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Cavy
Caviidae, the cavy family, is composed of rodents native to South America and includes the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. They are found across South America in open areas from moist savanna to thorn forests or scrub desert. This family of rodents has fewer members than most other rodent families, with 19 species in 6 genera in 3 subfamilies. Characteristics With the exception of the maras, which have a more rabbit-like appearance, caviids have short, heavy bodies and large heads. Most have no visible tails. They range in size from the smaller cavies at 22 cm in body length, and 300 grams in weight, up to the capybara, the largest of all rodents at 106 to 134 cm in length, and body weights of 35 to 66 kilograms. Even larger forms existed in the Pliocene, such as '' Phugatherium'', which was about the size of a tapir. They are herbivores, eating tough grasses or softer leaves, depending on species. The dental form ...
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Domestic Guinea Pig
The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the animal, while in scientific and laboratory contexts, it is far more commonly referred to by the common name ''guinea pig''. Despite their common name, guinea pigs are not native to Guinea, nor are they closely related biologically to pigs, and the origin of the name is still unclear. They originated in the Andes of South America. Studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated animals that do not exist naturally in the wild, descendants of a closely related cavy species such as '' C. tschudii''. They were originally domesticated as livestock for a source of meat, and are still consumed in some parts of the world. In Western society, the guinea pig has enjoyed widespread popularity as a pet since its introducti ...
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Guinea Pig
The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus '' Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the animal, while in scientific and laboratory contexts, it is far more commonly referred to by the common name ''guinea pig''. Despite their common name, guinea pigs are not native to Guinea, nor are they closely related biologically to pigs, and the origin of the name is still unclear. They originated in the Andes of South America. Studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated animals that do not exist naturally in the wild, descendants of a closely related cavy species such as '' C. tschudii''. They were originally domesticated as livestock for a source of meat, and are still consumed in some parts of the world. In Western society, the guinea pig has enjoyed widespread popularity as a pet since its i ...
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Caviinae
Caviinae is a subfamily uniting all living members of the family Caviidae with the exception of the maras, capybaras, and '' Kerodon''. The subfamily traditionally contained the guinea pig or cavy-like forms along with the cursorially adapted (running) ''Kerodon''. Molecular results suggest the Caviinae as so defined would be paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ... and ''Kerodon'' is more closely related to maras and capybaras than to other caviines.Rowe, D. L. and R. L. Honeycutt. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships, ecological correlates, and molecular evolution within the Cavioidea (Mammalia, Rodentia). Molecular Biology and Evolution, 19:263-277. This led Woods and Kilpatrick (2005) to unite ''Kerodon'' and capybaras into the subfamily Hydrochoerinae wi ...
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Microcavia
''Microcavia'' (mountain cavies) is a genus of rodents in the family Caviidae. They are unique within their family in that their premolar teeth do not grow and replace the original deciduous cheek teeth until after the animal is born; in other genera this occurs in the womb. It contains six extant species: * Southern mountain cavy, ''M. australis'' * Jayat's mountain cavy, ''M. jayat'' * Thomas's mountain cavy, ''M. maenas'' * Andean mountain cavy, ''M. niata'' * Shipton's mountain cavy, ''M. shiptoni'' * Sorojchi mountain cavy, ''M. sorojchi'' At least nine fossil species have also been named, dating back to the mid Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58
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Galea (genus)
''Galea'' is a genus of South American rodents of the family Caviidae. Five extant species are known, found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Brazil. They are: * Southern highland yellow-toothed cavy ('' G. comes'') * Brazilian yellow-toothed cavy (''G. flavidens'') * Lowland yellow-toothed cavy ('' G. leucoblephara'') * Common yellow-toothed cavy (''G. musteloides'') ** Muenster yellow-toothed cavy (''G. m. monasteriensis'') * Spix's yellow-toothed cavy (''G. spixii'') ''Galea'' has until recently been considered to have only three species; the Muenster yellow-toothed cavy was only described in 2004. ''G. flavidens'' is monotypic and ''G. musteloides'' and ''G. spixii'' are polytypic. ''Galea'' is in the family Caviidae and its members are described as cavies; they have sometimes also been called "guinea pigs". Cavies are widespread throughout South America. The high diversity of habitats of different species is paralleled by a high diversity of social organizations. Sp ...
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Cavy (1)
Caviidae, the cavy family, is composed of rodents native to South America and includes the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. They are found across South America in open areas from moist savanna to thorn forests or scrub desert. This family of rodents has fewer members than most other rodent families, with 19 species in 6 genera in 3 subfamilies. Characteristics With the exception of the maras, which have a more rabbit-like appearance, caviids have short, heavy bodies and large heads. Most have no visible tails. They range in size from the smaller cavies at 22 cm in body length, and 300 grams in weight, up to the capybara, the largest of all rodents at 106 to 134 cm in length, and body weights of 35 to 66 kilograms. Even larger forms existed in the Pliocene, such as '' Phugatherium'', which was about the size of a tapir. They are herbivores, eating tough grasses or softer leaves, depending on species. The dental for ...
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Capybara
The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is a giant cavy rodent native to South America. It is the largest living rodent and a member of the genus '' Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmius''). Its close relatives include guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, the chinchilla, and the nutria. The capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests, and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species and can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually live in groups of 10–20 individuals. The capybara is hunted for its meat and hide and also for grease from its thick fatty skin. It is not considered a threatened species. Etymology Its common name is derive ...
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Dolichotis
''Dolichotis'' is a genus of the cavy family of rodents. These large relatives of guinea pigs are common in the Patagonian steppes of Argentina, but also live in Paraguay and elsewhere in South America. It contains a single extant species, the Patagonian mara, which is the one of the largest rodents in the world after the two species each of capybaras and beavers, and the large species of porcupines, reaching about in height. The Chacoan mara has and sometimes still is also considered a member of this genus. However, a 2020 study by the American Society of Mammalogists found significant difference between the two mara species to warrant placing it in the genus ''Pediolagus''. Etymology ''Dolichotis'' means "long-eared" (from "long" and "ear") in Ancient Greek. Species One extant and two extinct species of in this genus are recognized: ;Fossil species * †''D. intermedia'' * †''D. platycephala'' Fossils are known from Argenti ...
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South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion of a single continent called Americas, America. South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. The continent generally includes twelve sovereign states: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela; two dependent territory, dependent territories: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; and one administrative division, internal territory: French Guiana. In addition, the ABC islands (Leeward Antilles), ABC islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ascension Island (dependency of Saint Helena, Asce ...
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Tapir
Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inhabiting Southeast Asia. They are one of three extant branches of Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates), alongside equines and rhinoceros. Only a single genus, ''Tapirus'' is currently extant. Tapirs migrated into South America during the Pleistocene epoch from North America after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama as part of the Great American Interchange. Tapirs were once widespread in North America until the arrival of humans at the end of the Late Pleistocene, around 12,000 years ago. Species There are four widely recognized extant species of tapir, all in the genus ''Tapirus'' of the family Tapiridae. They are the South American tapir, the Malayan tapir, Baird's tapir, and the mountain tapir. In 2013, a group of researchers sai ...
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Dolichotinae
Maras, subfamily Dolichotinae, are a group of rodents in the family Caviidae. These large relatives of guinea pigs are common in the Patagonian steppes of Argentina, but also live in Paraguay and elsewhere in South America. There are two extant species, the Patagonian mara of the genus '' Dolichotis'' and the Chacoan mara of the genus '' Pediolagus''; traditionally this species was also thought to belong to ''Dolichotis'' howeve,r a 2020 study by the American Society of Mammalogists found significant difference between the two mara species to warrant resurrecting the genus ''Pediolagus'' for it. Several extinct genera are also known. Description Maras have stocky bodies, three sharp-clawed digits on the hind feet, and four digits of the fore feet. Maras have been described as resembling long-legged rabbits. Patagonian maras can run at speeds up to . The Patagonian species can weigh over in adulthood. The average weight of adult male Patagonian maras is and in adult female ...
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