidae Gray, 1825
15. subfamilyEchimyinae Gray, 1825
16. tribeMyocastorini Ameghino, 1902
17. genusMyocastor Kerr, 1792
18. speciesMyocastor coypus (Molina, 1782)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 94 records assigned to Echimyidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180402 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:6RRQT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.