[We quote the following account of Nutria from the _Dictionary of
Commerce_, by Mr. Macculloch, who believes it to be the first
description that has appeared in any English work, and acknowledges it
from the pen of J. Broderip, Esq., F.R.S., &c.]
Nutria, or Neutria, the commercial name for the skins of _Myopotamus
Bonariensis_ (Commerson,) the _Coypou_ of Molina, and the _Quoiya_ of
D'Azara. In France, the skins were, and perhaps still are, sold under
the name of _racoonda_; but in England they are imported as _nutria_
skins--deriving their appellation, most probably, from some supposed
similarity of the animal which produces them, in appearance and
habits, to the otter, the Spanish name for which is nutria. Indeed,
Molina speaks of the _coypou_ as a species of water rat, of the size
and colour of the otter.
Nutria fur is largely used in the hat manufacture; and has become,
within the last fifteen or twenty years, an article of very
considerable commercial importance. From 600,000 to 800,000 skins,
principally from the Rio de la Plata, are now annually imported into
Great Britain. It is also very extensively used on the continent.
Geoffroy mentions, that in certain years, a single French furrier (M.
Bechem,) has received from 15,000 to 20,000 skins.
The _coypou_ or _quoiya_ is a native of South America, very common in
the provinces of Chili, Buenos Ayres, and Tucuman, but more rare in
Paraguay. In size it is less than the beaver, which it resembles in
many points. The head is large and depressed, the ears small and
rounded, the neck stout and short, the muzzle sharper than that of the
beaver, and the whiskers very long and stiff. There are, as in the
beaver, two incisor teeth, and eight molar, above and below--twenty
teeth in all. The limbs are short. The fore feet have each five
fingers not webbed, the thumb being very small: the hind feet have the
same number of toes; the great toe and three next toes being joined by
a web which extends to their ends, and the little toe being free, but
edged with a membrane on its inner side. The nails are compressed,
long, crooked, and sharp. The tail, unlike that of the beaver, is
long, round, and hairy; but the hairs are not numerous, and permit the
scaly texture of the skin in this part to be seen. The back is of a
brownish red, which becomes redder on the flanks: the belly is of a
dirty red. The edges of the lips and extremity of the muzzle are
white.
Like the beaver, the coypou is furnished with two kinds of fur; viz.
the long ruddy hair which gives the tone of colour, and the brownish
ash-coloured fur at its base, which, like the down of the beaver, is
of such importance in hat-making, and the cause of the animal's
commercial value.
The habits of the coypou are much like those of most of the other
aquatic rodent animals. Its principal food, in a state of nature, is
vegetable. It affects the neighbourhood of water, swims perfectly
well, and burrows in the ground. The female brings forth from five to
seven; and the young always accompany her.
The coypou is easily domesticated, and its manners in captivity are
very mild.
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