Guinea Pig
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| phylum | Chordata | The guinea pig, also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea. They originated in the Andes, and earlier studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggested they are domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy and, therefore, do not exist naturally in the wild. Recent studies applying molecular markers, in addition to studying the skull and skeletal morphology of current and mummified animals, revealed that the ancestor is most likely Cavia tschudii.
For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry. Get back to Rodentia |
| class | Mammalia | |
| infraclass | Eutheria | |
| order | Rodentia | |
| family | Caviidae | |
| genus | Cavia | |
| species | C. porcellus |
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