Guinea pig

Guinea pig
Two adult guinea pigs
Conservation status
Domesticated
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Caviidae
Genus:	Cavia
Species:	C. porcellus
Binomial name
Cavia porcellus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Mus porcellus Cavia cobaya Cavia anolaimae Cavia cutleri Cavia leucopyga Cavia longipilis

Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) are a kind of rodent. They are not pigs and are not from Guinea. The reason for why this is the name is unclear. They are also called cavies.^[1] They are domesticated animals which originated in the Andes.

Studies on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are descendants of a closely related species of cavy. They do not occur naturally in the wild.^[2][3]

1. ↑ Bradford, Alina (April 28, 2015). "Guinea Pig Facts". Live Science. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
2. ↑ Weir, Barbara J. (1974). "Notes on the origin of the domestic guinea-pig". In Rowlands, I.W.; Weir, Barbara J. (eds.). The biology of hystricomorph rodents. Academic Press. pp. 437–446. ISBN 0-12-6133336.
3. ↑ Nowak, Ronald M. (1999). Walker's mammals of the world, 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-5789-9.