Actual guinea pigs
| Actual guinea pigs | ||||||||||||
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House guinea pigs ( Cavia porcellus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Caviinae | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1821 |
The actual guinea pigs (Caviinae) form a subfamily of the guinea pigs (Caviidae) in the order of the rodents (Rodentia).
They are small, compact animals with small ears and short limbs. The head-torso length varies between 15 and 40 centimeters and the weight between 100 and 1500 grams.
Actual guinea pigs are widespread in large parts of South America , where they inhabit a wide variety of habitats, from flat grasslands to mountain regions at over 4000 meters above sea level. As a rule, they are social animals that live in pairs (for example the Munster guinea pigs ) or in groups with a male, a few females and the young animals. Some species have developed complex social structures.
This group is divided into three genera with around 15 species:
- Real guinea pigs ( Cavia ), including the common guinea pig ( C. aperea ) and house guinea pigs ( C. porcellus )
- Yellow-toothed guinea pig ( Galea )
- Miniature guinea pigs ( Microcavia )
