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Reproductive Morphology and Physiology of the Male Capybara

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Abstract

The interrelations between morphology, physiology, and behavior are inseparable, and together provide the key to the evolutionary success and failure of each species. Within this triad, experimentation and the complicity of nuances determine, and in turn are determined by, the evolutionary process. The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), like every other species, has undergone many adaptations throughout its evolutionary history. Thus, abiotic components and inter- and intra-specific relations have defined both the individual strategies and group behaviors necessary for its survival. Reproduction is certainly one of the most important aspects in determining evolution. In the capybara the morpho-functional and behavioral aspects involved are extremely rich and in some cases unique, especially considering the adaptations of males.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Av. PH Rolfs s/n, Campus Universitário, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-000, Brazil

    Tarcízio A. R. Paula

  2. Laboratório de Sistemática Molecular, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Av. PH Rolfs s/n, Campus Universitário, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-000, Brazil

    Nicholas J. Walker

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  1. Tarcízio A. R. Paula
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Correspondence to Tarcízio A. R. Paula .

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  1. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnolog, Av. W5 Norte, Brasília, DF-70770, Brazil

    José Roberto Moreira

  2. , Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias 11, Piracicaba, 13418-900, São Paulo, Brazil

    Katia Maria P.M.B. Ferraz

  3. Universidad Simón Bolívar, Miranda-Apartado, Caracas, 8900, Venezuela

    Emilio A. Herrera

  4. , Zoology Dept., University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Oxford, OX13 5QL, United Kingdom

    David W. Macdonald

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Paula, T.A.R., Walker, N.J. (2013). Reproductive Morphology and Physiology of the Male Capybara. In: Moreira, J., Ferraz, K., Herrera, E., Macdonald, D. (eds) Capybara. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4000-0_6

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