Coypu once numbered in the tens of thousands and had destroyed thousands of acres of marshland, had nearly succeeded by 2012. Coypu The coypu (, ; "Myocastor coypus"), also known as the nutria, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, "Myocastor" is actually nested within Echimyidae, the family of the spiny rats. The coypu lives in burrows alongside stretches of water, and feeds on river plant stems. Originally native to subtropical and temperate South America, it has since been introduced to North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, primarily by
Opal (given name) in the 1950s. It was the 344th most common name for females in the United States in the 1990 census. Eighty girls born in the United States in 2010 were given the name and 92 girls born in 2011 were given the name. Opal (given name) Opal is a feminine given name derived from the name of the gemstone opal. The gemstone is the birthstone for October. Its name is derived from the Sanskrit उपल or "upala", which means ""jewel". It came into use along with other gemstone names during the late Victorian era. Opal was among the 100 most