Deborah Harrell wrote: > >> In the Tupi-Guarani mythology it's called "Caminho >> da Anta", which means "Pathway of a >> <big-cousin-of-the-rat-with-the- >> size-of-a-cow>". Sorry for not getting the name in >> Tupi but in Portuguese O:-) > > Those sessions with the Time-Life Series nature books > as a child were not wasted...I thought it might be > "capybara," which is the biggest rodent in the world, > and finally had time to look it up: > http://www.k12.de.us/warner/capybara.htm > You are right, but I am wrong.
Anta translates to _tapir_, and it's a cousin of the camel, deer, and other ungulates. It's the biggest and most stupid mammal of South America [if you exclude H. sapiens, of course]
Capivara is the rodent.
BTW, both are used as methaphors: _anta_ means very stupid, _capivara_ means a bad chess player.
FWIW, the first animal I thought of when I read the description was the capybara (even though I was not aware that they got to be as large as cows, which is one reason why I didn't say anything at the time) rather than the tapir . . .
Live And Learn Maru
-- Ronn! :)
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