Kerodon
| Kerodon Temporal range: Late Pleistocene - Recent |
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| Rock Cavy (Kerodon rupestris) | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Caviidae |
| Subfamily: | Hydrochoerinae |
| Genus: | Kerodon F. Cuvier, 1825 |
| Species | |
The genus Kerodon contains two species of South American rock cavies related to capybaras.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Characteristics
Adults weigh about 800 grams. Gestation period is 76–77 days with 1-3 young born to females. Metabolic rate is 0.45 ml-O2/(g h) (Rowe and Honeycutt, 2003).[clarification needed] It is found in rocky habitat in arid regions.
[edit] Behavior
Like their relatives, the capybara and the maras, members of the genus Kerodon are highly social (Rowe and Honeycutt, 2003). Kerodon, like its relative the capybara, is polygynous with males forming harems.
[edit] Classification
Traditionally the genus Kerodon has been considered a member of the subfamily Caviinae along with the guinea pigs and other cavies. Molecular results have consistently suggested that Kerodon is most closely related to the capybara, and that the two evolved from within the Caviidae (Rowe and Honeycutt, 2002). This led Woods and Kilpatrick (2005) to unite the two into the subfamily Hydrochoerinae within the Caviidae. Using a molecular clock approach, Opazo (2005) suggested that Kerodon diverged from Hydrochoerus (the capybara) in the late Middle Miocene.
[edit] Species
- Kerodon acrobata Moojen et al., 1997 – Climbing Cavy
- Kerodon rupestris Wied-Neuwied, 1820 – Rock Cavy
[edit] References
- ^ 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.). ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=13400220.
- Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936 pp. ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
- Opazo, J. C. 2005. A molecular timescale for Caviomorph rodents (Mammalia, Hystricognathi). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 37:932-937.
- Rowe, D. L. and R. L. Honeycutt. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships, ecological correlates, and molecular evolution within the Cavioidea (Mammalia, Rodentia). Molecular Biology and Evolution, 19:263-277.
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