Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Synapsida
Cladus: Eupelycosauria
Cladus: Sphenacodontia
Cladus: Sphenacodontoidea
Cladus: Therapsida
Cladus: Theriodontia
Cladus: Cynodontia
Cladus: Eucynodontia
Cladus: Probainognathia
Cladus: Prozostrodontia
Cladus: Mammaliaformes
Classis: Mammalia
Cladus: Theriimorpha
Cladus: Theriiformes
Cladus: Trechnotheria
Cladus: Zatheria
Subclassis: Theria
Cladus: Eutheria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Magnordo: Boreoeutheria
Superordo: Euarchontoglires
Cladus: Gliriformes
Grandordo: Glires
Mirordo: Simplicidentata
Ordo: Rodentia
Subordo: Hystricomorpha
Infraordo: Hystricognathi
Parvordo: Caviomorpha
Familia: Caviidae
Subfamilia: Caviinae
Genus: Cavia
Species (7): C. aperea - C. fulgida - C. intermedia - C. magna – C. patzelti – C. porcellus - C. tschudii - C. intermedia
Name
Cavia Pallas, 1766: 30
Type species: Cavia cobaya Pallas, 1766, by subsequent combination.
References
Primary references
Pallas, P.S. 1766. Miscellanea zoologica: quibus novae imprimis atque obscurae animalium species describuntur et observationibus iconibusque illustrantur. Petrum van Cleef: Hagae Comitum. i–xii + 1–224 pp., pl. 1–14. BHL Reference page.
Additional references
Woods, C.A. 1993. Family Caviidae. Pp. 778–779 in Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D.M. (eds.) . Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 2rd edition. Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington, D.C. ISBN 978-1-56098-217-3. Reference page.
Woods, C.A. & Kilpatrick, C.W. 2005. Infraorder Hystricognathi. Pp. 1538–1600 in Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D.M. (eds.) . Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore. 2 volumes. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. Reference page.
Dunnum, J.L. & Salazar-Bravo, J. 2010. Molecular systematics, taxonomy and biogeography of the genus Cavia (Rodentia: Caviidae). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 48(4): 376–388. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0469.2009.00561.x Paywall Reference page.
Dunnum, J.L. 2015. Family Caviidae G. Fischer, 1817. Pp. 690–726 in Patton, J.L., Pardiñas, U.F.J. & D’Elía, G. (eds.). Mammals of South America. Volume 2. Rodents. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, Illinois. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6. Reference page.
Vernacular names
Cymraeg: Mochyn cwta
dansk: Marsvin
Deutsch: Hausmeerschweinchen
English: Cavy
español: Conejillo de Indias, Cuy
suomi: Marsu
føroyskt: Marsvín
français: Cobaye
עברית: קביה
հայերեն: Ծովախոզուկ
Nederlands: Cavia
norsk: Marsvin
polski: Kawiaczka
português: Cobaia
svenska: Marsvin
Cavia is a genus in the subfamily Caviinae that contains the rodents commonly known as the true guinea pigs or cavies.[1] 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 that continent.
Characteristics
General characteristics
The true guinea pigs are medium-sized rodents. They reach a head-body length of 20 to 35 centimeters (8 to 14 inches) and a weight of 500 to a maximum of 1,000 grams. The largest species of the genus is the greater guinea pig (Cavia magna). The species are very similar in habit and appearance, the long and relatively rough fur is usually grayish or brown to reddish-brown in color. The coloring can be variable, especially in species with a large distribution area and several subspecies.
The head is relatively large in relation to the body, the eyes are large and the ears are small. The legs are short and strong, the front feet have four toes and the hind feet have three, all of which end in sharp claws, the middle one being the longest. [2][3] All species of the genus are also tailless. [4]
Characteristics of the skull and teeth
Incisors of a domestic guinea pig
Skull of a domestic guinea pig
Guinea pigs have a typical rodent dentition with incisors (incisivi) and a gap between the teeth (diastema). In both the upper and lower jaws, there is one premolar and three molars in each half. Overall, they have a set of 20 teeth, like all guinea pigs.[5] The teeth are hypsodont like all species of guinea pigs and converge towards the front.[4] The crowns are prismatic and the teeth grow throughout life.[5] In contrast to the yellow-toothed cavies (Galea), the teeth are white in colour.[5]
The jaws of all guinea pigs are hystricomorphous ("porcupine-like"): the angular process growing from the rear end of the lower jaw is not in line with the rest of the jaw, as is the case with other rodents with a sciuromorphous ("squirrel-like") jaw structure, but is angled sideways. The masseter muscle, a jaw muscle, runs partially through the infraorbital foramen, which is correspondingly enlarged; moreover, like all representatives of the Hystricognathi, they lack the infraorbital plate.[5] The species of true guinea pigs can be regarded as comparatively primitive in terms of skull structure. They have only a slight interorbital constriction of the skull, pan elongated paroccipital process of the occipital bone, a relatively short hard palate and enlarged tympanic cavity.[5] The skulls of the mountain cavies correspond to those of the true guinea pigs, but are significantly more compact and rounded.[5]
Former taxonomic controversy
Cavia is classified in order Rodentia, although there was once a minority belief in the scientific community that evidence from mitochondrial DNA and proteins suggested the Hystricognathi might belong to a different evolutionary offshoot, and therefore a different order.[6] If this had been so, it would have been an example of convergent evolution. However, this uncertainty is largely of historical interest, as abundant molecular genetic evidence now conclusively supports classification of Cavia as rodents.[7][8] This evidence includes draft genome sequences of Cavia porcellus and several other rodents.[9]
Species
Historically, there has been little consensus in regard to the number of Cavia forms and their taxonomic affiliations. Morphological characters differentiating between Cavia species are limited and levels of inter- and intraspecific morphologic variation have not been well documented, thus, interpretations have varied and resulted in very different taxonomic conclusions. Three scientists disagreed on the number of species, Tate (1935) recognized 11 species, while Cabrera (1961) recognized seven, and Huckinghaus (1961) recognized only three. Recent scientific compilations have generally followed either Cabrera or Huckinghaus.[10]
A domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) eating grass leaves
At least five wild species of guinea pig are recognised, in addition to the domestic form:
Cavia aperea – Brazilian guinea pig, widespread east of the Andes
Cavia fulgida – shiny guinea pig, eastern Brazil
Cavia intermedia – intermediate guinea pig, Moleques do Sul islands, Santa Catarina, Brazil, first described in 1999
Cavia magna – greater guinea pig, Uruguay, southeast Brazil
Cavia porcellus – domestic guinea pig, wild ancestor is likely:
Cavia tschudii – montane guinea pig, Peru south to northern Chile and northwest Argentina
Some authors also recognise the following additional species:
Cavia anolaimae (often considered a synonym of C. porcellus or a subspecies of C. aperea) – Colombia
Cavia guianae (often considered a synonym of C. porcellus or a subspecies of C. aperea) – Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil
Cavia patzelti[11] (often considered a synonym of C. aparea) - Ecuador
In addition, four fossil species have been identified:[12]
†Cavia cabrerai - early Pliocene Argentina
†Cavia galileoi - late Pliocene Argentina
†Cavia lamingae – late Pleistocene Brazil
†Cavia vates – late Pleistocene Brazil
References
Woods, C.A.; Kilpatrick, C.W. (2005). "Infraorder Hystricognathi". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 1552–1553. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
Caviinae, Genus Cavia. In: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr.: Family Caviidae In: Don E. Wilson, T.E. Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Herausgeber): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Band 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, S. 433–434. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4.
Jonathan L. Dunnum: Genus Cavia Pallas, 1766 In: James L. Patton, Ulyses F.J. Pardinas, Guillermo D’Elía (Hrsg.): Mammals of South America, Volume 2 – Rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2015; S. 691–704, hier 691–692. ISBN 978-0-226-16957-6.
Systematics. In: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr.: Family Caviidae In: Don E. Wilson, T.E. Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Herausgeber): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Band 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, S. 406–407. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4.
„Morphological Aspects“ In: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr.: Family Caviidae In: Don E. Wilson, T.E. Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Herausgeber): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Band 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, S. 406–407.
Stiefel, Chana Freeiman (1996). "Family feud – genetic evidence seems to show that guinea pigs are not rodents". Science World. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2012-05-19. (and references therein)
""Molecular Biology and Evolution," Vol 11, 593–604". Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
"UCSC Genome Browser Gateway". Retrieved 4 April 2017.
Dunnum, Jonathan L, Salazar-Bravo, Jorge (21 January 2010), "Molecular systematics, taxonomy, and biogeography of the genus Cavia (Rodentia:Caviidae) Page 1
Donnum, J.L.; Salazar-Bravo, J. (November 2010). "Molecular systematics, taxonomy and biogeography of the genus Cavia (Rodentia: Caviidae)". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 48 (4): 376–388. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0469.2009.00561.x.
Candela, A.M.; Bonini, R.A. (July 2017). "A new guinea pig (Rodentia, Caviomorpha) from northwestern Argentina: implications for the origin of the genus Cavia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37 (4): e1352591. Bibcode:2017JVPal..37E2591C. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1352591. hdl:11336/58708. S2CID 89872825.
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