The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig, also known as the cavy or domestic cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the genus Cavia in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the animal, but "guinea pig" is more commonly used in scientific and laboratory contexts. Despite their name, guinea pigs are not native to Guinea, nor are they closely related to pigs. They originated in the Andes region of South America. Studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated animals that do not exist naturally in the wild, descendants of a closely related cavy species such as C. tschudii. They were originally domesticated as livestock for a source of meat, and are still consumed in some parts of the world.
Caviidae, the cavy family, is composed of rodents native to South America and includes the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. They are found across South America in open areas from moist savanna to thorn forests or scrub desert. This family of rodents has fewer members than most other rodent families, with 19 species in 6 genera in 3 subfamilies.
Johann Jakob von Tschudi was a Swiss naturalist, explorer and diplomat.
Caviinae is a subfamily uniting all living members of the family Caviidae with the exception of the maras, capybaras, and Kerodon. The subfamily traditionally contained the guinea pig or cavy-like forms along with the cursorially adapted (running) Kerodon. Molecular results suggest the Caviinae as so defined would be paraphyletic and Kerodon is more closely related to maras and capybaras than to other caviines. This led Woods and Kilpatrick (2005) to unite Kerodon and capybaras into the subfamily Hydrochoerinae within the Caviidae. These studies also suggest Microcavia and Cavia are more closely related to one another than either is to Galea.
Cavia is a genus in the subfamily Caviinae that contains the rodents commonly known as guinea pigs or cavies. The best-known species in this genus is the domestic guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, a meat animal in South America and a common household pet outside of that continent.
The Brazilian guinea pig is a guinea pig species found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The shiny guinea pig is a guinea pig species of southeastern South America.
Santa Catarina's guinea pig or Moleques do Sul cavy is a rare guinea pig species of southeastern South America.
The greater guinea pig is a species of rodent found in the coastal strip of Brazil and Uruguay, where it lives in moist grassland and marshes.
Neacomys spinosus, also known as the common neacomys, common bristly mouse, or bristly mouse, is a nocturnal rodent species from South America in the genus Neacomys. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, where it often lives in transition areas between lowland forest and open regions. Its diet consists of insects, seeds and fruit.
Cavia anolaimae is a guinea pig species from South America. It is found in Colombia near Bogotá. It is believed to be a feral offshoot of the domestic guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, and is often treated as a synonym of C. porcellus, but Zúñiga et al. (2002), based on morphologic characters, recognized them as different species. According to the molecular analysis of Dunnum and Salazar (2010) C. anolaimae is a subspecies of Cavia aperea, C. aperea anolaimae, and a possible synonymous of C. a. guianae.
Cavia guianae is a guinea pig species from South America. It is found in southern Venezuela, Guyana, and portions of northern Brazil. Some biologists believe it to be a feral offshoot of the domestic guinea pig, Cavia porcellus; others subsume it under the wild cavy, Cavia aperea. Molecular data collected show there is little genetic differentiation in C.a. guianae known to be a lowland locality in comparison to C. anolaimae which are predominantly highland populations.
Microryzomys minutus, also known as the montane colilargo or the forest small rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus Microryzomys of family Cricetidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, but these populations may represent more than one species.
The common yellow-toothed cavy is a species of rodent in the family Caviidae, closely related to the domesticated guinea pig. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Its karyotype has 2n = 68 and FN = 136. G. musteloides is the most common and widely found member of Galea, and is present at elevations ranging from 20 to 5000 m above sea level. It has yellow teeth.
The Andean mountain cavy is a species of rodent in the family Caviidae. It is found in Bolivia, Chile and Peru.
The Muenster yellow-toothed cavy is a species of rodent in the family Caviidae. It is known only from one location in Valle Hermoso in the Bolivian Andes, at an elevation of 2557 m. Specimens from this location were shipped to Muenster, Germany in 1997 for laboratory research, where the species was recognized and described. Galea monasteriensis was recognized on the basis of morphological, behavioral, and reproductive differences from related species. However, its habits in the wild have not been studied.
Galea is a genus of South American rodents of the family Caviidae. 5-6 extant species are known, found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Brazil. They are:
Alfred Nehring was a German zoologist and paleontologist.
Dr. Barbara J. Weir was a scientist, adventurer, and editor from the United Kingdom. Her discovery and extensive study of estrus in Galea musteloides illuminated the workings of some rodents' reproductive systems. Her discovery and extensive study of estrus in Galea musteloides illuminated the workings of some rodents' reproductive systems. Barbara Weir is most recognized for her comparative study on the breeding habits of Cavia aperea, and two related species, Galea musteloides, and Microcavia australis. Weir was also an editor for the Journal of Reproduction and Fertility from 1976 to 1990 where she was recognized for her "firm and fair role" as editor.
