Actual guinea pigs

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Actual guinea pigs
House guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus)

House guinea pigs ( Cavia porcellus )

Systematics
Order : Rodents (Rodentia)
Subordination : Porcupine relatives (Hystricomorpha)
Partial order : Hystricognathi
without rank: Guinea Pig Relatives (Caviomorpha)
Family : Guinea pigs (Caviidae)
Subfamily : Actual guinea pigs
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:

Web links

Commons : Actual Guinea Pigs (Caviinae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files