E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Wildlife of British Columbia

Myocastor coypus (Molina, 1782)
Coypu; Nutria; River Rat; Swamp Beaver
Family: Myocastoridae

Distribution of Myocastor coypus in British Columbia

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Introduction

The Nutria, or Coypu, is large, herbivorous, semi-aquatic rodent from South America that was introduced to North America and British Columbia in the 1930's for fur farming (1938 in BC). Superficially, the Nutria resembles the Beaver and the Muskrat. However, it is smaller than a beaver and lacks the large flat tail (the Nutria's tail is smaller and cylindrical) and is larger in size than a muskrat.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Unlisted	Unlisted	Unlisted	Unlisted

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic and lineage information (NCBI Taxonomy Browser)

Additional Range and Status Information Links

NatureServe Explorer
University of Alaska Museum

Additional Photo Sources

Flickr Image Search
Google Image Search
Images from Calphoto

Species References

Nagorsen, David W. 2005. Rodents and Lagomorphs of British Columbia. Royal BC Museum Handbook. Royal BC Museum, Victoria.

General References

Mammal references
Google Scholar Search

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2021. E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia [efauna.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2023-10-03 4:14:12 AM]

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