Cavia
| Cavia Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene - Recent |
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| Cavia aperea | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Caviidae |
| Subfamily: | Caviinae |
| Genus: | Cavia Pallas, 1766 |
| Species | |
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Cavia aperea |
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Cavia is a genus in the subfamily Caviinae that contains the rodents commonly known as guinea pigs.[1] The best-known species in this genus is the domestic guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, an important meat animal in South America and a common household pet in the West.
[edit] Taxonomic controversy
Cavia are classified in order Rodentia, although there is a minority belief in the scientific community that evidence from mitochondrial DNA and proteins indicates that the Hystricognathi may belong to a different evolutionary offshoot, and therefore a different order.[2] If so, this would be an example of convergent evolution. Other scientists are critical of this hypothesis.[3]
[edit] Species
- Cavia anolaimae (often considered a synonym of C. porcellus) - Colombia
- Cavia aperea – Brazilian Guinea Pig: widespread east of the Andes
- Cavia fulgida – Shiny Guinea Pig: eastern Brazil
- Cavia guianae (often considered a synonym of C. porcellus) - Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil
- Cavia intermedia – Intermediate Guinea Pig: Moleques do Sul islands, Santa Catarina, Brazil, first described in 1999
- Cavia magna – Greater Guinea Pig: Uruguay, south-east Brazil
- Cavia nana (often considered a synonym of C. tschudii)
- Cavia porcellus – Domestic Guinea Pig: wild ancestor unknown
- Cavia tschudii – Montane Guinea Pig: Peru south to northern Chile and north-west Argentina
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cavia |
- ^ Woods, Charles A.; Kilpatrick, C. William (16 November 2005). "Infraorder Hystricognathi (pp. 1538-1600)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 1552-1553. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=13400170.
- ^ Stiefel, Chana Freeiman (1996). "Family feud - genetic evidence seems to show that guinea pigs are not rodents". Science World. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1590/is_n3_v53/ai_18773108. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- ^ "Molecular Biology and Evolution," Vol 11, 593-604
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