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United States Fish and Wildlife Service   cc-publicdomain

Ondatra zibethicus (Common Muskrat) is a species of rodents in the family cricetids . They are associated with freshwater habitat. They are native to The Nearctic and United States. They are nocturnal omnivores. Individuals are known to live for 120 months and can grow to 276.67 mm. They have parental care (paternal care and female provides care). They rely on drag powered swimming to move around.

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  • URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/drag_based_swimming
  • Definition: Drag swimmers use a cyclic motion where they push water back in a power stroke, and return their limb forward in the return or recovery stroke. When they push water directly backwards, this moves their body forward, but as they return their limbs to the starting position, they push water forward, which will thus pull them back to some degree, and so opposes the direction that the body is heading. This opposing force is called drag. The return-stroke drag causes drag swimmers to employ different strategies than lift swimmers. Reducing drag on the return stroke is essential for optimizing efficiency.
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EOL has data for 65 attributes, including:

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Common Muskrat. View this species on GBIF